Group Says a Fourth Racing Board Member Has Conflict of Interest

Attorneys for a harness group battling for added racing dates at Los Alamitos say that a fourth member of the California Horse Racing Board has a conflict of interest in regard to Hollywood Park.

A Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday in Sacramento that three racing board members--chairman Leslie Liscom, Ray Seeley and Rosemary Ferraro--were in conflict of interest when they voted last October to give harness horsemen a 17-week schedule, instead of the 22 weeks they said they were entitled to.

The horsemen’s attorneys say that William Lansdale, a board member since 1985, would also have a conflict if he voted on matters regarding Hollywood Park. Los Alamitos is owned by Hollywood Park.

The harness attorneys say that Lansdale’s name did not come up in the original lawsuit because he was not present at the October meeting and did not vote on the dates.

The attorneys say that Lansdale exceeded the state limit of $250 per commissioner during a 12-month period when he accepted four season turf club passes to Hollywood Park.

Lansdale could not be reached for comment.

If Lansdale and the three other members are disqualified from voting on Hollywood Park matters, the board would be at a standstill, because only three members--one short of a quorum--would remain.

The next racing board meeting is scheduled for March 31 at Albany. There is the possibility that an emergency meeting will be called before then, since the harness season at Los Alamitos is scheduled to end on March 25, and no dates for a quarter horse meeting have been approved by the board. The quarter horsemen had hoped to begin their season at Los Alamitos in the last week of March.