Bob Baffert | Horse Racing Free Tips

Baffert Sues CDI, Carstanjen & Rankin Over Suspension

Trainer Bob Baffert has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky against Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI), CDI CEO Bill Carstanjen and CDI Board Chair Alex Rankin. Baffert is seeking a preliminary or permanent injunction that will enjoin Churchill from barring him. At present, Baffert cannot compete in the 2022 or 2023 runnings of the GI Kentucky Derby or any other races at Churchill or Churchill-owned tracks.

He is also fighting a separate action from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which suspended him for 90 days after Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive for betamethasone in last year's Derby.

“The notion that Churchill Downs, which is not even tasked with regulating horse racing in Kentucky, could unilaterally ban a trainer by an edict coupled in a press release without having the facts or any semblance of due process should arouse outrage in any fair-minded person,” said Baffert's attorney Clark Brewster.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Churchill issued a scathing statement, declaring that its fight against Baffert was about protecting the integrity of racing.

“The lawsuit filed by Bob Baffert is disappointing, but certainly not surprising,” the statement read. “His claims are meritless and consistent with his pattern of failed drug tests, denials, excuses and attempts to blame others and identify loopholes in order to avoid taking responsibility for his actions. These actions have harmed the reputations of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs and the entire Thoroughbred racing industry. Churchill Downs will fight this baseless lawsuit and defend our company's rights. What's at stake here is the integrity of our races, the safety of horses and the trust of the millions of fans and bettors who join us every year on the first Saturday in May.”

The Baffert side did not mince words, either. The lawsuit charges that “CDI has, with malicious intent, caused significant damage to Baffert's ability to conduct his customary business on a national scale. From context, it is apparent that CDI's targeted sanctions have the singular aim of destroying Baffert's career.”

The crux of Baffert's case against Churchill is twofold, that the ban deprives him of his right to due process and that only the state racing commission is permitted to issue a ban against trainers.

“Despite the prevalence of actual reckless and dangerous conduct by others trainers and owners (which have sometimes culminated in Racing Commission suspensions), CDI has arbitrarily and capriciously singled out Baffert for this baseless sanction in violation of Baffert's procedural and substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” the suit reads.

A federal court ruled that the New York Racing Association violated Baffert's due process rights when issuing a suspension of its own against the trainer. That forced NYRA to hold a hearing into the Baffert matter, the results of which have yet to be determined. However, NYRA is a quasi-state organization and the courts generally treat such an entity differently than they do a privately held company like Churchill. In most cases, private tracks can ban individuals and do so without due process.

On the issue of whether or not Churchill can ban an individual, Baffert's legal team is arguing that such a suspension can only be handed down by a racing commission.

“Baffert expressly agreed to cooperate with the Racing Commission's regulatory process when he entered horses at Churchill Downs and to submit to any penalties imposed after a final order issued by that body. Baffert's culpability, if

any, will be determined in that forum,” the suit reads.

The lawsuit also seeks to force Churchill to award points for the Kentucky Oaks and Derby in the event a Baffert-horse places in a prep race. Churchill has declared that all Baffert-trainees are not eligible to earn any points in the preps, still another factor that might keep Baffert's horses out of those races.

But even if Baffert can win this round in court that does not mean he will be eligible to compete in the Derby. In order to do so, he will also have to find a way through the courts to get a stay of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's ban, which is set to begin Mar. 8.

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Baffert: Without Stay, KHRC Suspension Will ‘Effectively Put Me Out of Business’

The connections of recently disqualified GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) took to a Kentucky court Monday in an attempt to keep their equine drug positive penalizations from being enforced while their case gets appealed at the commission level.

Trainer Bob Baffert is facing a 90-day suspension and $7,500 fine for now-deceased Medina Spirit's betamethasone overage in the 2021 Derby. Owner Amr Zedan has been ordered by the KHRC to forfeit his colt's purse winnings. But the DQ of Medina Spirit from America's most important horse race will affect both men beyond those penalties, their Feb. 28 court filings argued.

“If I am suspended, I will be prevented from entering horses to race anywhere in the United States,” Baffert stated in an affidavit that accompanied an amended civil complaint and a request for a temporary injunction against the KHRC's rulings. “This is because any suspension imposed by Kentucky will be recognized through the reciprocal arrangements between the racing jurisdictions of each state. Certain races only come around once a year and are limited to horses of a particular age. Every day that I am prevented from entering horses in races is one day of lost opportunity that I can never regain, and for which I will be harmed.”

