By Bill Finley
It never really seemed that Del Mar's heart was in its efforts from keeping Jerry Hollendorfer from racing at the current meet. This was not, after all, a person with a bad reputation, had done anything out of the ordinary when it came to violations or someone with a track record of breaking down an inordinate number of horses. He was a respected Hall of Fame trainer, had been around forever and helped fill many a race during his many years on the Southern California circuit.
But Del Mar was caught in the crosshairs after what happened during the Santa Anita meet, where four Hollendorfer trainees had to be euthanized. It didn't help that CNN did a hatchet job on Hollendorfer right before the fourth horse broke down. Making matters worse was that Del Mar was not far removed from where it, too, was the target of animal rights activists. Seventeen horses died at the 2016 Del Mar meet. Protestors were seen with signs that said “Racing to the Grave” and “Raced to Death at Del Mar.” Since that meet, Del Mar has had one of the best safety records in the sport.
Del Mar officials never argued that Hollendorfer was a bad guy or that he was any more likely to break down a horse than any other trainer stabled at the tracks. They said he was a public relations risk, and their lawyer went so far as to call him “radioactive.” They weren't wrong. If a Hollendorfer- trained horse broke down at Del Mar, the track would have taken a tremendous hit, to its brand, its reputation and, likely, to its bottom line. The animal rights crowd would have been apoplectic.
Is Hollendorfer a trainer who pushes the envelope and takes unnecessary risks with his horses? Probably not. Did he just go through an incredibly unlucky period at an incredibly unlikely time? Quite possibly. He may have been nothing more than a convenient scapegoat.
A San Diego Superior Court Judge ruled the public relations risk wasn't a good enough reason to ban Hollendorfer, at least without any of the rights normally given to persons under the rules of due process. That doesn't mean Hollendorfer is clear and free. A preliminary injunction only grants Hollendorfer time until the next steps can be taken in court. A status conference has been set for Oct. 25, well after the Del Mar summer meet is over.
The judge's opinion granting Hollendorfer the preliminary injunction was so strongly worded that he wrote: “Plaintiffs have also submitted sufficient evidence for the court to conclude they are likely to prevail on the merits of their claims.”
The judge didn't leave a lot of wiggle room for Del Mar to win this case and it wouldn't be a complete surprise if Del Mar ultimately and quietly simply let the matter drop.
Hollendorfer won, and you can argue that Del Mar did, too. With a judge ordering that the track must allow the Hall of Famer to race, the “radioactive PR risk” monkey was lifted from its back. What everyone wants is for Del Mar to have the safest meet in its history and, in particular, that no Hollendorfer- trained horse breaks down. But should a Hollendorfer horse break down, no one can blame Del Mar. The track tried to keep him out, but a judge wouldn't let it do so. The protesters can leave their posts at Del Mar and camp out at 1100 Union Street, San Diego, California, the address of the San Diego Superior Court.
And What About Santa Anita?
Much of Hollendorfer's complaint against Del Mar revolved around the fact that there was a contract in place between Del Mar and the California Thoroughbred Trainers in which Del Mar could not ban a CTT member in good standing without first offering that person a hearing before a mediator. According to Hollendorfer's legal team, Del Mar refused to do so. According to CTT lawyer Darrell Vienna, the same agreement is in place at Santa Anita, and that could open the doors for Santa Anita to also reinstate Hollendorfer.
“You never know what the courts are going to do, but this certainly supports the notion that we would prevail on the same basis in LA County Superior Court that we did in the San Diego court,” Vienna said.
But Vienna said that, when it comes to Santa Anita, he hopes the matter will be resolved without taking it to the courts.
“There are some other step where we'd like to give Santa Anita a chance to come to their senses,” he said.
“It's not about me getting him reinstated at Santa Anita,” Vienna continued. “I'm hopeful that Santa Anita recognizes that it's probably in the best interests of everyone–racing, the CTT, their association, Mr. Hollendorfer–if we could come to a resolution that's mutually best for everyone. I'd like to see everyone, with cool heads, look at all the circumstances and make a determination about separating fact from fiction. For instance, if you could chose any six-month period that you wanted from Mr. Hollendorfer's long and illustrious career, I'm sure you can find a number of six-month segments were there wasn't a single injury to any of his horses. Santa Anita made its statement. They focused the attack on the individuals rather than the litany of circumstances that were involved, including the part that they played. When people agree on things, that's the easiest way to go. The courts are the last place to go and sometimes when you leave no one is happy.”
Marcus Vitali's Future?
The case of trainer Marcus Vitali may answer a lot of questions about whether or not racing is truly intent on making the sport as safe and as clean as possible.
As first reported by the DRF's Matt Hegarty, Vitali was suspended one year and fined $2,500 for “interfering with an impending investigation.” Vitali asked for a stay of his suspension, which was denied by Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission Executive Director John Wayne, who told the Racing Biz that Vitali “is a breach of integrity.”
According to reports, a Delaware Commission investigator entered the dorm room of one of Vitali's employees on an unrelated matter when Vitali pushed his way past security, grabbed a package that was in bubble wrap and took off running with it. The package was never located and Vitali has claimed it contained marijuana. However, veterinarian Don Johnson has testified that Vitali had given him a reddish -brown liquid and asked him to administer it to a horse and he refused to do so.
It wasn't the first time Vitali had run afoul of authorities. According to the Paulick Report, Vitali has been charged with numerous medication violations in Florida and Vitali relinquished his license before Florida authorities could take action against him for seven additional alleged medication violations from 2015 through 2017.
Yet, Vitali never missed a beat. From 2014 on, he has started at least 29 horse every year and in 2018 saddled 334 runners. After his problems in Florida, Vitali initially moved his horses to trainer Allan Hunter, but it was only a matter of time until his license was reinstated.
Vitali's case was all too typical. Trainer gets in trouble. Lawyer's up. Gets slapped on the wrist. Returns to racing as if nothing ever happened.
We now are looking at a trainer who has multiple violations on his record, has been called a “breach of integrity” by the Delaware Racing Commissioner and, if not able to out foot Delaware racing investigators, who knows what would have been found in that package?
Does this person deserve a third chance? Should he be allowed to return to the racetrack? Only a few years ago, he wouldn't just have been given a third chance, he might have been given a fourth, fifth, sixth chance. How much has racing changed and will it finally tell those who continue to break the rules that they are no longer welcome on the racetracks of America? How this Vitali case plays out may go a long way toward answering that question.
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