Chatlos Returns to Training in Unexpected Manner

Saddling a racehorse for a grade 3 stakes is nothing new for Don Chatlos. 

In the course of working as an assistant for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer for the last 4 1/2 years, he has been around his fair share of graded stakes winners. He also spent about a dozen years before that training his own stable, and won the 2004 NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) with Singletary, his first Breeders' Cup starter.

"Jerry has given me the liberty to saddle a lot of good horses," Chatlos said.

Yet when Chatlos walked out to the racetrack July 5 with OXO Equine's Brill for the $139,500 Victory Ride Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park, it was an experience unlike any other in his life as a horseman.

While Brill's fourth-place finish served as the first horse to race under Chatlos' name since Nov. 23, 2008, at Hollywood Park, it was also his first starter since taking over Hollendorfer's six horses at Belmont Park in the aftermath of the New York Racing Association's June 29 decision to ban entries from Hollendorfer after he was ruled off the grounds at Santa Anita Park June 22.

"It's been a very stressful 13 days, to say the least," Chatlos said. "These were weird circumstances. Things like this don't happen. They were unprecedented."

When The Stronach Group banned Hollendorfer from Santa Anita after four of his horses were among the 30 equine fatalities at the meet since Dec. 26, NYRA originally issued a statement that Hollendorfer's horses could race at its tracks. That all changed June 29 when NYRA informed Hollendorfer any horses entered under his name would be scratched.

With Chatlos overseeing Hollendorfer's New York division, it led Larry Best, who races under the OXO Equine banner, to turn his New York-based horses over to Chatlos.

"I have a good working relationship with Don, and I thought it was a good time to see if he could handle the job. He has some of my best horses. For now, it's 'In Don we trust,'" Best said.

That trust has been especially important for Chatlos given all the turmoil and pressure wrapped into the last two weeks.

"Jerry is a friend, not just a boss," said Chatlos, who trained for about 12 years. "There's nothing to compare this to. There's a lot of emotions, and everyone is trying to find their way through it. It's tough on these other racing associations because they've never dealt with anything like this. It's different for them, and they have to do what's right for their place."

For Chatlos, his days have become noticeably different. All the decisions Chatlos must make about Best's horses are his and his alone.

"I talked to Jerry every single day at 3:30 a.m. for 4 1/2 years. Now, since this has happened, I haven't talked to him at all since the horses were changed over to me. Jerry wants to do everything by the book. He totally separated himself from this, and it's been strange for me," said Chatlos, who previously handled Hollendorfer's Los Alamitos Race Course string.

Strange for him, for sure, but Chatlos knows the situation is far worse for the 73-year-old Hall of Fame trainer who used to be his boss.

"It's tough on Jerry. It's his life. This is it," Chatlos said. "He doesn't golf. There's no hobbies. He loves being at the barn. He's in the trenches for us."

Now it's Chatlos' turn to take care of the stable and its workers.

"I've tried to keep everything status quo, especially with the help. They don't know what's happening," Chatlos said. "Larry was very good at assuring everyone that things would be all right, and that calmed things down quite a bit.

"Larry and I have a really good relationship," Chatlos added. "He's a good man, and it's been hard on him, too. He's likes Jerry a lot. None of this was personal. It was all business."

Chatlos also said he was pleased when the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association issued a joint statement July 4 saying they plan to work with racetrack operators so that horsemen are afforded due process. In the statement, the groups claimed The Stronach Group "clearly sidestepped" Hollendorfer's rights to a fair process by barring him from the grounds without a hearing.

"Anybody in this industry who holds a license has to be nervous about something like this happening. Everyone wants due process," Chatlos said. "It's strange. I don't know what went into the decision, but it took all of our breath away."

In the meantime, Chatlos will send out Rowayton for Best in the July 6 Dwyer Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park and then will head to Saratoga Race Course, where he expects to receive a few more OXO Equine runners, including grade 2 winner Instagrand. All the while, he'll have an eye focused on what happens next to Hollendorfer.

"We'll sit back and see what happens next," Chatlos said. "We'll cross all the bridges when we come to them. It's just stressful for everyone."