Former Racing Official Clark Arrested

Howard Clark, a former president of the California Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Assn., was arrested on grand theft charges Wednesday morning at Santa Anita after a 10-month investigation by the California Horse Racing Board.

Clark, a horse owner, allegedly fraudulently overcharged the CHBPA $100,000 for an insurance policy obtained through his own company, Clark Insurance Services, Inc. When president of the CHBPA, Clark concurrently served as the organization’s insurance broker of record.

The Pasadena office of the L.A. County district attorney issued a felony complaint against Clark, alleging that in late 1993 and early 1994, he obtained liability insurance from a New York company, through a London company, for the CHBPA’s officers and directors, including himself, and fraudulently billed the CHBPA an extra $100,000 for the one-year policy.

Clark, 48, the CHBPA’s president from March 1993 to June 1994, was booked at the Arcadia Police Department and is scheduled to be arraigned later at Pasadena Municipal Court.

An investigation conducted by Bob Nieto, the CHRB’s chief investigator, was begun last May after questions were raised by several CHBPA directors and members of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, which took over the representation of horse owners from the CHBPA about 14 months ago.