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Justify, Hoppertunity Case Will Be Heard Before Stewards

The connections of Justify and Hoppertunity were unsuccessful in their attempt to obtain a temporary restraining order to stop the California Board of Stewards from holding a hearing regarding the disqualifications of those horses due to scopolamine positives in 2018, and the hearing will go forward as planned, according to a press release from Darrell Vienna, the attorney representing Mick Ruis.

Trainer Bob Baffert, and the owners and two jockeys who rode the undefeated 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify and the MGISW Hoppertunity, had filed a legal petition against the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) Oct. 13, alleging that the CHRB’s recent decision to reopen hearings on two scopolamine positives from those horses in 2018 amounts to “arbitrary, capricious, and unlawful conduct” that purportedly targets Baffert and his clients unfairly while supposedly damaging the horses’ reputations as stallions.

“The Honorable James C. Chalfant denied the ex parte application of the Justify and Hoppertunity interests clearing the way for a hearing before the Board of Stewards on the potential disqualification of both horses,” read the press release from Vienna. “The court found that there was no legal basis stated in the moving papers which warranted stopping the Stewards’ hearing.”

Ruis is the owner and trainer of Bolt d’Oro, the runner-up in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby behind Justify. Ruis has sued the CHRB alleging that the initial dismissal of all seven cases of scopolamine positives led Ruis to suffer the loss of purse money when Justify was not disqualified and the purse was not redistributed.

Hoppertunity, also trained by Baffert, had a positive scopolamine test after the 2018 GIII Tokyo City Cup S at Santa Anita, two of seven such positives at the time that were dismissed as environmental contamination.

The petition, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, sought a judgment, injunction, and “peremptory writ of mandate commanding Respondent CHRB to dismiss the Complaints filed against Petitioners and cancel all hearings on the matter.”

“We are pleased that Judge Chalfant saw through this flimsy attempt to delay or avoid a long overdue and proper treatment of the positive tests involving these two horses,” said Vienna.

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Appeals Court Overturns Fipke’s 2017 BC Double Jockey Ruling

Nearly three years ago, the Johnny Velazquez-ridden Forever Unbridled (Unbridled’s Song) produced a performance in the $2-million GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar resounding enough to catapult her toward Champion Older Dirt Female honors at the subsequent Eclipse Awards.

The sweet taste of victory had been somewhat soured for owner Charles Fipke, however, due to a prior California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) stewards double jockey fee ruling which required him to pay Joel Rosario $100,000 as a result of the victory.

In the race entries, Rosario had been named Forever Unbridled’s intended rider. But because of what Fipke deemed a poor ride on one of his horses–among other issues with the jockey, according to court documents–Rosario was removed prior to the draw and Velazquez was named Forever Unbridled’s rider instead.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge upheld that ruling, but, on Monday, it was reversed in a 19-page California 2nd District Court of Appeals ruling.

“They exceeded their authority, even though they’ve been doing it for a long time,” said Darrell Vienna, who represented Fipke, of the CHRB stewards double jockey fee decision.

Vienna said that “scores” of prior double jockey fee rulings are usually for much less significant races, and typically result in a nominal fine of between $500 to $1,000.

“That’s why Mr. Fipke wanted to go forward,” said Vienna. “He wasn’t just fighting for himself, but he was trying to give the owners some understanding of what their obligations, and the limits of those obligations, were.”

As a result of the appeals court ruling, the CHRB is ordered to return those costs to Fipke, a noted diamond explorer.

CHRB spokesperson Mike Marten said that the board has no comment on the ruling.

In a nutshell, the case hinged around language in section 19500 of the CHRB rules, which delineates when jockeys are entitled to their riding fees and/or their mount fees if they’re removed from an intended ride.

“Although section 19500 grants CHRB considerable discretion to determine the circumstances under which a jockey removed from a mount is entitled to a riding fee, it imposes one implicit condition on the exercise of that discretion: the removal must occur after ‘scratch time,'” according to the appeals court decision, filed Monday.

“Had the Legislature not intended to impose such a condition, it could have provided a single direction to CHRB to establish the circumstances under which a jockey is entitled to receive a riding fee and/or a mount fee when removed from a mount,” the decision continued.

“The Legislature instead chose to direct CHRB to separately address situations where a jockey is removed before and after scratch time; only in the latter circumstance did it specify the jockey might be entitled to a riding fee. The clear implication of this decision is that the Legislature intended jockeys removed from their mounts prior to scratch time would not be entitled to riding fees.”

The CHRB argued that the statute is “irrelevant because it concerns jockey compensation, whereas here, the stewards awarded the double jockey fee as a penalty for Fipke’s misconduct,” according to the appeals court ruling.

During the prior superior court hearing, however, the CHRB had argued that the double jockey fee was “not a penalty” to punish Fipke, but rather an award to Rosario to “compensate him” for losing the mount.

“We agree with CHRB’s initial position, as do Rosario and Fipke. For the reasons we discuss below, the double jockey fee award was not a penalty,” Monday’s appeals court decision states.

In a text message Monday, Ron Anderson, Rosario’s agent, wrote that neither he nor Rosario had a comment about the decision.

In a press release Monday, attorney Carlo Fisco, who also represented Fipke, wrote: “The law appeared to be clearly and straightforwardly in Mr. Fipke’s favor. Therefore Mr. Fipke must be commended for staying the course in seeking a fair and just decision. Owners now have a level of protection going forward and the industry also stands to gain from the clarification supplied by the appellate court.”

