Racetracks, trainers agree on procedure for track evictions

The California Horse Racing Board approved contracts between the California Thoroughbred Trainers and Del Mar and Golden Gate Fields for autumn race meets on Thursday, ending more than two years of negotiations between the horsemen and the tracks over when trainers can be prevented from racing horses or evicted from track property.

The primary issue in the contract, known as a race meet agreement, focused on when tracks can exclude a trainer for reasons ranging from medication positives to an excessive number of injuries to horses under their care. Under the new contract, cases will be presented to a third-party arbitrator with the track having to prove that it acted in good faith, had reasonable belief of a violation, and did not discriminate against an individual when seeking to exclude a trainer.

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“We have the burden of proof,” said Craig Fravel, the president and chief executive officer of 1/ST Racing, which operates Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita.

“We’re not out to get rid of people. We need their horses, we need their cooperation, and we need their good will. The notion that we will exercise these powers irrationally is unfounded.”

Alan Balch, executive director of the CTT, recalled that only one case in his 12 years with the organization would have gone to an arbitrator.

The issue of when a track can bar a trainer from the grounds or prevent a trainer from racing horses stems from the summary dismissal of Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer from Santa Anita in June 2019 after a series of fatal breakdowns occurred with horses in his care. Hollendorfer was barred from Santa Anita without an arbitration hearing.

Hollendorfer relocated to Los Alamitos and later filed a lawsuit against Santa Anita’s parent company. The parties reached a confidential agreement in June.

Hollendorfer has been limited to racing at Del Mar and Los Alamitos in California and has had stables at Monmouth Park and Oaklawn Park in recent years.

The CTT and tracks were given a mandate by the racing board last month to reach an agreement by Thursday, in time for the start of an autumn meeting at Golden Gate on Friday, and the Del Mar meeting on Nov. 11. The groups had been operating without a race meet agreement.

Officials with the CTT and tracks said negotiations on a contract continued until Wednesday evening.

The board discussed 2023 Thoroughbred racing dates in Northern California, but tabled a decision until December on whether to allow the Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale to race without competition from Golden Gate Fields for at least one week of its two-week meeting in late August.

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