O’Dell switching to Ruidoso

Chris O’Dell, the 2019 champion Quarter Horse trainer, plans to move his stable from Los Alamitos to Ruidoso Downs in 2021, he said Tuesday.

O’Dell, 59, trained in New Mexico before moving to Los Alamitos in the late 1990s and said he plans to downsize his 40-horse stable, which has played a prominent role in leading races at Los Alamitos in recent years. The current stable star is the 4-year-old gelding Powerful Favorite, who won three derbies in 2019 and the $100,000 Go Man Go Handicap on Aug. 30, a top race for older horses.

O’Dell cited California’s tougher medication and veterinary rules enacted by the California Horse Racing Board in recent years as leading factors in his decision.

“The problem is California has gotten out of hand with their rules and regulations,” he said. “I’m all for clean racing. We need some anti-inflammatories and we need Lasix.

“It’s not fun anymore. I hate all the bureaucracy with the CHRB.”

O’Dell said he could return to Los Alamitos to run in major stakes, if opportunities arise. He said he is in favor of the oversight policies enacted by Los Alamitos track owner Ed Allred in recent years, notably hair follicle testing.

“I admire Dr. Allred and all that he’s done,” O’Dell said. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be champion trainer. He cleaned up racing here and it’s helped a lot.”

Sunday, O’Dell watched the 2-year-old filly Terrific Temper win a division of the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association Breeders’ Futurity time trials. Terrific Temper bled in the trial race and will not start in the final on Oct. 3, he said.

Terrific Temper has been placed on a 14-day veterinarian’s list for the bleeding incident and must have a workout without bleeding before she can resume racing.

Powerful Favorite is on a 30-day veterinarian’s list after he bled slightly in the Go Man Go Handicap, O’Dell said. Powerful Favorite bled after a win in a division of the Vessels Maturity trials in June and was placed on a 14-day veterinarian’s list, missing the final of that race.

If Powerful Favorite has another incident of bleeding before June in California, he will be placed on a 180-day veterinarian’s list for three cases within a year. O’Dell said he does not plan to start Powerful Favorite until the $600,000 Champion of Champions on Dec. 12, if the gelding can secure a berth.

“I need to give him time and treat him right,” O’Dell said. “I need to make adjustments. I’m trying to be proactive and do what’s best.”

O’Dell said his stable may number as few as 10 to 12 horses at Ruidoso Downs, pending conversations with clients.

“I hope I can take my good horses,” he said. “I want to slow down anyway a tiny bit.”

Bednar donation

Los Alamitos has pledged $50,000 to a fundraising program to aid jockey Vinnie Bednar, who suffered lowerlimb paralysis from injuries sustained in a one-horse spill on Aug. 22.

The donation will be made through the California-based Sam Thompson Memorial Foundation, which aids people in racing in need.

Bednar, 28, was the secondleading Quarter Horse rider at Los Alamitos at the time of his injury. He is expected to be transferred to a prominent rehabilitation center in Colorado for treatment.