HORSE RACING : Jones Suspended, but Training Ban Cut in Half

The three Hollywood Park stewards announced Monday that Gary Jones, one of the leading trainers in the country, has been suspended for 60 days, with half the penalty stayed for what they described as “good cause.”

The suspension was the result of Jones’ horse, Capel, testing positive for Dezocine, a narcotic painkiller, after finishing fifth in a race at Del Mar in August. The stewards ruled after several hearings with Jones and his attorney, Donald Calabria.

Jones will be barred from local tracks for 30 days, through Jan. 20. Under racing’s reciprocity rules, he will also be unable to train at tracks outside California.

In a statement, Jones denied guilt but said he would not appeal the suspension.

” . . . The trainer is responsible even for the unauthorized acts of third parties,” Jones’ statement said. “I had no knowledge of this drug being administered to my horse and . . . it was not at my direction.

“Had the stewards felt that I had an involvement, the suspension would have been for a far greater period of time. . . . They are making it clear that they believe I had no involvement in the medication being administered to my horse.”

Allen Paulson, owner of Capel, has said he believes neither Jones nor the horse’s veterinarian was responsible for the positive result. Capel, a 3-year-old colt, broke down in a race at Santa Anita last month and was destroyed.

Asked about the reduction of Jones’ suspension, steward Dave Samuel said: “There were a couple of things that we considered: Jones’ good record as a trainer, and a big thing was the fact that the security he maintains around his barns is excellent.”

Jones, 49, has saddled 70 winners this year, according to Daily Racing Form statistics through Dec. 12, and ranks seventh nationally with $4.5 million in purses.

Samuel said that any of Jones’ assistants, except his son Marty, would be eligible to train the stable’s horses during the suspension.

“We would have a problem with Marty taking over the horses,” Samuel added. “That would be too close. We’d have to take a look into that. But any of the other guys should be all right.”

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Kalita Melody, winning her third consecutive race, scored a three-quarter-length victory Monday in the $109,500 Dahlia Handicap, closing-day feature at Hollywood Park.

Kalita Melody, ridden by Corey Black, overtook Vinista in the stretch to give trainer Jenine Sahadi her first victory of the meeting, after 13 starts with other horses.

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Sandy Shulman, with 16 winners, took the meet’s training title, finishing seven ahead of Mike Mitchell. The leading jockey of the 26-day season was Alex Solis with 28 victories. Corey Nakatani finished second with 23.

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On-track betting lagged at Hollywood, in-state off-track mutuel play was up slightly and there was a big increase in out-of-state totals.

Overall, the average handle was $7.1 million, up 13.5%. The on-track average of $2 million was down almost 6%, with daily per-capita betting shrinking by about 6%, to $207. The total out-of-state handle was $48 million, only $5 million less than the on-track amount.

On-track attendance, averaging 9,898, was virtually the same as a year ago, but in-state off-track attendance declined 3.4%.

Favorites won 34% of the races.

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Local thoroughbred racing will have its longest lull since Hollywood Park began running fall meetings in 1981, with Santa Anita not opening until Sunday.