Del Mar yet to make a decision on Hollendorfer

With less than two weeks remaining before the start of the Del Mar summer meeting, the track has yet to officially state whether Jerry Hollendorfer will be allowed to train and run horses there. Hollendorfer’s attorney expressed doubt earlier this week that the Hall of Famer will be allowed to race there.

Hollendorfer met with Del Mar officials at Los Alamitos on June 28, five days after he relocated the entirety of his Southern California stable from Santa Anita to Los Alamitos after Santa Anita officials told Hollendorfer to vacate his stalls. The order from Santa Anita came following the fourth fatality in racing or training since late December for the Hollendorfer stable.

Hollendorfer has been allowed to race at the Los Alamitos summer meeting, which continues through July 14. Del Mar opens on July 17 and will take entries for that program on July 13.

Hollendorfer’s attorney Drew Couto said on Tuesday that he does not expect Hollendorfer to be accommodated at Del Mar.

“I think Del Mar’s view is the wording of the [Santa Anita] ban has tied their hands and that from a PR perspective they feel uncomfortable with the risk placed on them,” Couto said.

Couto cited wording in a statement released by The Stronach Group, the parent company of Santa Anita, on June 22, the day the Hollendorfer-trained American Currency sustained a fatal injury in training.

In part, the statement said: “Individuals who do not embrace the new rules and safety measures that put horse and rider safety above all else will have no place at any Stronach Group racetrack. We regret that Mr. Hollendorfer’s record in recent months has become increasing challenging and does not match the level of safety and accountability we demand.”

During the six-month Santa Anita meeting, which ran from Dec. 26 to June 23, there were 30 equine fatalities in racing and training. They attracted international attention, resulted in the cancellation of more than three weeks of racing in March for an inspection and renovation of the main track, and led lawmakers in California and Washington to call for a cessation of racing to complete investigations into the incidents.

Wednesday, Del Mar officials declined to elaborate on Hollendorfer’s status for the summer meeting.

“We did have a private conversation with Jerry,” said track president Josh Rubinstein. “We think there will be a resolution.”

Rubinstein said conversations “are ongoing.”

Last weekend, Hollendorfer was informed by New York Racing Association officials that any horses he entered at its tracks would be scratched. The horses were switched to his New York-based assistant, Don Chatlos.

Wednesday, Hollendorfer reiterated a point he made in late June, saying that Santa Anita’s decision to deny him stalls was not a reflection of his status with the state’s regulatory authority, the California Horse Racing Board.

“I don’t have any rulings against me,” he said.

There has been speculation that Hollendorfer’s assistant Dan Ward would take over the stable. But Hollendorfer is a co-owner of numerous horses in his care, and licensed trainers cannot own horses that start for other trainers in California.

Couto expressed frustration that Hollendorfer was told to leave Santa Anita rapidly without an extensive hearing.

“It’s a difficult professional and emotional time,” Couto said. “He’s in the midst of a tremendously painful decision. The damage has been done.”