Horse Breeder Dies

Horse breeder, owner Fustok killed in jogging accident

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Mahmoud Fustok, a prominent horse owner and one of the first Arabs to come to Kentucky and breed thoroughbreds, was killed after he and a friend were struck by a sport utility vehicle while jogging, police said Thursday. He was 69 or 70.

Fustok died after he and Antoine Mardini were hit at 12:52 p.m. on Wednesday, said Elliott Cohen, spokesman for the Broward County Sheriff's Office. Mardini survived and was hospitalized.

The driver, 55-year-old Albert Brooks, was also hospitalized and may have had "some sort of medical emergency behind the wheel" before the accident, Cohen said. No charges were pending, he said.

Fustok was the owner of Buckram Oak Farm near Lexington, Ky., from 1978 until he sold the operation last year. But he still owned a 200-acre farm near Ocala and owned horses at other farms in Kentucky and Florida.

"It was his hobby and his passion," said Hanzly Albina, manager at Buckram Oak. "He put countless dollars into the state, loved Lexington and Kentucky, and came to just about every yearling sale we have up here."

He had recently relocated to Florida to take part in the opening of a Saudi consulate, according to friends and associates. Fustok was a brother-in-law to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, Cohen said.

Fustok's prominent horses included Star Gallant, winner of the 1982 Illinois Derby; Silver Train, who won a Breeder's Cup race in October at Belmont Park; Najran, who in 2003 equaled the world record for a mile race; and Silver Hawk, who finished in the money in both the Irish Sweeps Derby and the Epsom Derby.

Born in Lebanon, Fustok came to the United States to attend the University of Oklahoma in the late 1950s. He owned automobile, real estate, construction and oil-related businesses in Saudi Arabia. His brother, Mustapha, also was involved in the horse business.

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