Judge's ruling clears the way for Hollendorfer to race at Del Mar

A San Diego County Superior Court Judge on Friday ruled in favor of trainer Jerry Hollendorfer in the Hall of Famer’s quest to receive a temporary injunction against Del Mar, which has prevented Hollendorfer from running horses at the current meeting, which began July 17.

Judge Ronald F. Frazier’s ruling said the request from Hollendorfer and co-plaintiff California Thoroughbred Trainers for a preliminary injunction would be granted with modification.

Frazier posted a tentative ruling on Thursday, affording all parties an opportunity to see his intention prior to a hearing Friday morning in downtown San Diego. On Friday, Del Mar’s attorney, Chris Jaczko, made a final attempt to sway the judge, but Frazier was unmoved by his arguments.

At the end of the 40-minute hearing, which also included a brief rebuttal of Jaczko’s arguments from Darrell Vienna, representing the CTT, Frazier said, “The tentative ruling will become final.”

Frazier set a status conference for Oct. 25, which would be less than two weeks prior to Del Mar’s fall meeting.

In the meantime, Frazier ordered both sides to go to arbitration, which Hollendorfer and the CTT argued was where this case should have already headed, per contracts between the horsemen and Del Mar.

“I’m not saying you don’t have the right to do what you did,” Frazier said to Jaczko during the hearing. “I’m saying you have to have an arbitrator decide that.”

Hollendorfer had asked for the injunction, claiming, among other things, that the Del Mar did not follow terms spelled out in the contract between the track and horsemen, which provides for arbitration in a dispute such as this.

Hollendorfer, who attended the hearing Friday, said afterward that he was “very gratified the judge ruled in our favor.”

He said he had not made any plans beyond Friday – “I didn’t want to take anything for granted,” Hollendorfer said – but said he expected to be at Del Mar for the first time on Sunday, though, based on the injunction, he could have gone straight to Del Mar following the hearing. Hollendorfer has been training a string of horses at Los Alamitos, and said he would be there later Friday, Saturday, and early Sunday before potentially heading to Del Mar in time for turf workouts Sunday morning.

Frazier’s ruling says Del Mar is “enjoined from denying Mr. Hollendorfer’s stall application, from refusing Mr. Hollendorfer’s entry to the Del Mar races, and from preventing Mr. Hollendorfer’s access to the fairgrounds as necessary to observe, saddle and race his horses until fair procedure can be completed, in the form of arbitration as per the Race Meet Agreement.”

Entries were taken on Friday for Wednesday’s races prior to the ruling, so the first time Hollendorfer in theory could enter horses in his name to race at Del Mar would be on Saturday morning, when entries for Thursday are taken.

Del Mar on Friday afternoon put out a statement saying it would "abide by the order of the court in the matter of trainer Jerry Hollendorfer entering horses at our 2019 summer meet."

"We will continue our work with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that Del Mar remains among the safest Thoroughbred racetracks in the industry," the statement read. It said Del Mar "has taken unprecedented steps to provide the safest possible environment for the horses and riders at our facility."

Hollendorfer, following the hearing, said he had “lost at least half my stable” owing to the current situation.

“Until they come back, they’re still lost. You can’t count on them coming back,” he said.

A similar argument had been made in the paperwork submitted by Hollendorfer to Frazier last week, when the injunction was first sought. Frazier at a brief hearing July 18 postponed his ruling until Friday, saying he needed more time to review documents submitted by both sides.

Frazier’s ruling said “plaintiffs have submitted sufficient evidence for the court to conclude Mr. Hollendorfer will suffer irreparable harm if an injunction is not issued.”

Frazier wrote that “Hollendorfer asserts that since Defendant Del Mar Thoroughbred Club’s likely denial of his entries was first reported in the media, he has lost approximately 40 additional horses from his stable.”

Hollendorfer’s travails began on June 22, when he was evicted from Santa Anita after a horse in his care who had been approved to work sustained a fatal injury, the fourth for a horse trained by Hollendorfer since the Santa Anita meeting began on Dec. 26.

Hollendorfer relocated his horses to Los Alamitos, which welcomed him, and at which he raced without incident.

Earlier this month, Del Mar informed Hollendorfer that he would not be allowed to race at the meeting. The track did grant stalls to Hollendorfer’s assistant, Dan Ward, who has had runners during the meet.

Santa Anita is owned by The Stronach Group, which evicted Hollendorfer from all its properties, including Golden Gate Fields in Northern California. Santa Anita does not race again for two months. As to Hollendorfer’s status with Santa Anita, his attorney, Drew Couto, said, “One step at a time, but they’re certainly on our radar.”

Jaczko acknowledged that he was playing from behind prior to the hearing, owing to the tentative ruling from Frazier. When first addressing the court, Jackzko said, “I have the task of rolling this boulder uphill.”

Jaczko argued that Del Mar was within its rights to deny Hollendorfer the privilege of racing at Del Mar. He argued that because Del Mar only raced for seven weeks, that a “temporary loss of income does not constitute irreparable harm.” He also said that allowing Hollendorfer to race at Del Mar would “absolutely cause irreparable harm to Del Mar,” largely citing potential adverse publicity.

Frazier, in his ruling, wrote, “There is not sufficient evidence for the court to conclude Del Mar TC will suffer any harm by issuance of this injunction.”

“Plaintiffs have also submitted sufficient evidence for the court to conclude they are likely to prevail on the merits of their claims,” he wrote.

Del Mar is a co-defendant in the case with the 22nd Agricultural District Association, on whose land the track sits.

Frazier’s ruling said that Hollendorfer does not have the right to train merely because he has a valid license, but – citing a 1970 case against Hollywood Park – said Del Mar “does not, however, have the authority to arbitrarily exclude a licensee from its track, such that it amounts to preventing the licensee from pursuing his or her calling.”

“The court finds both the Race Meet Agreement and the Stall Application prohibit Del Mar from refusing Mr. Hollendorfer’s application and/or entry into a race in an arbitrary and capricious manner,” Frazier wrote.

“The Race Meet Agreement, the Stall Application, and the relevant legal authorities all support the same conclusion – Del Mar TC is not permitted to arbitrarily deny Mr. Hollendorfer’s stall application, nor arbitrarily refuse him entry to a race. Despite this, there is evidence Del Mar TC did indeed arbitrarily deny Mr. Hollendorfer’s stall application without first providing him fair procedure. Accordingly, the court finds there is adequate evidence to conclude Plaintiffs have a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on the merits, as to their claims for declaratory relief and breach of contract.”