Almost three years after he was told to vacate his stalls at Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields and that his entries would not be accepted at any tracks owned by the Stronach Group, Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and the Stronach Group have settled a lawsuit filed by the trainer over his exclusion.
A statement distributed by Craig Fravel, CEO of the Stronach Group's 1/ST Racing division, said: “Mr. Hollendorfer, The Stronach Group, Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields have reached a mutual resolution of the litigation in Los Angeles Superior Court and Alameda Superior Court. The settlement of this disputed litigation does not reflect the acceptance of liability by any party.”
Fravel said he could not comment on any details of the settlement.
It's not known if there was any financial settlement or if Hollendorfer – who ranks third behind Steve Asmussen and the late Dale Baird in all-time wins with 7,726 – will be able to participate at Santa Anita and Golden Gate. A mainstay in California for decades, Hollendorfer, 75, has raced at Oaklawn, Monmouth Park, Los Alamitos and Del Mar, among other tracks, since being excluded by the Stronach Group.
The ban came after the sixth fatality of a horse in Hollendorfer's care over a period from Nov. 11, 2018, through June 22, 2019, at Santa Anita and Golden Gate. For much of that time, Santa Anita was under a national and local media spotlight when a spike in racing and training fatalities shut down racing temporarily and led to sweeping safety and medication reforms. The last of the six fatalities came the morning after a CNN report in which Hollendorfer was specifically mentioned as having had five fatalities.
Hollendorfer filed lawsuits against the associations that operate Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields as well as the California Horse Racing Board and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, where he received an injunction permitting him to race.
The post Hollendorfer, Stronach Group Lawsuit Settled But Details Remain Private appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
