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Baffert Takes Stand In NYRA Hearing; KY Hearing Next

Bob Baffert testified for about 3 1/2 hours in Thursday's hearing to determine whether the New York Racing Association (NYRA) can exclude the trainer over alleged “detrimental conduct.” Much of the testimony consisted of exchanges between the Hall of Fame trainer and NYRA attorney Hank Greenberg, whose attempts to rattle Baffert were largely unsuccessful. The Hall of Famer stuck to what has been the narrative from his team since the issues of his repeated medication violations first arose–that each offense involved mitigating circumstances that explain why he wasn't deserving of serious sanctions.

During a marathon day of testimony, it was revealed by Baffert that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has finally set a date, Feb. 7, to begin to delve into the matter of Medina Spirit (Protonico) testing positive for betamethasone in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. Baffert said he was told of the hearing by attorney Clark Brewster. The Kentucky commission has yet to make any announcements regarding the date of a hearing over the Medina Spirit matter.

Typical during the NYRA hearing was the back-and-forth between Baffert and Greenberg on the subject of Gamine (Into Mischief) testing positive for betamethasone following her third-place finish in the 2020 GI Kentucky Oaks. Baffert has maintained that he gave Gamine the medication 18 days prior to the race when the rules only prohibit its use within14 days of a start.

“You ran a horse that was disqualified from the most important race for 3-year-old fillies in America, isn't that right? That is a very significant outcome, isn't it?” Greenberg asked

“That was an unjustified outcome,” Baffert replied.

Greenberg also brought up Baffert's announcement in November 2020 that he was hiring Dr. Michael Hore of Hagyard Equine Medical Institute “to add an additional layer of protection to ensure the well-being of horses in my care and rule compliance.” Hore later revealed that he never went to work for Baffert. Baffert said that the only thing that kept Hore from fulfilling those duties was the pandemic.

“You didn't do it Mr. Baffert,” Greenberg said of his promise to bring Hore on aboard. “True or not?”

“It couldn't be done because of COVID,” Baffert replied. “He was going to come in January but he couldn't make it.”

“Is that your way of saying, no, I didn't hire Dr. Hore?” Greenberg said in response. “You did not hire him.”

“He couldn't make it because of COVID,” Baffert said. “He couldn't get there until late spring.”

The hearing soon turned to Baffert's series of press conferences and interviews after it was revealed that Medina Spirit had tested positive. Greenberg alleged that Baffert's media tour hurt the sport because he brought up such things as conspiracy theories. For Baffert, his response marked a rare time where he did admit to some guilt. At the end of the hearing he said if he had to do it over again he would not have granted those interviews.

“I used the word 'cancel culture' and what I meant to say was 'knee jerk,'” Baffert said. “To say 'cancel culture' was a bad move on my part.”

But Baffert said he made such statements because he was under duress.

“I was pretty upset,” Baffert said. “That was just raw emotion, knowing that I did not inject that horse with betamethasone. I knew something was not right.”

When asked if he understood that what he said was harmful to the reputation of the sport, Baffert replied: “This was something that really hit me hard. This is the Kentucky Derby, the greatest race. This is a trainer's nightmare.”

Before Greenberg had his turn, Baffert attorney Craig Robertson led the trainer through a series of questions that included his take on what happened with Medina Spirit. Baffert reiterated his contention that the drug got into the horse's system not through an injection but through the use of a topical ointment, Otomax, to deal with a skin condition. Baffert, who, at first, said that it was impossible that betamethasone was in Medina Spirit's system, said he did so because it never crossed his mind that the drug could be present in a skin ointment. It's notable, however, that it clearly says on Otomax boxes that the ointment contains betamethasone.

Baffert acknowledges that the controversy has affected both him and his family and added that the horses taken away from him include Life Is Good (Into Mischief), who he called the “best horse training in America.”

“It's been rough and tough,” he said. “But it's one of those things where we know we have the facts and the truth. It's probably tougher on my children.”