In the release, Fipke stated: “I pursued this case because I believe that horse owners have the right to make decisions regarding their horses and ensure that I and other horse owners are neither denied that right nor subjected to arbitrary and unfair sanctions for exercising that right.”

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CHRB Votes to Settle Justify Santa Anita Derby Case

Mick Ruis has announced that he has reached an agreement in principle with the California Horse Racing Board regarding a settlement of pending litigation in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The preliminary agreement is intended to resolve claims against the CHRB for failure to hold a purse disqualification hearing related to the 2018 GI Santa Anita Derby, in which the first-place finisher and subsequent Triple Crown winner, Justify, tested positive for the prohibited substance scopolamine. Bolt d’Oro, owned and trained by Ruis, finished second.

Members of the CHRB, the state agency charged with regulation of California horse racing, voted in favor of settlement at a recent closed session. Attorneys for the respective parties are finalizing the exact terms of the agreement and expect it to be completed in the coming days, according to a press release from Ruis’s attorney, Darrell Vienna.

The agreement would include a provision that the CHRB will file a complaint against the owners of Justify and conduct a purse disqualification hearing.

CHRB spokesperson Mike Marten said, “Mick Ruis’ lawsuit against the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) is still active, ongoing litigation. At this point, no settlement has been signed, and because it is ongoing litigation, the CHRB has no further comment.”

The detection of the prohibited substance scopolamine in the official test collected from Justify following the running of the 2018 Santa Anita Derby was confirmed by a split sample test requested by Justify’s connections.
CHRB rule 1859.5 requires forfeiture of purse and disqualification of a horse that tests positive for a class 1-3 prohibited substance regardless of the trainer’s responsibility.

“I am pleased that the leadership of this newly constituted CHRB appointed by Governor Newsom has taken seriously the Governor’s intention to ‘hold the group accountable on matters of drugs, safety, and integrity.’ It is only fair that the current CHRB voted to finally have a hearing related to the Justify matter. This settlement would be a major step toward restoring public confidence in the CHRB,” Ruis said.

Ruis continued, “This legal action was never just about the purse money, I wanted to stand up for what’s right and to make sure that every horseman, from the little guy to Bob Baffert, is treated fairly and equally. I commend the current CHRB for reviewing this matter and look forward concluding negotiations regarding a public hearing.”

“It has been a pleasure to work with Mr. Ruis,” Vienna said. “He is an individual who truly believes and has proven
that one man can make a difference. We look forward to presenting the agreement with the CHRB to the court so we can resolve the litigation.”

Vienna told TDN that the agreement would be “in exchange for the dismissal of the entire litigation,” including any possible damages.

Vienna added that a separate hearing under the trainer “insurer rule” would provide Baffert “an opportunity to clearly prove whether or not this was environmental contamination.”

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CHRB To Hold Hearing On 2018 Justify Scopolamine Positive As Part Of Settlement With Bolt d’Oro Owner

The following press release was distributed to media Friday by Darrel Vienna, counsel for owner Mick Ruis:

Mick Ruis announced today that he has reached an agreement in principle with the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) regarding a settlement of pending litigation in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The preliminary agreement is intended to resolve claims against the CHRB for failure to hold a purse disqualification hearing related to the 2018 Santa Anita Derby in which the first place finisher, Justify, tested positive for the prohibited substance scopolamine. Members of the CHRB, the state agency charged with regulation of California horse racing, voted in favor of settlement at a recent closed session. Attorneys for the respective parties are finalizing the exact terms of the agreement and expect it to be completed in the coming days.

The agreement would include a provision that the CHRB will file a complaint against the owners of Justify and conduct a purse disqualification hearing. The detection of the prohibited substance scopolamine in the official test collected from Justify following the running of the 2018 Santa Anita Derby was confirmed by a split sample test requested by Justify's connections. CHRB rule 1859.5 requires forfeiture of purse and disqualification of a horse that tests positive for a Class 1 – 3 prohibited substance regardless of the trainer's responsibility.

“I am pleased that the leadership of this newly constituted CHRB appointed by Governor Newsom has taken seriously the Governor's intention to 'hold the group accountable on matters of drugs, safety, and integrity.' It is only fair that the current CHRB voted to finally have a hearing related to the Justify matter. This settlement would be a major step toward restoring public confidence in the CHRB,” said Mick Ruis, the owner of Bolt d'Oro, who finished second in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby.

The prior CHRB departed from its standard procedures when it refused to file a complaint following the split sample confirmation of scopolamine in Justify's official sample. The prior CHRB swept the Justify matter under the rug by dismissing the matter in a closed session in August of 2018 where it remained until Joe Drape uncovered the scandal in an article published in the New York Times in September of 2019.

“This legal action was never just about the purse money, I wanted to stand up for what's right and to make sure that every horseman, from the little guy to Bob Baffert, is treated fairly and equally” Ruis said. “I commend the current CHRB for reviewing this matter and look forward concluding negotiations regarding a public hearing.”

Ruis is represented by attorneys Darrell Vienna and Carlo Fisco.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Mr. Ruis. He is an individual who truly believes and has proven that one man can make a difference,” said Vienna. “We look forward to presenting the agreement with the CHRB to the court so we can resolve the litigation.”

Carlo Fisco added “This decision was a no-brainer for the CHRB,” added Fisco. “It's very encouraging for racing in California to see this new board being able to make the obvious and positive move, a task that the old board found to be, for some unknown reason, too daunting.”

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