Horse Racing : Judge in Stein Case Ruled Against Jockey

The administrative law judge who is weighing a recommendation in trainer Roger Stein’s cocaine case is the same person who ruled against jockey Danny Sorenson in 1986.

The judge, Amanda Behe, denied an appeal by Sorenson, who had been suspended for five years for being in possession of an electrical horse-prodding device--called a battery--and for trafficking in cocaine.

Sorenson rode Emperor’s Turn to a second-place finish in a race at Santa Anita Oct. 23, but the horse was subsequently disqualified when a post-race urine sample showed traces of cocaine in his system. Stein, the trainer of Emperor’s Turn, was suspended for six months and fined $2,000 by the California Horse Racing Board.

Stein appealed the punishment, and Behe presided over a two-day, 20-hour hearing that ended Tuesday night. She is expected to make a recommendation to CHRB officials within a month.

When Behe ruled against Sorenson in 1986, Hollywood Park and other tracks were satisfied. Hollywood Park had tried to prevent Sorenson from riding there in 1985. But the racing board discounted Behe’s recommendation and reinstated Sorenson, 30. The jockey, who rode his first winner at Hollywood in 1978, has been riding occasionally this season at Santa Anita.

In 1984, Sorenson was handed the five-year suspension. Eighteen months later, he appealed, saying he had overcome his drug problems, and the suspension was lifted. Two weeks after being re-licensed, Sorenson went to Hollywood Park to ride and the track tried to disqualify him under the exclusion rule that has been allowed in other states.

Hollywood Park’s stock dropped more the four points Wednesday, the day after 9,000 voters in Cypress, by a margin of about 3-1, defeated a proposal that would have enabled an Orange County company to commercially develop about 160 of the 300 acres at Los Alamitos Race Course.

Hollywood Park, which has had financial problems since it bought Los Alamitos in 1984, would have continued to run quarter horses and harness horses through a lease arrangement at the track if the $100-million sale of the entire property had gone through with SDC Development of Newport Beach. Although Hollywood Park plans to continue battling for rezoning rights at Los Alamitos through the courts, its deal with SDC is dead.

“There was a much larger voter turnout than we anticipated, and we misjudged the mood of the people,” said James Watson, senior vice president at SDC. “The opposition played to the emotions of the voters, and we think some untruthful information was put out.”

Watson does not give Hollywood Park much hope of selling Los Alamitos to another buyer.

“Without being able to redevelop, there would be no value to buying the property,” he said. “And I don’t think that anybody wants to wind up in the quagmire that we wound up falling in.”

By winning the San Antonio Handicap last Sunday at Santa Anita, Super Diamond probably became the first 9-year-old to win a major race since John Henry’s horse-of-the-year campaign in 1984.

John Henry won three major races in 1984--the Hollywood Invitational and the Sunset Handicap at Hollywood Park and the Arlington Million at Chicago. At the time, it was believed that the last 9-year-old to win a major race before him was Borrow, who took the Brooklyn Handicap at New York in 1917.

Super Diamond’s next goal is the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap March 5. The sore-legged gelding finished third, behind Alysheba and Ferdinand, in the stake last year.

Trainer Eddie Gregson believes that Super Diamond’s Big ‘Cap chances are better this year.

“For one thing, there are no Ferdinands or Alyshebas around this year,” Gregson said. “And last year I made a mistake, using the San Pasqual Handicap as a prep. He won the race, but then the Big ‘Cap wasn’t until five weeks later. That made him too fresh going into the Big ‘Cap, and this year he won’t have that much time between races.”

Everybody must think he has a good 3-year-old colt in Florida. The Fountain of Youth Stakes, which will be run Saturday at Gulfstream Park, may draw a field of 15 horses.

The favorite will come from Dixieland Brass, Traskwood and Western Playboy, and even Awe Inspiring may draw a lot of support.

Awe Inspiring, who is considered the “other horse” in trainer Shug McGaughey’s barn, because he’s a stablemate of Easy Goer, last year’s 2-year-old champion, is a one-run horse who seems to have the late speed that could be a factor if he runs in the Kentucky Derby.

Horse Racing Notes

The cocaine positives in California could be responsible for the biggest racing scandal since Tony Ciulla admitted fixing hundreds of races at almost 40 tracks in the early 1970s. . . . The leading trainer in Australia for the last eight years had a horse that tested positive for cocaine last year. . . . Trying to find some humor in the situation here, Len Foote, California Horse Racing Board executive secretary, said: “Maybe our horses have been eating hay that comes from Colombia.”

The state now pays for drug-testing, whereas the tracks used to, because of the off-track betting legislation that went into effect last year. Money from off-track betting is allocated for the testing . . . . Sunshine Forever, making his first start since winning the Eclipse Award for best male grass horse, finished second to Equalize last Saturday in the Canadian Turf Handicap at Gulfstream Park. . . . Rob an Plunder, whose six-race winning streak ended when he finished second in the El Camino Real Derby at Bay Meadows last month, will miss the Kentucky Derby because of a knee injury.