THOROUGHBRED RACING : Horsemen Seek to Block Report

The California Horse Racing Board, which had expected to publish a report next week about last year’s controversial horse-drugging cases at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park, said Friday that the California Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Assn. will try to block the release of the report with a court order.

“The CHBPA has expressed its intention to seek a temporary restraining order to prevent the release of the report,” racing board assistant secretary Roy Minami said in a statement. “The attorney general and the board will not release the report prior to an anticipated ruling Tuesday by the court.”

The CHBPA is an organization that represents horse owners and trainers.

The report was commissioned by the racing board and prepared by the California Department of Justice after its investigation of the way the board and its executive secretary, Dennis Hutcheson, handled the dismissal of charges against four trainers whose horses tested positive for clenbuterol, an illegal medication, after races last year. The cases were dismissed before secondary analyses of the horses’ urine samples also turned up positive.

“The attorney general and the board anticipated releasing the report no later than (next Thursday), before the (Friday) board meeting,” Minami’s statement said. “The (edited) report would have included the names of the trainers who had double positives of clenbuterol.”

The Times has identified the trainers as Darrell Vienna, Bruce Headley, Vladimir Cerin and Barbara Caganich.

On Friday, Vienna issued this statement:

“I am unaware of any complaint, charge or action filed against me that has not been pursued according to regular established procedures of the State of California and the California Horse Racing Board. Further, I categorically deny any knowledge of the short-circuiting, or irregular, dismissal of any charges filed against me regarding any violation of CHRB rules, including all medication rules.”

Horse Racing Notes

Technology is the 5-2 favorite and the California shipper, Missionary Ridge, is the second choice in today’s $400,000 Donn Handicap at Gulfstsream Park. The 1 1/8-mile race is the opener in the nine-race American Championship Racing Series. The series, which includes two races at Hollywood Park and one at Del Mar, will award $1.2 million in bonuses to the horses with the best finishes. . . . Eddie Delahoussaye picked up two winners Friday, putting him within five of 5,000.