Baffert's KHRC suspension is set to run Mar. 8 through June 5. He has appealed the Feb. 21 ruling. But on Feb. 25 the KHRC denied him a stay against enforcing the penalties. Such stays are a common–but not mandatory–practice at most state racing commissions unless the infraction is considered overly egregious or if the penalized person is deemed to be dangerous.

“Moreover, any suspension will likely have the effect of harming my business for a significant period of time much longer than the suspension itself,” Baffert stated. “The suspension will precipitate horses currently in my care–worth tens of millions of dollars–being moved to other trainers because their owners cannot allow those horses to be excluded from participation in the lucrative races. This will effectively put me out of business in all states.”

Monday's filings by Baffert and Zedan in part amended their initial June 7, 2021, complaint in Franklin County Circuit Court that initially sought an injunction to keep the KHRC from allegedly violating their due process rights. The new version Feb. 28 asked for four forms of legal relief:

“1) For an Order of this Court granting Plaintiffs' appeal pursuant to KRS 230.320(2)(f) and staying Stewards Rulings 21-0009 and 21-0010 pending their appeal; 2) For an Order of this Court granting Plaintiffs an injunction pursuant to Civil Rule 65.04 staying Stewards Rulings 21-0009 and 21-0010 pending their appeal; 3) For their costs herein expended, including reasonable attorney fees; and 4) Any and all other relief to which they may appear entitled.”

The amended complaint outlined for the judge how the process of appeals and stays is supposed to work, according to the plaintiffs' perspective.

“Typically, given the preliminary nature of a Stewards Ruling, the KHRC stays any implementation of penalties imposed therein until all appeals are exhausted and there is a final and binding decision. This is in large part because the KHRC recognizes that irreparable harm will be suffered by licensees if they are forced to presently suffer the consequences of a ruling that is subject to being reversed later. For example, a trainer who is forced to serve days of a suspension now cannot ever get those days back if the ruling imposing the suspension is subsequently vacated.”

At a later point in the document, it explained, “Absent a stay of the Stewards Rulings, Zedan will be forced to return purse monies and Baffert will be prevented from pursuing his chosen profession and enjoying the fruits of his labor through the exercise of his state issued occupational license, in addition to having his reputation tarnished.”

The complaint also raises a new issue: That the KHRC is allegedly exceeding the suspension time frame that it is allowed to impose on Baffert for this sort of infraction..

“Further, even if a suspension was appropriate (which it is not), the KHRC rules only provide for a 30-60 day suspension and not 90 days,” the filing stated, citing 810 KAR 8:030, Section 4(3)(a). “Thus, even in the light most favorable to the KHRC, the suspension is unlawfully long.”

As the plaintiffs put it, such a purportedly unlawful suspension would unleash a cascade of irreparable harm upon the Hall of Fame conditioner.

“The owners of the horses Baffert trains, many of whom are at the pinnacle of the global Thoroughbred racing industry, are currently making decisions to protect their ability to race at numerous upcoming races, including the Triple Crown. A 90-day suspension would prevent Baffert from participating in the Triple Crown. Any suspension of Baffert which impacts his ability to enter horses in races across the country, including the Triple Crown, negatively impacts those decisions…”

As Baffert put it in his affidavit, “In California, where I am based, any suspension over 60 days will require me to vacate my barns and remove all signage. As a result, I will be effectively put out of business.

“Graded stakes are the most elite races and a Grade I stakes race is the highest level of racing in the industry. Graded stakes generally offer the largest purses, and are intended to showcase the best horses in the industry. All three Triple Crown races are Grade I stakes races. A 90-day suspension will prevent me from participating in any of those races in 2022.”

(Note: The GI Belmont S., the third leg of the Triple Crown, is scheduled this year for June 11, which actually falls outside of Baffert's KHRC penalization period.)

TDN could not obtain a comment from the KHRC prior to deadline for this story. The KHRC in the past has reiterated that it does not comment on pending litigation.

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New Rising Star at Santa Anita for Quality Road

Baoma Corp.'s Ganadora (Quality Road), installed the 6-5 choice in this first go, slugged it out early with So It Would Seem (Honor Code), but was peerless in the stretch, running away to win by an impressive 6 1/2-length margin over 2-1 second choice Lady T (Into Mischief). Mixing it up through a sharp opening pace in :21.58 and :44.74, the $1-million KEESEP buy kicked clear turning for home and proved much the best late to earn 'TDN Rising Star' honors. So It Would Seem faded to second last. Ganadora is the 11th 'Rising Star' for her sire Quality Road and the fifth for that stallion hailing from the Bob Baffert barn. Three of the previous four Baffert-trained Quality Road 'Rising Stars', Corniche, Roadster and Klimt, have gone on to be Grade I winners.

