Harness Suit Is Cleared for Trial : Jurisprudence: Suit alleges group violated 1990 contract assuring parity in racing dates between standardbreds and quarter horses at Los Alamitos.

A lawsuit by California harness horse owners, charging unfair allocation of racing dates at Los Alamitos over the last three years, could reach trial this year. A state appellate court in Sacramento recently refused a petition by the defendants and declined to interfere with the trial court’s ruling.

The class-action lawsuit filed by Ron and Ann Zumbrun of Sacramento in January 1994 accused Edward Allred, Lloyd Arnold, Christo Bardis, R.D. Hubbard, Los Alamitos Race Course, Los Alamitos Racing Assn., Horsemen’s Quarter Horse Racing Assn., Quarter Horse Inc. and the California Horse Racing Board of various offenses in alleged violation of a 1990 contract assuring parity in racing dates between standardbreds and quarter horses at Los Alamitos.

The California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, cleared the way to proceed to trial, denying the defendants’ appeal for relief.

Harness executives Arnold and Bardis bought Los Alamitos from Hollywood Park Operating Co. during the Marje Everett regime for $71 million in late 1989. They sold half of the track for $16.5 million in April 1990 to quarter horse leader Allred in what was viewed as a marriage of convenience.

Each breed had about 5 1/2 months of nighttime racing at Los Alamitos through 1992, when Arnold resigned his management duties. Since 1993, three-month harness meetings have been run, in January, February and March, and quarter horse meetings have been conducted from April to December.

Allred, describing the suit as frivolous, said: “Chris, Lloyd and I were all optimistic in 1990 that the original plan would work, with the advent of simulcasting in the state. But in reality, harness racing continued to lose millions of dollars. We cannot continue to subsidize an industry that continues to lose millions of dollars.

“The original [1990] lease was only meant to be for as long as the partners could make it work.”

Ralph Sourfield, chairman of the CHRB, said the harness industry failed to apply properly for the dates in question.

“Nobody came forward,” he said. “Who was it incumbent upon to implement that [1990] plan? The board has a record of bending over backward to help harness racing in the state.”

Since Arnold and Bardis pulled out of harness racing, the sport has struggled to find financial support.

Allred said the track was comfortable with the continuation of a winter harness meeting. Allred still owns 50% of the track. Bardis, a Sacramento real estate developer, retains 25%. Arnold is selling his 25%.