New York bars racehorse trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, putting career in jeopardy.
Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer’s career may be in jeopardy after the New York Racing Association reversed course Saturday and announced that it wouldn’t allow his horses to race at Belmont Park Race Track near New York City and Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York.
“This could be the end of my career,” Hollendorfer said in a phone interview with The Chronicle.
Hollendorfer previously was banned from Santa Anita in Arcadia (Los Angeles County) and Golden Gate Fields by the Stronach Group — which owns those tracks — after five of his horses died this year from catastrophic leg injuries.
Thirty horses died either in races or in training during Santa Anita’s winterspring season, which ended June 23. Hollendorfer trained four of them. He had one fatality during Golden Gate Fields’ winterspring season
that ended June 9.
Hollendorfer’s ability to train horses has been narrowed to two outlets. Only the California Authority of Racing Fairs — which is currently operating at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton — and Los Alamitos in Cypress (Orange County) are allowing Hollendorfer to stable and race his horses.
The NYRA originally made the same determination June 23, saying in a statement that Hollendorfer “is currently utilizing stall space at Belmont Park and was approved for stalls at Saratoga Race Course. The NYRA will honor those agreements and he will be permitted to stable and enter horses at both Belmont and Saratoga.”
The NYRA wouldn’t comment Sunday on its reversal, and Hollendorfer’s horses at Belmont Park were being transferred officially to his assistant, Donald Chatlos.
Hollendorfer had entered Brill for Friday’s Grade 3 $150,000 Victory Ride Stakes and planned to enter Rowayton for Saturday’s Grade 3 $250,000 Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park. Both horses are owned by Larry Best’s OXO Equine LLC.
“The whole thing with Jerry and the West Coast is unfortunate,” Best told the Daily Racing Form. “I got to have a trainer you can race horses under.”
Chatlos trained in Southern California from 199597 and 200208 and has worked under Hollendorfer for the past 41⁄2 years. He has overseen Hollendorfer’s horses in New York since they arrived in late May.
Del Mar, which operates July 17Sept. 2, hasn’t announced a decision on Hollendorfer, who has retained San Diegobased attorney Drew Couto.
According to the Daily Racing Form, Couto spoke with the NYRA’s general counsel, Joe Lambert, and was told “they don’t feel it’s appropriate for Jerry to run there currently.”
Hollendorfer, 73, began training in 1979 at Golden Gate Fields had has saddled 7,620 winners from 33,530 starters. He ranks third alltime in winners and seventh in earnings with $199,816,268.
“I have no idea on legal recourses,” Hollendorfer said. “I’m trying to deal with everything in a forthright manner.”