[Villages Kahuna]

Padua Stables is a well-known thoroughbred racing stable. Until the Ocala operation closed a couple of years ago, it was very successful in breeding and training winning horses. Padua was a partner in the ownership of 2007 Horse of the Year and Breeders’ Cup winner Curlin and 2007 Haskell Invitational winner Any Given Saturday. The stables are owned by a wealthy Indian businessman, Satish Sanan and his wife Anne.

His bio shows that Sanan is President and CEO of Zavata Inc. The company is a significant worldwide competitor in business process outsourcing. The company focuses on providing technology-based information processing to healthcare, insurance, government and commercial Industries. Sanan is a highly regarded and established entrepreneur, who founded his first company, IMRglobal in 1988. He grew that company from its modest beginnings into a major, international IT services and consulting firm. Sanan took IMRglobal public in 1996, continued to grow IMR to employ over 3,000 employees, and sold the company in 2001 to the giant information processing company CGI Group, Inc. He then remained in the information processing business by founding Zavata. Sanan and his wife live in Clearwater and also in a huge new home he built on his new farm near Lexington. Zavata's headquarters are in Orlando.

The story I heard was that Sanan wanted to build a half dozen or so luxury homes for use by his friends and clients of the farm. The homes were to be sited well back on the property, far from view from CR 301. After a long period of negotiation with the City of Ocala and Marion County, the owner's request was denied. I suppose the public record would show why--I don't know.

Very shortly after his unsuccessful attempt to subdivide the property to accomplish his objective, Sanan announced to the city and county that he would be moving his thoroughbred operations from Ocala to the Lexington, KY area. The effect of the move was a major reduction in tax revenues to both the city and county.

Shortly thereafter, Sanan announced that he had purchased the historic Bluegrass Heights Farm near Lexington from the well-known Kentucky thoroughbred breeder and trainer, “Colonel” Horace Davis III. The farm adjoins the famous Three Chimneys’ Farm and will be managed by and become an operational division of Three Chimneys. Three Chimneys has produced two Kentucky Derby winners.

So there you go. Who knows whether Sanan simply wanted to move closer to the epicenter of thoroughbred racing near Lexington, or whether he was just miffed at the local authorities for interfering with his desires for his property. Either way, it's pretty clear that he can afford it.