Barring a last-minute change of heart by San Diego County Superior Court Judge Ronald F. Frazier, Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer will be allowed to stable and race at the remainder of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club meeting in Del Mar, Calif.
Frazier issued a tentative ruling on Thursday giving Hollendorfer a preliminary injunction temporarily overturning a decision by Del Mar to prevent the trainer from participating at the summer meeting that began July 17.
A final decision is expected during a court hearing Friday morning scheduled at 11:30 a.m. PT at which both sides will present their arguments.
Hollendorfer and Thoroughbred Trainers of California sued Del Mar after the track operator told the trainer it would follow Santa Anita Park owner The Stronach Group in banning him after six horses from his stable died between late December and June while racing or training at Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields in Northern California. The New York Racing Association also told Hollendorfer he is not welcome to stable or race at its tracks.
“In deciding whether to issue a preliminary injunction,” Frazier wrote in the tentative ruling, “a court must weigh two ‘interrelated’ factors: 1) the likelihood that the moving party will ultimately prevail on the merits and 2) the relative interim harm to the parties from issuance or nonissuance of the injunction. … Plaintiffs have submitted sufficient evidence for the court to conclude Mr. Hollendorfer will suffer irreparable harm if an injunction is not issued.
“Plaintiffs have also submitted sufficient evidence for the court to conclude they are likely to prevail on the merits of their claims,” the tentative ruling added.
Frazier referenced agreements between the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and California Thoroughbred Trainers stating that decisions to deny stalls by the track will not be made in an “arbitrary or capricious manner.”
Frazier writes: “Despite this, there is evidence Del Mar TC did indeed arbitrarily deny Mr. Hollendorfer’s stall application without first providing him fair procedure.”
The ruling does not impact actions by The Stronach Group or the New York Racing Association to prohibit Hollendorfer from racing or stabling at their tracks.
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