By Dan Ross
In a hearing Friday at Alameda County Superior Court, the judge pushed back until Aug. 30 a decision as to whether Jerry Hollendorfer can once again stable and race his horses at the Pacific Racing Association's (PRA) Golden Gate Fields facility.
“It's too complex for the judge to make a decision today,” said Darrell Vienna, who represented the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT) in the hearing via court call.
“That's probably the best thing–there were probably a couple hundred pages. There's no chance for her to look at that in the time she had,” Vienna said, adding that the judge's staff attorney would also be reviewing the documents.
Hollendorfer and the CTT filed a 65-page complaint for emergency relief Monday of this week in the Alameda County Superior Court, seeking either a Temporary Restraining Order or a Preliminary Injunction against PRA, which operates The Stronach Group (TSG)-owned Golden Gate Fields. According to Vienna, TSG submitted a roughly 150-page filing Thursday night. TDN has yet to review TSG's filing.
“She [the judge] was concerned about whether the harm that Jerry was sustaining was truly irreparable, and she was concerned about the owners being involved–what was their position,” Vienna said, about the judge's comments during the roughly 25-minute hearing. “She wanted to know [whether there] was a breach of contract, and we believe there was. And there's going to be additional briefing, and so, by next Friday, we get to write and submit additional briefs.”
In the interim, said Vienna, Hollendorfer will not be able to stable and race his horses at the Bay Area track. “That's my understanding,” he said. Live racing at Golden Gate Fields resumed Aug. 15.
Back in June, Santa Anita management told the trainer to remove his horses from TSG-owned facility, along with some 60 horses from Golden Gate Fields. The action was taken after four Hollendorfer-trained horses were catastrophically injured at Santa Anita during a six-month period, along with two at Golden Gate. The Paulick Report identified the Golden Gate fatalities as occurring in November of last year and January of this year.
During this time, Hollendorfer has had no formal regulatory ruling against him.
Friday's ruling follows a flurry of recent actions that hitherto had amounted to a swift reversal of fortunes for the trainer. On Thursday, the Daily Racing Form reported that the trainer is once again permitted to run horses under his name at New York Racing Association (NYRA) tracks. In late June, NYRA appeared to bar Hollendorfer from stabling and racing horses at its facilities, after which, Hollendorfer's assistant, Don Chatlos, took over training duties in New York for the horses owned by Larry Best.
In the article, Patrick McKenna, a NYRA spokesman, is quoted as saying, “Jerry Hollendorfer is a licensed trainer in New York State who is permitted to ship in and enter horses to race at all NYRA tracks including Saratoga Race Course.”
Last month, a judge at the Superior Court of San Diego granted the trainer a preliminary injunction against Del Mar, giving him permission to stable and race horses under his name at the Southern California venue, the facility having barred him from doing so prior to the start of the meet.
TDN has reached out to TSG for comment and will update the story with any response given.
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