The hearing started with testimony from Dr. Clara Fenger, a former state vet for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Robertson went through the various drug positives Baffert has been hit with and asked with each one if the drugs involved were performance-enhancing, able to mask any injuries and had any pharmacological effect. Fenger answered no on each occasion.

Next up was Dr. Steven Barker, the long-time director of the Equine Medication Surveillance Laboratory and state chemist to the Louisiana Racing Commission. Like Fenger, Barker said that none of Baffert's violations were particularly serious.

“There's nothing here that matches the rhetoric that has surrounded this case and the actions of NYRA,” he said. “None of this can be considered doping. None of this can be considered an attempt to affect performance. These are common therapeutics at extremely low levels.”

The hearing will resume Friday, with closing statements expected.

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‘Are You Calling Me A Liar, Sir?’ Fireworks On Day 3 of NYRA/Baffert Hearing As Dutrow Case Recalled

Wednesday's session of the ongoing hearing between the New York Racing Association and embattled trainer Bob Baffert finished with fireworks during the testimony of retired New York state steward Stephen Lewandowski.

NYRA concluded the presentation of its case just before lunch, and Baffert's attorneys called their first few witnesses in the afternoon.

Lewandowski was called on behalf of Baffert and, under questioning from Baffert's attorneys, said he had no dealings with Baffert on any integrity or rule violation issues in his time serving as a steward in the state. Lewandowski said he called Baffert sometime after he was suspended by NYRA to offer his support.

“I feel like he's been unfairly taken advantage of,” Lewandowski said. “He's never had any problems in New York.”

On cross examination, NYRA attorney Henry Greenberg questioned that point by Lewandowski, bringing up the controversy about Baffert's non-coupled entry in the 2018 Belmont Stakes. Baffert saddled both Triple Crown winner Justify in that race as well as Restoring Hope, who was piloted by Florent Geroux. Mike Repole, co-owner of Vino Rosso and Noble Indy, would later complain to New York Post writer Tom Pedulla that Geroux put in a “reckless” ride aboard Restoring Hope, possibly in an attempt to block some of Justify's competitors.

Headlines in the Post questioned officials' decision not to launch an investigation into the race. Lewandowski said that he eventually spoke to Repole but also that he did not recall Repole's complaint. He said he did not speak to Baffert about the incident, and said he did not recall subsequent media coverage questioning the stewards' lack of investigation. He also said he did not recall eventually reversing course and speaking to Geroux, nor did he recall a meeting with the other stewards, who Greenberg suggested disagreed with each other on the best way to handle the situation.

Then, Greenberg asked Lewandowski about his support of Rick Dutrow, who was suspended 10 years and fined $50,000 after one of his horses tested positive for butorphanol and three hypodermic needles were discovered in a desk drawer in Dutrow's office. Following his retirement in 2019, Lewandowski wrote a letter to the Gaming Commission and to the Queens County District Attorney saying that Braulio Baeza Jr., then a NYRA steward, told him the syringes were planted.

Baeza later denied he told Lewandowski this.

Baffert attorney Clark Brewster objected to the scope of Greenberg's questions but was overruled by Justice O. Peter Sherwood, the presiding hearing officer. As Greenberg asked about the fallout from Lewandowski's letter, Lewandowski became agitated and began shouting. The New York commission released a statement following publication of Lewandowksi's letter in the media. Lewandowski also said he heard from New York's Joint Commission on Public Ethics, though it's not clear in what capacity.

“How can they run something without even speaking to me?!” Lewandowski cried. “I know, NYRA does the same thing. They just decide to suspend Bob Baffert without even telling him. How is that right? You're an attorney, you tell me. … That's what you're doing to Bob Baffert. How about talking to him about charges in Kentucky that haven't even been filed yet. … If I were him I wouldn't answer any questions. … He's a person who has been so kind as to show his horses to everybody who asked. All of NYRA's executives went down there, and Bob pulled him out and they took pictures with him and did all that.

“I never went down there, and why? I thought it was improper to do that.

