Louisville Courier-Journal, KY
09-18-07
Hettel sues state, racing regulators
By Gregory A. Hall
ghall@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Former Kentucky Racing Commission executive director Bernie Hettel is suing
the state and racing regulators saying they have blackballed him from other
industry jobs since he resigned in 2004 and damaged his reputation.
The lawsuit filed this month in U.S. District Court in Louisville centers around
Hettel’s subsequent efforts to work in the industry and still unresolved allegations
made in 2005 that the commission under Hettel’s watch ignored positive drug
tests.
The lawsuit accuses current and former officials with the Kentucky Horse Racing
Authority, which replaced the commission, with libel, slander and violating
Hettel’s constitutional right to due process.
Authority Executive Director Lisa Underwood said she could not comment on the
allegations made by Hettel because it is ongoing litigation.
Hettel resigned in January 2004, shortly after Gov. Ernie Fletcher replaced the
commission with the authority, saying he was fulfilling a campaign promise to
clean up racing regulation.
Hettel’s lawsuit claims that the implication he had done something “unsatisfactory
and possibly illegal” impeded his efforts to find another job.
In July 2005, Jim Gallagher, the authority’s executive director at the time, said he
had been made aware by the director of the lab that Kentucky uses for post-race
drug testing that there had been unaddressed positives from 2002 and 2003.
The authority requested an investigation by the inspector general for the public
protection cabinet. That investigation has not been completed.
The lawsuit says that Hettel conducted his own investigation and found that all
the positive tests were either addressed or were quality assurance urine samples
sent to the lab at Iowa State University as a check on its work.
Underwood said she is still waiting for the inspector general’s report to be
finalized, but she expects it will be soon.
Hettel was hired as a steward at Gulfstream Park in Florida earlier this year.
Reporter Gregory A. Hall can be reached at (502) 582-4087.