Trainer Bob Baffert has sued two horseplayers for defamation and extortion in connection with what his attorneys said were damaging social media comments and threats to publish a video one of them said would “end Baffert.”
The suit was filed on Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, by Baffert and Bob Baffert Racing Stables, Inc., against New Jersey residents Justin A. Wunderler and Daniel Dicorcia. Wunderler is known on the X social media platform (formerly Twitter) as @SwiftHitter; Dicorcia posts as @barshoelife. Each is described in the complaint as a “part-time pari-mutuel thoroughbred racing bettor” with a “substantial social media presence.”
The complaint states that over the past two years, following a failed drug test by Medina Spirit after a first-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, Baffert “has been working with industry participants and through the legal process to repair his reputation and standing in the industry.”
Over that same time frame, the complaint alleges, Wunderler and Dicorcia “have engaged in an escalating pattern of unlawful and threatening behavior directed specifically at Baffert and his family. This escalating pattern of outrageous behavior is specifically intended to accrue more followers and personal monetary gain.”
Before the 2023 Belmont Stakes on June 10, the complaint states that Wunderler “specifically asked his followers to bring dangerous objects to hurl at Baffert and his family,” and claimed that Baffert “slaughters horses on national TV.”
A Baffert-trained colt, Havnameltdown, suffered a fatal injury during a national telecast three weeks before the Belmont on Preakness day at Pimlico.
The complaint also said Wunderler and DiCorcia “spearheaded a conspiracy theory alleging that Baffert was scratching his horses because of an adverse reaction” to blood-doping with erythropoietin, or EPO. “Specifically,” the complaint alleges, “Mr. Wunderler accused Baffert of scratching the thoroughbred racehorse 'Muth' because of a 'reaction to EPO. 100 %%%' and claimed at least twice that a 'bad shipment of EPO has hit (Baffert's) barn.'”
“Baffert does not engage in blood doping,” the complaint states, “and public investigations into various racing incidents have repeatedly noted that there is no evidence that Baffert engages in blood doping.”
The extortion allegation, the complaint states, stems from two “videos of unknown content” Wunderler claims to have. He posted on X Sept. 5: “There is a video out there that will end Baffert.”
“Based upon information and belief,” the complaint states, “the alleged videos are deceptively edited to cast Baffert and his staff in a false light with the specific intent of manufacturing a scandal, whereas the full context and character of the video would affirmatively refute such characterization.”
The complaint alleges that Wunderler and Dicorcia engaged in a “conspiracy to extort money from Baffert, sent a text message demanding a sum certain (sic) of money, with specific payment instructions for wiring money, in exchange for a promise not to release information defendants allege is so damaging that it will end Baffert's career.
“In furtherance of this conspiracy,” the complaint continues, “Mr. Wunderler instructed a third party to deliver that message to Baffert's representatives, and that message was in fact delivered to Baffert when it was forwarded to Baffert's wife.”
Wunderler and Dicorcia's conduct, the complaint states, was “reckless; callously indifferent to Baffert's rights; and motivated by the specific, malicious intent to harm Baffert, his family, his business, and his reputation; entitling Baffert to punitive damages in excess of this court's jurisdictional minimum.”
Defamation allegations include online comments that Baffert blood-doped Medina Spirit and that Triple Crown winner Justify was “juiced.”
The complaint states that “collectively, and as of Sept. 8, 2023, defendants' statements have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media platforms.”
Baffert is seeking compensatory damages in excess of $75,000 in addition to punitive damages, along with an order “requiring defendants to produce the video to the Court for the Court's and Plaintiffs' review.”
Baffert is represented by attorney Shepard S. Kopp. Attorney Clark Brewster, who has represented Baffert and Medina Spirit's owner, Amr Zedan, in other cases, has also been retained. Brewster said information contained in the complaint has been turned over to law enforcement officials.
On Wednesday night, Wunderler posted excerpts of the complaint on his X account with multiple comments, including: “Why they scared of videos ? Lol . No one is extorting Baffert and no one is hollywood editing em lol”
After several additional posts, he wrote: “Lawyer is advicing my take a breather stay off X for a little and lets dig in.”
Wunderler is a plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit filed in New Jersey against Baffert by several horseplayers who allege they were “cheated” out of winnings when Medina Spirit won the Kentucky Derby while carrying a prohibited substance in his system on race day. A second, similar lawsuit filed in Kentucky, was dismissed earlier this year.
The post Baffert Sues Social Media Personalities Swift Hitter, Barshoelife For Extortion, Defamation appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
