Frankfort, KY -- (Sports Network) - The acquisition of the remaining 20-percent interest in 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin by his majority owner has been rejected by a Kentucky judge. The decision by Judge Roger Crittenden was made Monday.

Judge Crittenden stated that the $4 million offer by majority owner Jess Jackson was cancelled because the minority owners and former clients did not approve of the transaction. Attorneys William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham, Jr., the minority owners, have been disbarred for improper conduct in the representation of more than 400 clients who sued the manufacturer of the diet drug fen-phen.

Curlin, the richest racehorse in North American history, will stand for $75,000 in 2009 at Lane's End Farm. The colt is 80-percent owned by Jackson's Stonestreet Farm and has been recently appraised for $20 million.