Bob Baffert | Horse Racing Free Tips

CDI: Baffert ‘Broke Rules, Must Bear Consequences’

Just days after the one-year anniversary of Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI)'s, ruling-off of trainer Bob Baffert over his repeated equine medication violations, the gaming corporation that controls the GI Kentucky Derby swatted back at the Hall of Fame trainer in federal court in an attempt to get a judge to dismiss a lawsuit initiated by Baffert that aims to reverse the two-year ban.

“For the past eleven months, Bob Baffert has tried to dodge accountability for drugging Medina Spirit,” CDI wrote in a reply brief filed June 6 in United States District Court (Western District of Kentucky, Louisville Division).

“He has brought legal challenges around the country, all of which have ended in failure,” the filing continued. “The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and the New York Racing Association (NYRA)–organizations Baffert admits have 'no skin in the game'–have independently reached the same conclusion as CDI: Baffert broke the rules and must bear the consequences.”

Baffert, whose horses have crossed the finish wire first in the Derby a record seven times, was declared unwelcome to race in the Derby or at any CDI-controlled property through the 2023 spring meet after post-race tests revealed his 2021 Derby winner, Medina Spirit, tested positive for betamethasone.

The CDI ban is separate from the under-appeal, 90-day suspension Baffert is currently serving for the Class C drug infraction ruling that was handed down in February by the KHRC.

“In this Court, Baffert has failed to defend the legal sufficiency of his complaint, and this lawsuit should meet the same fate as all his others,” CDI's filing stated.

The filing continued: “None of this misdirection works…. Baffert's lawsuit is a desperate and baseless attack on CDI's right to protect the integrity, reputation, and safety of the races it hosts. The Court should dismiss his complaint.”

Baffert doesn't see it that way. The federal lawsuit he filed Feb. 28 against CDI, its chief executive, Bill Carstanjen, and corporate board chair, Alex Rankin, alleged that Churchill Downs is actually a “municipal park” that counts as “public property,” and that CDI is purportedly restraining his ability to participate in interstate commerce.

Baffert also took umbrage with CDI's supposed “usurping” of the powers of the state racing commission to police the sport, and he alleged a “conspiracy” by CDI's higher-ups to “deprive [his clients] of their freedom to select their chosen trainer for their Derby horses while leaving the licenses of their own trainers unencumbered.”

CDI, in its June 6 rebuttal, described Baffert's legal approach as “free-wheeling,” adding that “he offers a jumble of factors that might bear on state action, propounding six different formulations in a single perplexing paragraph. The Sixth Circuit does not take this approach. It holds plaintiffs 'must prove' state action under one of three tests established by the Supreme Court.”

They are, according to CDI:

The Function Test–“Baffert fails to allege facts showing that horse racing has been 'traditionally and exclusively performed' by 'the government' in Kentucky.”

The Compulsion Test–“Baffert has not plausibly alleged that Kentucky compelled CDI to suspend him.”

The Nexus Test–“Baffert drains the thesaurus in offering various proposed formulations of state action, but he cannot satisfy the nexus test, which requires showing Kentucky was 'a joint participant in the challenged activity.'”

As for Baffert's assertion that Churchill Downs is a public space because CDI 20 years ago transferred its flagship Louisville facility to the city and then leased back the land as part of a lucrative redevelopment financing deal, CDI wrote that the track “is not a public park, and there is no constitutional right to race in the Derby or [GI Kentucky] Oaks. Baffert…remains free to attend races at the Racetrack, [but] there is no 'liberty interest' in competing in horse races at a privately operated track.”

The CDI filing continued: “Baffert has not even pled a coherent theory as to how the suspension restrained trade…. Even if the suspension could be deemed a restraint of trade under some other theory Baffert does not articulate, it would be evaluated under the rule of reason…which would require Baffert to establish that Defendants have market power.

“Here, however, Baffert does not even allege that CDI or Carstanjen compete in a 'horse breeding' market, let alone have market power in it.”
The filing continued: “As to Rankin, the complaint contains no plausible factual allegations that he exerts power over the purported market, nor could it, given that Rankin is just one among a universe of horse breeders in the United States and is not even alleged to have ever run a horse in the Derby or Oaks.”

