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Judge Clears Derby Path for Valhol

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A circuit court judge ruled in Little Rock, Ark., Tuesday that Oaklawn Park must pay the owner of Valhol the $300,000 first-place prize in the Arkansas Derby, clearing the way for Jim Jackson’s upstart gelding to run Saturday in the Kentucky Derby.

“[The defendant] has no evidence that the owner did anything wrong,” Judge John Plegge said at a hearing called after Jackson sued the Arkansas Racing Commission. Valhol, a maiden, won the Arkansas Derby on April 10, but Oaklawn had withheld the purse after allegations that Billy Patin, Valhol’s jockey, carried an illegal electrical device in the race.

Without the $300,000 purse, Valhol may not have qualified for the Derby at Churchill Downs, which invokes a graded-stakes money rule when paring an overflow Derby field down to the maximum of 20 horses.

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“If you put this horse in the Derby, that horse is tainted,” said Byron Freeland, who argued the case in court for the racing commission.

A hearing into the allegations against Patin is scheduled a week from today. At Churchill Downs on Tuesday, Valhol worked five furlongs on a sloppy track in 59 4/5 seconds. Trainer Dallas Keen said Patin will not ride Valhol in the Derby but won’t name a rider until entries are drawn today. Willie Martinez rode Valhol in the workout.

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