FAIRPLEX : Trial Set for Jockey Brian Long

Jockey Brian Long, under indefinite suspension at Fairplex Park because he failed to appear at a hearing to answer charges of sexual harassment, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Monrovia on Friday after being arrested in an Arcadia motel room Wednesday morning.

Long is charged with resisting arrest, possession of marijuana for sale and destroying evidence, according to the Arcadia police.

Trial for Long has been scheduled for Oct. 3. His bail has been set at $10,000 and he remains in custody at the L.A. County Jail.

Long, 31, who has not been seen at the racetrack since being charged with sexual harassment by female jockey Joy Scott, was with a female companion at the motel on Colorado Boulevard at the time of his arrest, police said.

Police gave this account of the arrest:

They first noticed a 1981 Honda Prelude with a faulty sticker on the license plate at the motel.

While running a check on the vehicle, police were told by a maintenance man that the occupants were in Room 111. The maintenance man also said that he had found narcotics paraphernalia that had come from that room.

Police were given permission to enter the room, and upon entering, heard a toilet flushing. Long and his companion, Florence V. Fleming, 35, were arrested after a brief scuffle. Fleming was charged with suspicion of having marijuana for sale.

The stewards at Fairplex Park had no knowledge of Long’s arrest and no action will be taken upon it unless charges are filed by the California Horse Racing Board. As far as the stewards are concerned, Long remains on indefinite suspension.

Horse Racing Notes

Diane’s Halo, beaten three times by Lakeway and once by Sardula, dropped to a more realistic level and posted a half-length victory over She’s Enchanting in the $50,000 CTBA Marian Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-old fillies at Fairplex Park. Airistar, who had finished first or second in six previous starts, battled for the lead most of the way with Cimply A Lady and finished third.

David Flores made a strong move toward his sixth consecutive riding title at Fairplex with four winners to take a 21-15 lead over Fernando Valenzuela with 10 days remaining. Flores had victories aboard Master Dicke ($4.20) in the fourth, Golden Rubles ($3.00) in the fifth, Watching Royalty ($6.20) in the sixth and Special Comic ($3.60) in the eighth. . . . There was a $13,000 show bet made on 3-5 favorite Apalache Chick in Thursday’s fifth race, according to mutuel manager Dick Brandley, who suspects it was made by the so called “Barona Bomber” who placed such bets at the Barona satellite facility last year. Apalache Chick won and paid $2.10 to show, meaning the profit on the $13,000 bet was $650. . . . Post time for the first race has been moved back an hour to 1 p.m. today and will remain at that time for the remainder of the meet. . . . Jay Cohen, whose trumpet calls the horses to the post each day, reached a milestone with his 29,000th call Thursday.