Who’s in the First? Don’t Bet on It : Hollywood Park: The geldings Stalvoy and Johnny Mc apparently were switched at berth.

An investigation is continuing into a bizarre case of mistaken horse identity at Hollywood Park.

Stalvoy, a 6-year-old gelding claimed for $20,000 after an April 9 victory at Santa Anita, was scheduled to make his first start for trainer Bill Spawr in Thursday’s first race but was scratched about 30 minutes before post time.

Why?

The horse who came over from his stall in the Spawr stable to the receiving barn to be examined before he race was not Stalvoy. Instead, it was Johnny Mc, a 4-year-old gelding.

Stalvoy, meanwhile, was at trainer Bob Hess Jr.’s barn, where he had been since April 29, the night Hess thought he had claimed Johnny Mc for $25,000 for syndicate owner Inside Track Racing.

The geldings, who according to Hess have physical similarities, apparently were mixed up when they were shipped from Santa Anita to Hollywood Park on the same van April 12.

The theory is that Johnny Mc, who hadn’t raced since last June 19, was delivered to Spawr’s barn, and Stalvoy, who was supposed to go to Spawr, went to Craig Lewis, Johnny Mc’s trainer.

On April 29, the gelding thought to be Johnny Mc finished fifth as the 3-1 second choice in the fifth race, a six-furlong sprint for $25,000 claimers.

Now, it is believed that it was Stalvoy who ran fifth in that race, which would mean he was not identified correctly when he was brought to the receiving barn before the race. Horse identifier Dianne Piper was on vacation at the time. Her assistant is Sandy King.

Checking out the horses before the race to see if he wanted to put the claim in for Johnny Mc, Hess remarked to Steve Arthur, head of the Inside Track Racing syndicate, how much the horse looked like Stalvoy. Hess has twice been Stalvoy’s trainer.

“It’s weird and I feel like I’ve been in the Twilight Zone for the past three weeks,” Hess said. “I said to my client that night that if I didn’t know any better, I would say that was Stalvoy. He looked like him and walked like him and everything. But to think it was Stalvoy, I would have had to assume everybody was making a mistake.

“I was in Kentucky for a week, but when I came back I said again how much he looked like Stalvoy. When I lost Stalvoy (on a claim), his hair was slick and he was about 100 pounds heavier. This horse just looked like a skinny version of Stalvoy. But as he gained weight, he looked more and more like Stalvoy.

“My client and I saw a videotape of the paddock that night (April 29) and that definitely was Stalvoy. (Johnny Mc and Stalvoy) are very similar in color (both are bays) very similar in stature and they both have a star (marking on the forehead), but Johnny Mc has a noticeable white marking between his nostrils.”

Pending the completion of the investigation, Johnny Mc remains in the Spawr barn and Hess has sent Stalvoy to Spawr as well.

“We just want to get this concluded as quickly as possible,” Hess said. “We’ll do whatever (the stewards) say. I don’t think it’s worth fighting over. They’ll either give us the money back and we’ll claim something else or they’ll give us (Johnny Mc).”

Hollywood Park stewards Pete Pederson, Ingrid Fermin and Tom Ward will issue rulings after the investigation is completed.