Court rules for Norman

A motion by the state of Arkansas to revoke the bond of trainer Cole Norman, who is awaiting trial on a manslaughter charge stemming from an automobile accident in February 2007, was denied at a hearing in Hot Springs, Ark., on Monday. Judge Homer Wright instead placed restrictions on Norman, who is scheduled to go to trial on April 3.

Arkansas had sought to revoke Norman's bond because since the auto accident in Hot Springs, Ark., he was arrested in Louisiana and charged with driving under the influence of prescription drugs. Norman, 39, posted bond two days after the November arrest and entered an in-patient rehabilitation program near Shreveport, La.

Wright on Monday placed Norman on a curfew, requiring him to stay at home between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily. He also called for weekly reports on Norman's participation in an outpatient rehab program in Shreveport, and required court approval for any prescription Norman has filled.

Norman, who broke his neck in an all-terrain vehicle accident in December 2005, has pleaded not guilty to a head-on collision in Hot Springs that left an 86-year-old woman dead. His trial will be at the Garland County Circuit Court in Hot Springs.

Norman, a six-time training champ at Oaklawn, has not started a horse since Feb. 11, 2007. He was accompanied in court Monday by his wife, Tamara.