"If I owned horses myself and wanted a trainer, Dick Mandella is the first guy I would go to. He's got it all . . . a patient, inovative and astute horseman; a good-looking guy who fits in perfectly among owners and their friends in the turf club, and no one is more adept at dealing with the media."
That's how one prominent Southern California trainer feels about Mandella, who, along with several other trainers, was recently exonerated from any wrongdoing after their horses tested positive for scopolamine early in 1994.
Mandella, a man of unflagging principle, spearheaded the defense at great personal cost in time and money. A $750 fine by the stewards for two of Mandella's horses which tested positive was ultimately overruled by California Horse Racing Board, on the recommendation of administrative law judge Frank Britt.
Britt, with the Office of Administrative Hearings, conducted a hearing on the appeals by Mandella and the other trainers and owners of the horses involved. The only penalty upheld was the forfeiture of purse money won by the horses.
Mandella has no doubt he did the right thing.
"It's no mystery, but I feel better," said Mandella, 45, whose horses ranked fourth nationally this year in money won with nearly $6 million.
"I've got a lot of emotions inside me about what happened all the way along. It was great to have it done (exonerated), but I never questioned that it wouldn't get done. It did feel good, but you don't know whether to laugh or cry, with what it took to get there. People don't realize that.
"I'd rather not go into detail right now, but someday I'm gonna. I'm going to cool myself down first and try and put things in order."
Did this issue and ultimate ruling set a precedent?
"I think the cases that have been heard this year are good examples of that," Mandella said. "The caffeine positive (involving trainer Gary Jones' Made in Jade) was contaminated with something they made at the mill, and it was dismissed."
Mandella steadfastly maintains that trainers with impeccable records, such as he, Ron McAnally, Mark Hennig, Lewis Cenicola, Bill Shoemaker and Willard Proctor, did not and should not have received special treatment because of their status.
"I take exception to that," he said. "It wouldn't matter if I was Joe Blow with a two-horse stable. If a man's innocent, he's innocent. If he can prove it, he should be allowed that privilege and given his due. From the start, there was some talk that trainers such as us shouldn't be fooled with . . . I've always been self-conscious of that."
Mandella said the trainers were fortunate to have enough scopolaime for testing.
"We were lucky in that there was enough of the (jimson) weed that we could find it and have it witnessed by the CHRB investigators (who saw) that it was in the straw. Generally speaking, there will be scopolamine or something from that family and it will pop through feed and bedding occasionally. The next guy (who might encounter scopolamine woes) might not be lucky enough to have found the culprit, like we did.
"I'm a little disappointed that the horse racing board hadn't gone a little further with the testing than I did, and find out what use could possibly be made of this drug. The most I could tell from experiments we did, and every doctor that I dealt with, is that, to a horse, this is more a poison than it is a drug. It has no good effect on a horse, unless they have diarrhea. It slows that down. But if they're not having diarrhea, it makes them colicky.
"It has no good purpose in the horse business, and if you talk to 100 veterinarians, you won't find one who uses it. So what you've got is a Russian Roulette situation. The one scopolamine that will pop up ordinarily here and there, they probably won't find the weed that did it . . . "
Mandella said the amount of scopolamine found was so infinitesimal, it was virtually unmeasurable.
"This was (detected) purely from the contamination of the dust of the weed," Mandella said. "The (CHRB) executive director (Roy Wood) made a statement to somebody that it wouldn't be jimson weed because horses won't eat jimson weed. He's right. They won't eat it. If they did, it'd kill 'em, 'cause it's poisonous. It's the dust off it that's very potent and it contaminates."
With the ordeal, Mandella rarely lost his sense of humor. Asked about the length of the proceedings, which lasted almost two years, Mandella quipped: "O.J. got tried quicker than I did."
HORSES TO WATCH
COLLODIA -- Filly ran gamely but was simply outclassed when second to odds- on favorite Jade Hawk in allowance route. Similar effort for consistent winner Mel Stute should get the job done.
R FRIAR TUCK -- Ran too good to lose when beaten a head by 4-5 favoite Geenger Man in starter allowance test at Hollywood Park. Was three deep before saving ground and closed resolutely from last along the inside through the stretch to just miss. Next time, especially in a pace-filled race.
ETHERIAL IMPERIAL -- Imperial Falcon filly is on a roll for Mel Stute and should extend her winning streak to four at $16-$20,000 sprint level.