The filly is out of Grade III-placed Beloveda (Ghostzapper), who began her racing career in Poland before being imported to the States. Gainesway originally secured the mare in partnership with Michael Hernon for $205,000 at the 2013 FTKFEB sale. Her 2016 Scat Daddy filly, SP Mistress of Love, summoned $1-million at KEESEP and her 2018 filly Hana Road (Quality Road) was a $450,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga grad before Ganadora gave the mare her second seven-figure sale. Gainesway bought out Hernon at the 2021 FTKFEB sale, where the mare hammered for $510,000. Beloveda is also responsible for a juvenile filly by Empire Maker and a yearling filly by Street Sense. She was bred back to Nyquist.

6th-Santa Anita, $69,912, Msw, 2-26, 3yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:17.15, ft, 6 1/2 lengths.
GANADORA, f, 3, Quality Road
1st Dam: Beloveda {GSP, $244,926}, by Ghostzapper)
2nd Dam: Mysterious Angel, by Saint Ballado
3rd Dam: Orange Sickle, by Rich Cream
$1,000,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $40,200.
O-Baoma Corporation; B-Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd, Brian Graves & Michael E. Hernon (KY); T-Bob Baffert.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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California to Honor Either Suspension or Stay of KY Baffert Ruling

As had been anticipated, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) will honor the 90-day suspension meted down to trainer Bob Baffert by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) if the trainer's legal efforts to block the suspension aren't successful in the interim, confirmed a CHRB spokesperson Saturday morning.

Likewise, the CHRB will reciprocate any stay on the KHRC's ruling “if granted by a court,” the spokesperson confirmed in an email.

Earlier this month, the KHRC handed Baffert a 90-day suspension and a $7,500 fine after Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive for an elevated amount of betamethasone, a Class C anti-inflammatory corticosteroid, after last year's GI Kentucky Derby.

If enforced, the suspension will run March 8 through June 5.

On Friday, the KHRC denied Baffert's request for a stay on the suspension. In the immediate aftermath of that decision, Baffert's legal team stated that they would seek legal intervention in court.

“Denial of the stay is consistent with arbitrary and capricious manner in which the stewards have ignored the facts and law in this manner,” said Baffert attorney, Clark Brewster. “Fortunately, we will soon procedurally eclipse the biased actors and have the ear of adjudicators that adhere to the rule of law instead of man.”

The basis of the CHRB's actions is rule 1484, pertaining to “Evidence of Unfitness for License.”

The rule 1484 states: “If any applicant for a license or any licensee is under suspension, set down, ruled off, excluded from the inclosure, or otherwise barred from any racing occupation or activity requiring a license, it is prima facie evidence that he or she is unfit to be granted a license or unfit to hold a license or participate in racing in this State as a licensee during the term of any suspension or exclusion from racing imposed by any competent racing jurisdiction.”

When it comes to what will happen to the horses in Baffert's care for the duration of the 90-day suspension, the KHRC ruling states that, “Entry of all horses owned or trained by Mr. Baffert is denied pending transfer to persons acceptable to the stewards.”

The TDN emailed and texted Marc Guilfoil, the executive director of the KHRC, for clarification on who the Kentucky stewards deem acceptable, and whether that includes Baffert's assistants, but hasn't yet received a response.

The relevant rules in Kentucky appear unclear on the specifics of the horse transfer process in this particular scenario.

The TDN also asked the CHRB for clarification on what would happen to the horses in Baffert's care in California if the stay is denied in court. “We are currently working through the legal analysis with respect to whether reciprocation requires enforcement of the terms of suspension under California rules or Kentucky rules,” the CHRB spokesperson wrote, in response.

The CHRB's spokesperson did, however, highlight language in the CHRB's rules guiding disciplinary actions in cases where licenses are revoked through medication violations.

The CHRB prohibits a trainer whose license is revoked because of a medication violation from being able to benefit financially through the period of their suspension.

“This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring that horses are not transferred to licensed family members or to any other licensee who has been an employee of the licensee whose license is revoked within the previous year,” the rules state.

Furthermore, trainers suspended 60 days or more are banned from all CHRB premises, for example, and must forfeit their stalls and remove from their barn areas all “signage, colors, advertisements, training-related equipment, tack, office equipment, and any other property.”

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