Stokes

Summary

Appellant California Horse Racing Board appeals from a judgment granting a writ of mandate. The judgment set aside a board order suspending a licensed trainer, respondent Lance W. Stokes, who had entered a horse in two races for which the horse was not eligible. We conclude the board was authorized to suspend a licensed trainer for entering a horse in races for which the horse was ineligible, without evidence the trainer acted knowingly or willfully, on the theory that the trainer was responsible for the acts of his agents.

Factual and Procedural Background

Stokes is a trainer licensed by the California Horse Racing Board. He trained a horse named Devil’s Mistake, and entered the horse in two races—on August 15 and September 18, 1999—at Los Alamitos. The rules at Los Alamitos require a horse to work out on the racetrack—referred to as a “work”—at least once within the 30 days preceding a race. Stokes delegated to his brother, Heath Stokes, also a licensed trainer, the responsibility for arranging the horse’s workouts. However, instead of working Devil’s Mistake during the 30-day period preceding each race, Heath worked a different horse he misidentified as…