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Bernardini Colt Lights Up Fasig Midlantic

A colt by Bernardini (hip 385), who advertised himself with a :9 4/5 work last week, ignited a bidding duel between West Point Thoroughbreds and bloodstock agent Gary Young in the Midlantic sale ring Tuesday. Young, doing his bidding out back while standing alongside advisor Charlie Boden and trainer Bob Baffert and on the phone with Saudi businessman Amr Zedan, answered every bid from the West Point team doing its bidding at the back of the pavilion to ultimately secure the colt for a sales-record $3.55 million.

“Obviously we thought he was a standout and other people did as well,” Young said. “Mr. Zedan was on the phone with me. Originally, we were going to go to $2.5 million, but he just kept answering. He said, 'Up to $2.5 million, it's yours. After that, you've got to have me on the phone.' I kept asking and he kept answering.”

The juvenile was consigned by Becky Thomas's Sequel Bloodstock on behalf of his breeders Chester and Mary Broman. He is out of G Note (Medaglia d'Oro), a daughter of graded winner Seeking the Ante (Seeking the Gold) and half to stakes winner Mineralogist (Mineshaft), as well as to the dam of this year's GII Rebel S. winner Un Ojo (Laoban).

“He did everything,” Young said. “He went :9 4/5 and in the videos, sometimes horses when they straighten up the backstretch they are pretty well spent, but he just kept firing up the backstretch. His third furlong was super.”

On behalf of Zedan, Young purchased a son of Uncle Mo (hip 206) for $2.3 million and a colt by Justify (hip 11) for $600,000 at the OBS Spring sale last month. At the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream, Zedan purchased a colt by Nyquist (hip 62) for $700,000.

All four purchases reflect Zedan's desire to get back to the GI Kentucky Derby, where he was represented last year by the ill-fated Medina Spirit (Protonico).

“You don't think of Bernardinis as :9 4/5 horses, as much as he's been a good sire for a long time, you think of horses that run longer,” Young said. “And that's what Mr. Zedan wants. He has Derby fever. That's his main focus. We will know in about five or six months how this turns out.”

Young said Tuesday's acquisition would likely conclude Zedan's 2-year-old purchases this year.

Hip 385 is the most expensive Thoroughbred sold at public auction in the state of Maryland, surpassing the $1.8 million set by Gamine at this sale in 2019. It was the eighth consecutive year that a horse selling at the Midlantic 2-year-old sale sold for seven figures.

Longtime New York breeders, the Bromans began selling select offerings as part of an estate planning program four years ago. The planning got a jump start with the $2-million Chestertown (Tapit), who topped the 2019 OBS March sale and is campaigned by a partnership that includes West Point Thoroughbreds and the Bromans themselves. Chestertown's half-brother by Into Mischief sold for $1 million at this year's March sale.

“It's huge,” Sequel's Carlos Manresa said of Tuesday's record-setting result. “It just goes to show how much the Bromans can be rewarded for the time that they have put into breeding these mares and keeping these families. It's especially wonderful to have Mr. Broman here for the sale. Whenever we feel like we have something that we think is really going to be exciting, he likes to be here for it. This was certainly an event that called for him to be here.”

Describing the colt's progression, Manresa said, “He's always been really calm around the barn. He is really well behaved and really well mannered. He gallops so calmly, but when we asked him to go fast, he went really fast.”

The colt became the first horse in a decade to shade :10 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds when he worked during last week's under-tack show.

“We knew he would go fast, we just didn't know he'd go quite that fast,” Manresa admitted. “We never expected a :9 4/5, but we were very pleased that he gave it to us.”

Manresa said the result was gratifying for the entire Sequel team.

“Any time you can be part of a horse that brings seven figures, it's really special,” he said. “Not just for me, but for everyone at the farm. Everyone is watching from home and they are all texting me and congratulating us, from the grooms, to the guy who does our track, to the blacksmith that does his feet every month. It's a wonderful team.”

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The Ageless One, Mike Smith Looking to Make Derby History

It was back in 1984 when a 19-year-old kid named Mike Smith rode in his first GI Kentucky Derby aboard sixth-place finisher Pine Circle. He was the youngest jockey in the race. The oldest was a legend, the then 52-year-old Bill Shoemaker.

Aboard Silent King, Shoemaker was riding in the Derby for the 23rd time. As for Smith, he was just happy to be there, not knowing when he would get another chance. He never thought that one day he would become the Shoemaker of his generation.

