You have to figure a gelding who hasn't been ridden for years after coming off the track must have some sort of problem. Mares you can (sometimes) justify, but a gelding standing around eating his head off is worthless to everybody.
Look at his front right, it's a classic example, he has no heel at all. The left isn't as bad.
I forgot to answer your question, no, I have not seen him in person. It has all been on gut instinct, going by the description from the seller.
I gotta run, ya'll. Time to pick the kidlets up. It's been educational and fun.
Jeepers.... He doesn't look that bad to me, by your standards there's two classes of horses, world class competitors and meat.
The lady just wanted to sell her horse, she's not wicked, and the horse isn't that bad. He's not a push button school horse, and he's not perfection at 5 figures. I think he'll do just fine for someone.