Another class action lawsuit has been filed by horseplayers over the 2021 Kentucky Derby. A complaint filed by multiple horseplayers in Kentucky's Jefferson Circuit Court on Feb. 21 names trainer Bob Baffert, his racing stable, and Churchill Downs, Inc., on charges of negligence (Baffert entities and CDI), breach of contract (CDI), violation of the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act (CDI), unjust enrichment (CDI), and permanent injunctive relief (CDI).
The suit seeks damages, the amount of pari-mutuel wagering payouts, and legal costs.
The plaintiffs point out that according to Kentucky Administrative Regulations, “[e]ntries or subscriptions for any horse … may be refused or cancelled by the association without notice or reason given,” meaning, they say, that CDI could have refused to accept Baffert's entry into the 2021 Kentucky Derby, given his well-documented history of medication violations.
They also assert that Baffert entered an ineligible horse into last year's Derby, given that Medina Spirit had undergone treatment with betamethasone. The defendants say they hold “winning but unsettled pari-mutuel wagers” after a stewards' ruling on Feb. 21 officially changed the order of finish in the race, removing Medina Spirit from the placings and making Mandaloun the winner.
The stewards specified in the ruling that the disqualification did not impact pari-mutuel wagers, which were paid out on the day of the race.
The lawsuit suggests that CDI could have had its own out-of-competition testing system apart from that of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, and that if it had, it would have discovered “Medina Spirit's ineligibility, likely, but not necessarily, resulting in his scratch from the race.”
Plaintiffs also zeroed in on the fact that one of the three stewards in Kentucky is the track association steward, and that Churchill erred in allowing its “employee, ostensible employee, agent or ostensible agent” to declare the race official after Medina Spirit crossed the wire and issue payouts.
“After declaration of a race as official on the day of the race, if a disqualification of an entrant occurs, Kentucky laws and regulations specific to Thoroughbred horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering do allow for, and mandate, the redistribution of purse money to the owners of the entrants,” the suit read. “Thus, on race day, races are really only official as it concerns horseplayers who wager, but not for trainers and owners racing for purse money. Kentucky laws and regulations specific to Thoroughbred horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering provide for precisely zero penalties, sanctions, or consequences for racetrack associations, including Defendant CDI, who accept entries from trainers and/or owners it knows, or should know, enter unqualified and ineligible horses in races.
“Racetrack associations, including Defendant CDI, continue to accept entries of Thoroughbred horses from trainers and/or owners it knows, or should know, enter unqualified and ineligible horses in races. Without any downside to their actions, racetrack associations, including Defendant CDI, can accept entries of unqualified and ineligible horses with impunity from Kentucky laws and regulations specific to Thoroughbred horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering, escape any consequences for their actions, or inactions, and leave horseplayers with no recourse under Kentucky laws and regulations specific to Thoroughbred horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering.”
Baffert and CDI had not yet filed responses at the time of this writing. A civil complaint represents only one side of a dispute.
The suit and its principals are similar to a suit filed by lead plaintiff Anthony Mattera in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Mattera voluntarily dismissed that action in September. Baffert is still defending an active civil case in New Jersey District Court which also comes from horseplayers seeking payback from losing money on Medina Spirit in the Derby.
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