Tight Spot Is Still Del Mar Winner : Horse Racing: Schwartz upholds own ruling; losers may take matter to court

Tight Spot has won the 1990 Del Mar Derby for the third time--but the race might not be over yet.

Verne Winchell and his partners, who own Tight Spot, were notified Tuesday that the California Horse Racing Board has ratified a decision by a hearing referee that their colt is the winner of the $300,000 Del Mar race.

Tight Spot finished first by three lengths over Itsallgreektome in the race, which was run Aug. 19.

The Del Mar stewards--Hubert Jones, Dave Samuel and Morton Lipton--disqualified Tight Spot for crowding several horses shortly after the start of the 1 1/8-mile grass race and awarded the victory to Itsallgreektome.

Trainer Ron McAnally appealed and the hearing referee, Steven Schwartz, reversed the decision, giving the victory back to Tight Spot. Then Donald Calabria, the attorney for Jheri Redding, Itsallgreektome’s owner, asked for a second hearing.

Schwartz heard additional testimony at the second hearing and has once again ruled that Tight Spot did not deserve to be disqualified.

Calabria said a month ago that he probably would not appeal Schwartz’s decision, but on Tuesday indicated otherwise.

“I’m going to recommend . . . that we pursue this in court,” Calabria said. “We had a fair hearing, but we did not get a fair decision. I’m aghast at the way many of these things--as many as 10 points--were interpreted in this case. I feel like I’ve had my pocket picked.”

First place in the race was worth $165,000 and second place paid $60,000. Tight Spot’s owners were going to get either $165,000 or nothing, because their colt had been penalized all the way down to 10th and last place.

Jones, one of the stewards, said last Saturday that he had been fired from his job of about 20 years, and was told that his role in the Del Mar Derby figured into that.

In his decision, Schwartz said that he had “discredited” Jones’ testimony.

“If Hubert Jones lost his job over this, it’s a travesty,” Calabria said. “He’s an expert at analyzing film of races. The other stewards would have said the same thing he did.”

While more prominent 3-year-olds await Sunday’s $150,000 San Rafael Stakes, others from the same class will run today at Santa Anita in the $75,000 Bolsa Chica. Two of the Bolsa Chica starters--Broadway’s Top Gun and Bering Gifts--have been nominated for the Triple Crown races.