That's what Smith is. He is still very much in demand, particularly in the big races, and has become an iconic and respected figure who, into his mid-fifities, seems to be impervious to the ravages of time. Smith's accomplishments are very Shoemaker-esque, but on Saturday he will be out to do what Shoemaker could not, win the Kentucky Derby at the age of 56.

Shoemaker became the oldest rider in Derby history to win the race when he guided Ferdinand to victory in 1986 as a 54-year-old. A year later, he finished sixth aboard Gulch. In 1988, in his last-ever Derby mount, the 56-year-old Shoemaker was 12th aboard Lively One. He retired in 1990.

Thirty-four years have come and gone since Shoemaker set the record, a record that might be about to fall. Smith will ride Taiba (Gun Runner), the winner of the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby and a 12-1 shot in the morning line for the Derby.

“To even be mentioned in the same breath as Shoemaker is amazing,” Smith said. “All riders idolize him and if they don't they don't know anything about racing. If we could pull this off it would be something really special.”

The 1984 running was the only time Smith and Shoemaker competed against one another in the Derby. Smith didn't get another Derby mount until 1990. But he remembers other times he squared off against Shoemaker in races and the talks they had after Shoemaker had become a trainer.

“I rode with Shoe a few times,” Smith said. “Then I got to know him afterwards, when he was training and before he passed away. It was probably two weeks before he passed [Shoemaker died in 2003] that I had a long conversation with him. We were sitting in the jocks' room and we were talking about Azeri. He said that she was really bred for the grass. He said, 'Imagine if they ever tried her on the grass?' That was the last conversation I ever had with him. I was blessed to get to know him a little bit. He was an amazing human being. I never could have imagined that I might someday break his record in the Derby. I was just happy to know the man.”

Smith last won the Derby in 2018 with Justify (Scat Daddy). He was 52 then, an age where most jockeys have either retired or are mulling the end to their career. But not Smith. He mainly limits his mounts to the major races and is a fanatic when it comes to working out and taking care of his body. The results speak for themselves–he is still one of the top jockeys in the sport.

“I feel great and I'm doing great,” Smith said. “I keep working at it. Every race I ride I still feel like I am learning. I still want to win every race. The fire hasn't dwindled any. I keep myself in great shape. If you take care of your body and you work at it, you can still be successful at my age. You see that in all sports. Look at what Tom Brady is doing. He keeps himself in great shape and he's playing like it's his third or fourth year in the NFL.”

Late last year, Smith appeared to have his Derby horse. He won the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile aboard Corniche (Quality Road), who was later named 2-year-old male champion. But Corniche was slow to come around this year and his connections decided not to rush him in an attempt to make the Derby. Not only had Smith not secured a Derby mount, through the end of March, a losing mount in the GII San Felipe S. was his lone assignment on the year in a race in which Derby points were allotted. He hasn't missed a Derby since 2014.

Smith had worked Taiba when he was a 2-year-old, but when the colt made his career debut Mar. 5, John Velazquez was aboard. When it came to the Santa Anita Derby, Velazquez had to choose between Taiba and the more accomplished Messier (Empire Maker). He chose Messier, who wound up finishing second behind Taiba in the Santa Anita Derby.

“Yes, without a doubt, I was worried,” Smith said. “I didn't have anything up until the Santa Anita Derby when I was fortunate enough to pick up Taiba. But I felt that something big was going to come up. Not only do I get a mount in the Derby, but I got one with a colt who has so much talent.”

Taiba has a long way to go before he can be called the next Justify, a Triple Crown winner, but there are a lot of similarities between the two. Justify was trained by Bob Baffert and was lightly raced before running in the Derby, his fourth lifetime start. Taiba started out in the Baffert stable before being moved to trainer Tim Yakteen after Baffert started serving his 90-day suspension for the drug positive he received in last year's Derby with Medina Spirit (Protonico). The Derby will be just Taiba's third lifetime start. Both enter the Kentucky Derby off wins in the Santa Anita Derby.

“People always ask me, can you compare him to Justify?” Smith said. “He's one you can compare to Justify. Both are extremely talented and very intelligent. Though he's not as big as Justify, both are big chestnuts. They both have very high cruising speed. They remind me a lot of each other.”

Even Smith can't go on forever. When asked if he saw himself riding at age 60, he said that he did not. But he has no immediate plans to retire.