“And another thing about Rick Dutrow, I never spoke to him, before, until I retired.”

Lewandowski said he asked about how Dutrow could go about reapplying for a license, and passed that information along.

“It took six months to even get an answer from the Gaming Commission, whose job is to protect people like him, not hurt them,” Lewandowski yelled to Greenberg, who by then had stopped questioning him. “It's their job, that's what they're supposed to do. They're here for the people, not for purses. And nowhere and no how has these charges ever been … 10 years and $50,000 … and you know another thing? They took his $50,000. There was an ongoing push to get Rick Dutrow reinstated. They made him pay $50,000 and then here's a man who's totally destroyed. Has no money. Nothing. He's completely broke. They made him pay $50,000 and then told him he can't be licensed. … I would never do that to a licensee. I would never take your money when I know you can't work.”

As to the dispute in stories between himself and Baeza, Lewandowski let loose.

“Braulio Baeza, one of us is lying. It's either Braulio Baeza or me. Are you accusing me of lying?” yelled Lewandowski. “One of us is lying. Why would Braulio Baeza speak to me about Rick Dutrow, who he had nothing to do with. One of us is lying. And I'm not accusing anybody. But it's either him or me. And believe me, he said it to more than one person.

“…Are you calling me a liar, sir? Are you calling me a liar? I am not a liar … I thought Braulio Baeza was a good man. One of us had the information to help a man who was wiped out.

“…Braulio Baeza is not a nice person, no.”

Wednesday's session also included testimony from NYRA lead equine safety investigator Tony Patricola, NYRA veterinary services director Dr. Anthony Verderosa, general manager of NYRA Bets Matthew Feig, and vice president of marketing for NYRA and NYRA Bets Donald Scott. At the start of Baffert's case, testimony came from Hall of Fame jockeys Mike Smith and John Velazquez.

[Story Continues Below]

Wednesday's session opened with Sherwood chastising Baffert attorney Brewster for providing a statement to media about Tuesday's proceedings. Greenberg entered the Paulick Report's recap of the Jan. 25 hearing into the record because it contained the statement, distributed on behalf of Brewster by public relations and crisis communications firm Trident DMG. Greenberg called the statement “highly unprofessional at best.”You can find the Jan. 25 recap here.
Baffert attorney W. Craig Robertson said he had nothing to do with the statement.

Brewster tried to say Greenberg posted similar content on his firm's website. This publication has not received statements from the firm.

“Fortunately this proceeding is not going forward before a jury,” said Sherwood. “I'd be much more sharp-tongued if we had a jury here, sir. I do think these kinds of comments by a lawyer during a proceeding are inappropriate. I would ask you to restrain yourself.”
NYRA's attorneys had two primary focuses from witnesses on Wednesday: the potential for therapeutic drugs to impact pre-race veterinary examinations and injury, and the public reaction to Baffert's recent high-profile drug positive in the Kentucky Derby. Verderosa and Patricola both testified that therapeutic, permitted medications given outside time regulations could make their jobs more difficult in terms of identifying sore horses. They also testified to the danger posed to jockeys, grooms, and veterinary personnel by catastrophic injuries suffered on track.Baffert's counsel clarified that neither official had fielded complaints or themselves flagged horses for further examination from Baffert's barn on the basis they were unsound. (Baffert is primarily based in California and does not, according to Patricola, maintain a barn in New York year-round.) Robertson also pointed out that this summer, when protestors demonstrated their upset over the equine fatality rate in New York, Baffert did not have any trainees in the list of dead horses.
Both Feig and Scott agreed they received feedback from NYRA Bets customers following Baffert's announcement that Medina Spirit had a positive post-race drug test. Feig in particular cited a 20 percent increase in customer service queries on the day Baffert held his press conference, and continued with an elevated number of requests from players the next day.“We had a lot of questions regarding, 'Are you going to refund my wager because I bet on the second-place horse, Mandaloun?' or 'Are you going to give me the money I'm owed?'” recalled Feig.
Feig said there is no mechanism for NYRA Bets or any of its competitors to refund parimutuel wagers based on a change in race results after the race goes official. To date, Medina Spirit has not been disqualified from the Kentucky Derby.

