Bay Meadows Suit Hits Bid to Elect Ex-Bookie

A lawsuit alleging a group of stockholders is trying to place a convicted bookmaker on the board of directors at Bay Meadows race track has been filed in U.S. District Court.

The action, brought by Bay Meadows Operating Co. and the California Jockey Club on Thursday, charges the insurgent Bay Meadows Stockholders Committee with violations of the federal securities laws.

It seeks to enjoin the Stockholders Committee from soliciting proxy ballots in its attempt to elect its members to three seats on the boards of directors of the Jockey Club and the Bay Meadows Operating Co.

The suit alleges that the Stockholders Committee has failed to disclose to shareholders that Louis J. Poletti, one of three insurgent candidates for the Bay Meadows Operating Co. board, is a convicted bookmaker whose felony guilty plea and jail term could cause the California Horse Racing Board to refuse to grant Bay Meadows its annual racing license.