“I'm just waiting for it to tell me,” he said. “Should I stop now? Why would I? I feel like I'm still there, still helping. I don't feel like I am getting in the way, especially in these kind of races and with the younger horses. I still feel that I have a lot to offer. I'm going to do it until the day I wake up and God has told me it's time to call it a career. It's hard to say when that will happen. I know I feel good and am keeping myself in great shape. As long as I keep getting these opportunities I am going to do what I love. I'm having a lot of fun doing what I'm doing. I don't have the pressure of trying to be leading rider. Give me one or two really good horses and I am happy.”

Shoemaker won four Derbies. Taiba would be Smith's third. A win by Taiba could quite possibly be Smith's last in the Derby, meaning he would not equal Shoemaker's number. Then again, it's Mike Smith. What isn't possible?

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CDI Wants Baffert Suit Dismissed in Entirety

On the same afternoon that Churchill Downs took entries for the GI Kentucky Derby that included two horses formerly trained by barred trainer Bob Baffert, the gaming corporation that controls the Derby asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit Baffert had filed Feb. 28 attempt to get his private-property banishment by Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), overturned.

Back on Apr. 11, the same federal judge in United States District Court (Western District of Kentucky) had permitted Baffert to withdraw his motion for a preliminary injunction to allow him to enter horses in this year's Derby when it became evident that such a motion, even if successful, would have been trumped by a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) equine drug suspension that Baffert is currently serving.

But because the original lawsuit was also intended to fight CDI's two-year banishment of Baffert that runs through the 2023 Derby, the suit remains active despite the withdrawal of the motion for injunction. So on May 2, CDI took the next logical legal step by asking for the suit as a whole to be thrown out.

“This lawsuit is as meritless as all of his others,” CDI stated in its dismissal motion, alluding to court cases Baffert has initiated against the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and the KHRC. “Baffert's claims fail as a matter of law, and this Court should dismiss his complaint in its entirety.”

Baffert's flurry of litigation over the past year stems from now-deceased Medina Spirit testing positive for betamethasone after winning the 2021 Derby, plus Baffert's recent history of equine drug positives in major races.

Last May CDI barred Baffert from its properties. The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has also sought to ban the Hall of Fame trainer, but a federal judge has ruled Baffert can still race in New York while an internal NYRA exclusion hearing process plays out. Baffert also recently failed in Kentucky courts to get a stay of his 90-day suspension and $7,500 fine while those KHRC penalties go through a separate appeals process.

The Feb. 28 complaint alleged that CDI and its corporate officers and executives have, “without legal authority and without any notice or opportunity to be heard, 'suspended' Baffert's right to race horses on CDI properties, precluding him from practicing his chosen profession or using his license on CDI properties. CDI's actions also constitute an unlawful restraint on trade.”

CDI begged to differ in its May 2 dismissal motion.

“Whatever his theory may be, Baffert is wrong in contending that CDI had no right to exclude him,” the court document stated, noting that legal precedents have already established that Churchill Downs is “a private facility” that may “exclude whomever it desire[s] from the track.”

CDI laid out four specific reasons for the suit to be tossed out.

“First, the due process claim fails because CDI is a private corporation, the individual defendants are not government officials, and no one violated Baffert's rights in any event…

“Second, the 'unlawful exclusion' claim fails because Kentucky has never recognized a standalone tort of unlawful exclusion. Nor can there be tort liability where, as here, the tort claim is not independent of the parties' contractual duties. CDI has a well-settled common law and contractual right to exclude from its property and its races repeat offenders like Baffert who endanger the safety of horses and jockeys, and threaten the integrity of the sport and CDI's signature events.

“Third, the antitrust claims fail because Baffert does not allege antitrust injury. His argument is that CDI's suspension injured him; he does not plausibly allege that the suspension harmed competition in a commercial market–the type of injury the antitrust laws were intended to prevent. His claim of a conspiracy to restrain trade fails because he has not alleged an actionable conspiracy…

“Fourth, the tortious interference claims fail because it is well-settled Kentucky law that exercising rights under a contract–as CDI indisputably did here when it suspended Baffert–cannot give rise to such claims. Baffert also failed to allege facts that plausibly show Defendants acted with malice.

“This lawsuit is nothing more than Baffert's latest attempt to dodge accountability for his wrongful actions,” CDI summed up. “The Court should dismiss his complaint with prejudice.”

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