Feig said he also heard from customers with queries or complaints about other trainers, any time there are headlines about an integrity issue. That includes Linda Rice, who had her license suspended by the New York Gaming Commission but who is still permitted to race at NYRA while she is appealing that case.
Feig also said that in the course of applying for the required licenses for NYRA Bets to take wagers from customers outside New York, the organization gets a fair number of questions from regulators about various aspects of its business, including finances, policy, and integrity proceedings. The organization also deals with banks and credit card companies to enable it to do business. Feig said that he did get questions “in passing” about the Baffert situation after the announcement of Medina Spirit's positive from regulators, financial entities, underwriters, and banking institutions. Regulators did not ask him questions about Rice or Wayne Potts, who is currently being investigated by NYRA.
Robertson was interested in the fact NYRA Bets saw a wagering record during the time Baffert was permitted to run horses at Saratoga. He and Feig examined handle figures for a couple of races in which Baffert trained entrants. Feig pointed out that one was a stakes race, which usually gets higher handle than non-stakes races, and the other was the start of the Pick 5 and Pick 6. Typically, Feig said he projects and analyzes handle based upon the number of entries and the wagering menu for that race; trainer of entrants don't normally factor into his forecasts.
Jockeys Mike Smith and John Velazquez testified on Baffert's behalf, saying they have always felt safe riding his horses and agreeing they would like to ride more for him. Both said they did not believe Baffert is a threat to the integrity of racing, nor have they ever witnessed Baffert do anything against the rules of racing during their time spent in his barn.

The post ‘Are You Calling Me A Liar, Sir?’ Fireworks On Day 3 of NYRA/Baffert Hearing As Dutrow Case Recalled appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘A Wrecking Ball … To Integrity’: Lawyers For Baffert, NYRA Trade Barbs On Day One Of Exclusion Hearing

There's going to be a lot to unpack in this week's hearing of the New York Racing Association versus trainer Bob Baffert.

In opening statements made by attorneys for the respective sides on Jan. 24, representatives of each made clear that they see a key two-year period in Baffert's career very differently.

Henry M. Greenberg, shareholder in Greenberg Traurig and attorney for NYRA, laid out the organization's frustration with Baffert's recent history of therapeutic drug violations and also his handling of those violations in the national and trade media, highlighting what NYRA sees as a refusal to consistently accept responsibility for those violations.

“What this case is about and what the evidence will show is how one man — this man, the respondent — took a wrecking ball over a one-year period to the integrity of the sport that was so good to him for so many years,” said Greenberg. “He sullied and soiled, in one year, 365 days, three of the great races in America — the Arkansas Derby, the Kentucky Oaks, and the Kentucky Derby. Throughout that period, not once did he take responsibility for his actions, did he express contrition. Time and again, again and again, six times, he would blame others to try to avoid responsibility for his own actions.

“In 2020 and 2021, the only Triple Crown he's responsible for is destroying three Grade 1 races.”

On the first day of the hearing, Greenberg tracked the changes in Baffert's responses to Medina Spirit's post-Kentucky Derby betamethasone overage in the national media — from the trainer denying the horse received the drug at all in a press conference he called after learning of the overage to his insistence days later that the overage was due to the administration of a topical ointment — as well as his representations that other overages, such as Gamine and Charlatan's lidocaine tests in Arkansas and Merneith's dextrorphan test in California, were due to environmental contamination.

“The evidence will show NYRA had an obligation to act,” Greenberg said. “It had an obligation to protect the sport of Thoroughbred racing and its integrity … Racetrack operators like NYRA and Churchill Downs have a social license, you will hear, with the public.”

Attorneys for Baffert say NYRA's objections are overblown and beyond the organization's authority.

