Former Jerry Hollendorfer Trainees Among BC Pre-Entries

A Breeders' Cup decision to follow Santa Anita Park's house rule that bans Jerry Hollendorfer from participating there will keep the trainer out of the Breeders' Cup but not the two horses he hoped to run in the Nov. 1-2 event at the Arcadia, Calif., track. 

Vasilika and Danuska's My Girl—horses who raced for the Hall of Fame trainer throughout the year—were announced as pre-entries Oct. 23 by the Breeders' Cup with longtime Hollendorfer assistant Dan Ward now their trainer. Vasilika, pre-entered for the Nov. 2 Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T), also shows a change of ownership, with Janet Hollendorfer, wife of the trainer, now listed among the mare's partners, replacing Jerry Hollendorfer.

The California Horse Racing Board "required all owners of Vasilika to provide notarized documentation of the ownership change," Darrel McHargue, chief steward for the CHRB, said in a statement. "Documentation also was received from Jerry Hollendorfer’s attorney that proved Janet Hollendorfer has the sole and separate Hollendorfer ownership interest in Vasilika.  All of this complies with CHRB rules. Therefore, Vasilika is authorized for entry in the Breeders’ Cup under the current ownership."

The Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita, has barred Hollendorfer since late June after four fatalities from horses he trained and raced during the Santa Anita winter/spring meet. Since then, legal battles have ensued, with a Los Angeles County judge denying the trainer's motion for a temporary restraining order Oct. 16 that could have allowed him to return. Their dispute is expected to continue within the California court system.

There are no CHRB rulings against Hollendorfer that prevent him from training.

"As far as Jerry and Santa Anita, I'd like to see a resolution," said Kelly Mitchell of Bad Boy Racing, owner of Danuska's My Girl, a pre-entry to the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).

Ward starting a former Hollendorfer-trained horse has already occurred at the current Santa Anita meet. He has run five horses there since the autumn meet began Sept. 27, winning one race, and he raced horses at Del Mar in place of Hollendorfer before the trainer was granted an injunction from a San Diego County judicial officer that allowed him to run horses there. Del Mar had originally banned him after Santa Anita had done so.

"Dan is a great trainer in his own right. I am very, very confident having Dan Ward overseeing my horse for this race," Mitchell said.

Breeders' Cup spokesman Jim Gluckson said the organization had no comment beyond its statement from Oct. 18 when it said it would not permit the trainer to participate. The Breeders' Cup operates the host track when it conducts its event, leaving decisions up to the organization.

Hollendorfer and Ward train and stable at Los Alamitos Race Course, where both Breeders' Cup hopefuls worked Oct. 20. Vasilika breezed five furlongs in 1:00, and Danuska's My Girl went the same distance in 1:01.

Both horses raced for Hollendorfer Oct. 5 at Keeneland, where Vasilika was third in the First Lady Stakes (G1T) and Danuska's My Girl ran sixth in the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2). Hollendorfer said Oct. 22 that Vasilika will be sold early next month in Kentucky, where she is Hip 193 at The November Sale, Fasig-Tipton's selected mixed sale in Lexington, as part of the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment. 

A 5-year-old daughter of Skipshot , she has won 13 of 17 races since Hollendorfer claimed her for $40,000 in February 2018. She has won eight graded stakes for a partnership that also includes All Schlaich Stables, Gatto Racing, and George Todaro.