Horse Racing Board Drops Charges Against Trainer Stein

The California Horse Racing Board is dropping its case against Roger Stein, the trainer who was suspended for six months and fined $2,000 after one of his horses tested positive for cocaine after a race at Santa Anita in October of 1988.

The Stein case is the last to be dismissed by the board, which dropped charges last year against five other trainers whose horses also tested positive for cocaine. Those trainers included Wayne Lukas and Laz Barrera, two of the biggest names in racing. The three others were Albert Barrera--trainer Laz Barrera’s son--Bryan Webb and Tony Hemmerick.

The earlier charges were dropped after the board was advised by the state attorney general’s office that the cases were weak. The Stein case apparently is being dropped for the same reason. Members of the board were reluctant to discuss the Stein matter Monday.

Barrera recently filed a $25-million suit against Truesdail Laboratories, the Tustin facility that handles the state’s horse testing. Truesdail’s contract expires on June 30 and the racing board is soliciting 105 labs to make bids on the new contract.

Stein, 36, has also filed a $25-million suit but it wasn’t clear Monday whether that would be dropped.

“I would have to see the order before I can comment,” said Russ Iungerich, Stein’s attorney. “If the board has dropped the case, then justice has been done, but whether we will go ahead with damages hasn’t been determined.”

A hearing before an administrative law judge, Amanda Behe, had been scheduled for April 17 in Los Angeles. Stein, who said he was planning on introducing new evidence, had opposed the use of Behe, who had presided over an earlier hearing in the case and ruled against the trainer.

“As far as I’m concerned, the lab breached its contract a long time ago, when it started coming up with all these positive tests that weren’t positives,” Stein said. “If the lab loses its contract, it’s because they’ve fired themselves.”

Stein, who had gone back to training harness horses at Los Alamitos, said that he would try to reassemble a thoroughbred stable.

“The last 18 months have changed my life,” Stein said. “I’ll never get over the bitterness. Even though this has finally been dropped, once there are the accusations, there’s always going to be a lot of doubt in people’s minds.”