“The facts in these case are going to be nothing like what you just heard,” said W. Craig Robertson in his opening statement, following Greenberg's. “Bob Baffert is one of the most respected individuals in racing not just now, but in all time. NYRA, which they've just started, is going to throw at you innuendo, speculation and downright distortions. What I'm going to focus on are facts.”

Robertson pointed out that the drug positives at the heart of NYRA's case — six picked up in a span of 14 months from July 2019 to September 2020 — are for therapeutic substances whose thresholds are measured in small concentrations. Further, he said, racetracks should not be allowed to take regulatory action against a licensee.

“The actions being taken by NYRA are unprecedented,” he said. “You're the only thing standing between NYRA and [this suspension] happening.

“I'm not asking that you treat him any better than any other trainer. I'm just asking that you don't treat him any worse.”

Robertson also chastised NYRA for taking action against Baffert before a ruling has been made in the Kentucky Derby betamethasone case. According to Baffert's attorneys, no hearing has yet taken place in that case before the Kentucky stewards. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission would not confirm to the Paulick Report last week whether one had been scheduled yet.

Only one witness was called to the stand in the first day of testimony — Rick Goodell, a regulatory attorney who has represented the New York State Gaming Commission in many drug and other rule violations cases over the past 20 years. Part of Goodell's duties in New York were to recommend potential penalties for various rule violations, including drug violations. Greenberg asked Goodell to run through the list of Baffert's drug positives and respective penalties in the context of his experience working for the state of New York. In the case of a lidocaine positives, which comprised two of the six violations at question, Goodell said he would have expected to pursue a 45-day suspension in each case, but offer the trainer 30 for their first lidocaine violation if they agreed not to pursue an appeal. In the case of phenylbutazone, which accounted for two more of the six violations, he expected to pursue 14 but offer a trainer seven days' suspension if they agreed not to appeal.

All told, Goodell said a trainer with Baffert's record in New York would have racked up 240 days' suspension if he did not decline to appeal cases. Baffert did not serve days for any of the six.

(Those six overages were a phenylbutazone from a July 27, 2019 race at Del Mar; a phenylbutazone from an Aug. 3, 2019 race at Del Mar; two overages of 3-hydroxylidocaine at Oaklawn May 2, 2020; one dextrorphan in a July 25, 2020 race at Del Mar, and a betamethasone in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks in September. The Medina Spirit test is not counted towards the six since it hasn't yet been adjudicated.)

Goodell also said that by his reading of the current draft of proposed regulations of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), the same record in the same period of time could result in a suspension as long as 18 months.

Of course, as Baffert attorney Clark Brewster pointed out, none of these violations took place in New York under current New York regulations, nor did they take place under HISA regulations, which are still in development. It remains somewhat unclear what could have been called a positive in New York because Goodell said New York keeps a document with drug testing thresholds but that Dr. George Maylin, director of the drug testing lab for New York state, maintains the right to call a positive if he believes a sample indicates a drug was given outside the regulated timeframe, even if it's under the threshold.

Brewster and Robertson also suggested that NYRA's actions here could be motivated by key New York racing personalities who may be “jealous” of Baffert and his success, or tired of losing to him. Goodell maintained he was not qualified to speculate on that.

Goodell's testimony continues on Jan. 25. The hearing is projected to take three to five days total.

The post ‘A Wrecking Ball … To Integrity’: Lawyers For Baffert, NYRA Trade Barbs On Day One Of Exclusion Hearing appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Sides Coming Out Swinging in Baffert-NYRA Hearing

Attorneys in the hearing pitting NYRA vs. Bob Baffert made their opening statements Monday in what turned into a sparring session, with one side claiming NYRA Board members had a vendetta against Baffert and the other contending that the Hall of Fame trainer was responsible for a “rampage of doping violations” and is deserving of a temporary suspension.

The hearing, expected to last from three to five days, will determine whether or not NYRA's attempts to suspend Baffert over a rash of medication positives, including one in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, should be allowed. The hearing is being held before O. Peter Sherwood, a retired New York Supreme Court Justice. Baffert was present at the hearing.

