Horse Racing Nation reports that Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who served a 90-day suspension from April 4 through July 2, 2022, will appeal to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to have that suspension removed from his record.
Baffert and attorneys Clark Brewster and Craig Robertson are scheduled to meet with the KHRC this week in Frankfort, Ky., for a hearing that could last the entire week. They seek to reverse Medina Spirit's disqualification, along with the removal of the suspension from Baffert's record.
The KHRC disqualified Medina Spirit from his win in the 2021 Kentucky Derby due to a post-race finding of betamethasone. The decision included the 90-day suspension for Baffert, which was reciprocated across all racing states, and a $7,500 fine. Medina Spirit died after a workout at Santa Anita Park on Dec. 6, 2021; a necropsy was inconclusive.
In March, the KHRC unanimously denied Baffert's request to set aside the suspension before it would hear the case, and Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate issued a ruling on March 21 siding with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and denying Baffert's bid to overturn the commission's refusal to issue a stay of his suspension. That lead Baffert to his filing for an emergency stay with the state's Court of Appeals, which was denied by Acting Chief Judge Allison Jones.
Baffert resumed training at Santa Anita Park on July 3, 2022.
The KHRC suspension differs from Baffert's two-year ban from all Churchill Downs, Inc. properties, which is being contested in court. A one-year ban was also instituted by the New York Racing Association, which lasts through Jan. 25, 2023.
According to HRN, the winner's share of the 2021 Kentucky Derby purse has not yet been awarded to Juddmonte Farm, owner of Mandaloun, who crossed the wire second behind Medina Spirit but was awarded the victory upon the colt's disqualification. The KHRC does not plan to pay out that prize money until the entire legal process is concluded.
Read more at Horse Racing Nation.
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