Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Hollendorfer is now allowed to train and race horses at Del Mar following a ruling Friday in a San Diego courtroom.
Hollendorfer had sued Del Mar earlier this month after the Southern California racetrack refused to allow him to enter races during the track's meet or keep his horses in the track's stalls. He sought an injunction to allow him to race at the track, and San Diego County Superior Court Judge Ronald Frazier granted that request.
The suit was filed after the track declined to give him stalls due to "[public-relations] risks and considerations," according to court filings. Hollendorfer had previously been banned at Santa Anita and Golden Gate Park, two tracks owned by The Stronach Group, after four of his horses died during the Santa Anita meet, completed last month, where 30 horses were euthanized.
The response to the lawsuit by Del Mar attorneys alleges that during the meeting June 28 where they told Hollendorfer he wouldn't be allowed to participate, his attorney said, "We get it. Jerry's radioactive. We get it."
On July 5, the track told Hollendorfer in writing he would not be getting his stalls.
Additionally, Hollendorfer's suit alleges Del Mar officials tried to get him evicted from Los Alamitos, where his horses are being stabled. In its response, Del Mar says those allegations are false and that the track has "done nothing" to try to remove Hollendorfer from Los Alamitos.
The suit alleged Del Mar breached its contract with Hollendorfer by not allowing him to have stalls for his horses and then delayed an arbitration hearing to settle the matter.
In its response, Del Mar's attorneys said Hollendorfer and the California Thoroughbred Trainers have "thrown what amounts to a bowl of spaghetti at the wall" trying to create something that will get the court to grant a temporary restraining order. Del Mar is also arguing that in Hollendorfer's attempt to "preserve the status quo," it still wouldn't get him to race at the track since it would mean he would keep his horses at Los Alamitos and therefore would not be suffering "irreparable harm."
Del Mar's response said it should have discretion to how it conducts business at the track, including "doing everything reasonably possible to assure the public that it is protecting the safety of horses." It points to the deaths suffered by Hollendorfer-trained horses at meets earlier this year.
Hollendorfer, 73, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 2011. He won the Kentucky Oaks in 1991, 1996 and 2010 and the Santa Anita Handicap in 2008 and 2015. He also has wins in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in 2010 and 2017 and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in 2015.
According to Equibase, Hollendorfer horses have won 7,623 races in his training career and have collected purses of $199,932,748.