Representing NYRA, attorney Hank Greenberg spoke first and zeroed in on the six medication violations Baffert accrued from July 27, 2019 through May 1, 2021, the date of last year's Derby, arguing that so many violations in such a short period of time was unprecedented.

“In the modern history of Thoroughbred racing, we can't find anyone who can recall anything like this by a prominent trainer,” Greenberg said.

Greenberg said that Baffert “took a wrecking ball over a two-year period to the integrity of the sport that was so good to him.”

He paid particular attention to Baffert's violations in the Derby, the GI Kentucky Oaks and the GI Arkansas Derby.

“In 2021 and 2020, the only Triple Crown he is responsible for is destroying three Grade I races,” Greenberg said.

After Baffert revealed that he had been informed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission that Medina Spirit (Protonico) had tested positive for betamethasone, the trainer conducted several interviews, and Greenberg said he never once took responsibility while chalking his problems up to a matter of “cancel culture.”

“He gets on the Dan Patrick Show, he's on SportsCenter, he's on Fox and his attacks on everyone continue,” Greenberg said. “He says he doesn't believe in conspiracy theories and then he begins to float one. The damage that was done to Thoroughbred racing on these two days was incalculable.”

Greenberg's assertion that Baffert's actions were damaging, not just to NYRA, but to the sport of racing was a recurring theme during his opening argument. He said that NYRA has an obligation to act and to protect the sport and that was among the reasons it was taking action against Baffert. To do otherwise, he suggested, could mean that horse racing could go the same way as dog racing.

“What happens if those institutions do not give their best effort or do everything in their power to protect the safety of the animals, in this case horses?” he said. “What happens is what happened to greyhound racing, which you no longer see. It's what happened to the circus, where there were lion tamers. They don't exist anymore.”

Greenberg said that a lengthy suspension was in order so that, “NYRA can protect racing, protect the horse, protect the jockeys and protect itself.”

Representing Baffert, attorney Craig Robertson argued that Baffert's violations were not of a serious nature and that using terms like “doping” when it comes to Baffert were inaccurate and unfair.

“I suspect that you are going to hear a lot of inflammatory words from NYRA,” Robertson said. “You're going to hear the words 'doping' and 'illegal substances' and 'performance-enhancing.' Nothing could be further from the truth. Everything you're going to hear, all of the matters that Mr. Greenberg is going to discuss, involve lawful, allowable therapeutic medications that are used every day. Doping refers to the use of illegal substances such as anabolic steroids to gain a competitive advantage. There will be no evidence of any of that in this case.”

Regarding his argument that none of Baffert's violations were of a serious nature, Robertson questioned why NYRA would seek to ban the trainer. He suggested that certain influential members of the NYRA Board of Directors were out to get his client.

“Why are we here? The short answer is we shouldn't be here,” he said. “The long answer is the only reason we are here is that there are a handful of NYRA board members that can answer that question. They have some personal vendetta against Mr. Baffert. Do they not like him? Or perhaps since they own horses that race in New York, they are tired of Mr. Baffert coming to New York and beating them in New York races and they want to eliminate a competitor. Only they can answer that question. Despite the fact they want to ruin this Hall of Famer's career, we asked them to come here to appear, to testify, to tell us why they are doing this to Mr. Baffert. They refused to show up. It's a sad day in horse racing and a sad day when they are trying to punish this good man.”

Calling Baffert, “one of the most accomplished and respected individuals in all of racing,” Robertson asked Sherwood to decide “enough is enough” and prohibit NYRA from suspending the trainer.

The hearing began with the two sides arguing over what could and could not be admitted as evidence, including the Saturday Night Live lampoon of the trainer.

NYRA called its first witness, Rick Goodell, a lawyer who was formerly with the New York Gaming Commission. Goodell was largely asked to explain some of the more technical matters involved in the case, like what is lidocaine.

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