IN THE HOMESTRETCH: The Jeff Lukases have split. Linda Lukas, wife of D. Wayne Lukas' son, Jeff, is divorcing her husband and reportedly, it has nothing to do with Jeff's condition since his life-threatening accident suffered when he was run down by Tabasco Cat in the Santa Anita barn area two years ago. Seems there were domestic differences before that, but timing for an announcement would have been inopportune at best following the accident and subsequent recovery period . . . Arthroscopic surgery Monday on Gary Stevens' left knee was uneventful, according to his agent, Ron Anderson. "He was in at 11 (a.m.) and out by 2:30 (p.m.)," Anderson said. "The operation took 45 minutes. They removed some cartilage, and it was pretty basic, nothing out of the ordinary. He walked to his car afterwards and started therapy Thursday." The procedure was performed at Centinela Hospital by Dr. Tibone of Dr. Robert Kerlan's team. Stevens is expected to resume riding around mid-January . . . Agent Jerry Ingordo confirms that Patrick Valenzuela is leaving the Southern California circuit to ride at Gulfstream Park which begins its meet on Jan. 3. Valenzuela's career has been checkered with drug and personal problems. The world-class rider, 33, won with only three of 25 mounts at the recent Hollywood Park meet, after getting off to late start. He accepted his last mount there on Dec. 13 . . . Trevor Denman, the world's greatest race-caller, will not return to Hollywood Park for the 1996 spring/summer meeting. Denman, who was on vacation as usual during the last three weeks of the Hollywood Park session, could return for the 1996 autumn meet. Word is that he is pursuing other opportunities which may include a stint with Triple Crown Productions. "The decision is clearly personal, a life decision if you will, to break out into other fields," Denman said. "Working fewer months calling races will allow me to pursue professional opportunities that I find appealing right now. I want to state clearly that I have enjoyed a terrific five years at Hollywood Park. Everyone, from Mr. (R.D.) Hubbard on down, has been great to work with. If circumstances change with race dates or if special projects arise, I would love to work for Hollywood Park again." Hollywood Park said it will consider all options before making a decision on an announcer or announcers for its 1996 meetings. "Trevor Denman is the best announcer in America and we will miss him," Hubbard said. "But we hope to keep him involved with us on special television shows or similar things as his new schedule permits." . . . Congratulations to Burt Bacharach, owner of Afternoon Deelites, and his wife, Jane, on the birth of a daughter, Raleigh, on Dec. 19 . . . Steve Young suffered a trainer's worst nightmare when he claimed Time for Sacrifice from Mike Mitchell in last Wednesday's fifth race. Time for Sacrifice, the even-money favorite in the 1 1/16-mile turf test, was on his way to victory in mid-stretch under Alex Solis, but suddenly broke down and was ultimately destroyed. Young's cost for a dead horse: $50,000. "The horse was never in better shape," said a disheartened Mitchell. The good news for Young: for a nominal premium, he was insured for the $50,000, but not for the tax on the purchase of the horse, $4,000 . . . Dick Mandella says Advancing Star, who suffered her first defeat in the Hollywood Starlet, came out of the race with "a little sore shin, but it's not a big deal. We're gonna just back off a little and not run her for a couple months." On Afternoon Deelites' recent seven-furlong prep (1:25 2/5) for the Malibu at Santa Anita on opening day: "A little fast, but he's a fast horse." Mandella, for the first time in 20 years, plans to keep all his horses in training at Hollywood Park through the 87-day Santa Anita meet . . . Double takes -- Bearded trainer Bob Marshall and Chuck Norris; Kent Desormeaux and Eric Lindros . . . Laffit Pincay Jr., recovering from three cracked ribs suffered in a recent spill, needs 467 victories to pass Bill Shoemaker's record 8,833. Pincay had 8,367 through Dec. 21. He also had 6,740 seconds and 5,599 thirds from 41,177 starts. His career earnings of $189,944,969 are an all-time record. "I feel fine, I have no pain at all," says Pincay. "I'm able to walk and I've had no problem sleeping. It's just going to take a little time for the ribs to mend." Pincayhopes to resume riding within a month . . . How difficult is it for a jockey to compete in Southern California? It might be easier putting together a charity fund-raiser for the Menendez brothers. "It's tough to make a living around here," reasoned Jim Pegram, agent for top apprentice rider Jose Valdivia Jr. "They've got seven-horse fields and 10 Hall of Fame riders."
The Running Horse (http://www.isd1.com/alauck)