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Reports: Judge Could Rule on Zedan Derby Lawsuit by End of Week

The lawsuit filed by Amr Zedan's incorporated racing stable to try and get Bob Baffert-trained horses un-barred from the GI Kentucky Derby could get decided by the end of this week according to several published news reports in the wake of a Monday hearing in Kentucky's Jefferson Circuit Court.

Ron Flatter of Horse Racing Nation reported that the judge in Zedan's lawsuit against Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) was “prepared to rule” on Zedan's motion for an injunction and/or on CDI's motion to dismiss the case entirely, but wanted to wait until the Kentucky attorney general weighed in on the constitutionality of a law that CDI is citing that is designed to prevent the filing of allegedly frivolous lawsuits.

Jason Frakes of the Louisville Courier Journal reported that John Quinn, an attorney representing Zedan, argued Apr. 15 that the decision to extend Baffert's previous two-year suspension was based on the “subjective opinion” of CDI's chief executive, Bill Carstanjen.

Matt Hegarty of Daily Racing Form wrote that judge Mitchell Perry “spent much of Monday's hearing drilling attorneys for Zedan on why the owner waited to file his request for a temporary injunction until April when it was known that Baffert had been banned through the 2024 Derby in July of the previous year.” Perry told Zedan's legal team that much of the relief they were seeking could have been issued at any point in the last 10 months after stating that the late hour of their request was putting 'an incredible time crunch on everyone involved, including this court.'”

Hegarty also quoted a lawyer for CDI, Thomas Dupree, as stating to the judge that Zedan was well aware his horses would not earn Derby qualifying points if they were under Baffert's care.

“He knew back in July of last year that if he kept Mr. Baffert as his trainer then his horses would not be eligible,” Hegarty's DRF story quoted Dupree. “Each time, he decided to stick with Mr. Baffert, knowing the consequences of his decision, and he now regrets that decision.”

After the Zedan-owned and Baffert-trained Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone in the 2021 Derby, Baffert was banned from CDI's properties for two years. A federal judge in February 2023 denied Baffert a preliminary injunction that the Hall-of-Fame trainer had sought to be eligible to race in the Derby. Last July CDI extended the ban at least through 2024. Baffert is not a party to this latest lawsuit.

Zedan owns the GI Arkansas Derby winner Muth (Good Magic), who would be among the Derby favorites if allowed to race.

It is unclear if a ruling in favor of Zedan would allow other Baffert trainees owned by different entities to also participate in the Derby, or if any lifting of the ban would also permit Baffert's trainees to enter the GI Kentucky Oaks.

After the hearing, a spokesperson for Zedan issued the following statement to TDN: “We appreciate the attention the Judge has paid to this case and we share the court's interest in definitively resolving these issues for the 150th Derby and beyond. We look forward to his rulings on our case.”

TDN also requested comment from CDI, but a spokesperson for the corporation did not respond prior to deadline for this story.

Next up is an Apr. 17 hearing.

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Payntdembluesaway Sprints To Victory In Claiming Crown Distaff Dash

All My Hart Racing, Inc.'s Payntdembluesaway dueled with 46-1 long shot Cat's Astray for a half-mile before putting that rival away and sprinting clear to a popular four-length victory in the $90,000 Claiming Crown Distaff Dash at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The Distaff Dash was the third straight victory on the program for jockey Paco Lopez including the $75,000 Iron Horse Kent Stirling Memorial with Blue Steel. Payntdembluesaway ($5.60), favored at 9-5 in a field of 12, covered the distance in :55.31 over a firm course.

“She runs the way she runs. There is no tactics or anything. She just breaks and runs. She's really, really fast, and she just loves to run,” winning trainer Jane Cibelli said. “Paco and I talked in the paddock and he said, 'What do you think? There's some speed in there.' I said, 'Paco, you've ridden her how many times? You know her better than anybody. Just when the gates open, see what she does.'”

Lopez has been aboard Payntdembluesaway for six of her eight career victories, including five straight from November 2019 to Jan. 28, part of the 5-year-old mare's six-race win streak. They broke alertly and immediately hooked up with Cat's Astray, going a quarter-mile in :21.67 and the half in :43.85, taking over the lead for good in mid-stretch and drawing away.

“That's exactly how she likes to run. She likes to sit on the outside of the speed and she was just running easily,” Cibelli said. “Paco wasn't asking her at all. She's just fast.”

Drop a Hint, at 19-1, emerged from a tight trailing pack to be second, with Beantown Baby third, Cat's Astray fourth, and Odramark fifth, separated by a head and two necks.

Payntdembluesaway returned to her winning ways after two consecutive off-the-board finishes, eight months apart. She was fourth after forcing the pace in the five-furlong Lightning City Feb. 24 at Tampa Bay Downs in Tampa, Fla., returning to be eighth following a wide trip over a yielding course in a 5 ½-furlong optional claimer Oct. 28 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

“You look at her previous races, and you think if she runs back to her races of last year then she wins the race,” Cibelli said. “But, that last race was disappointing. It was yielding turf and she was on the outside, but it was still disappointing. You [wonder], is she going to come back? She did.”

The post Payntdembluesaway Sprints To Victory In Claiming Crown Distaff Dash appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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PAHBPA Swats Back at Presque Isle in Counterclaim Over ADW ‘Money Grab’

In an ongoing dispute over whether Presque Isle Downs (PID) has been steering on-track patrons to make bets through advance-deposit wager (ADW) platforms controlled by its corporate parent and then not counting those bets as on-track wagers that provide better revenue for purses, the Pennsylvania Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (PAHBPA) swatted back in federal court with a Sept. 7 counterclaim to claw back at least $75,000 in disputed funds.

PID had fired the first salvo of litigation on June 24 in the form of a civil lawsuit that sought to block the PAHBPA's “unsupported allegations” from going to arbitration.

According to court documents, the horsemen and the track have been squabbling over this issue since February 2020, and went through 16 months of airing grievances via demand letters and committees without coming to a resolution. PID then took the matter to United States District Court (Eastern District of Pennsylvania) to try and block an attempt at arbitration.

Beyond the PHBPA's initial allegation that the purse account has been shorted at least $75,000 so far, any ruling in this case could be a precedent-setter that would determine how the betting revenue gets split moving forward.

PID's corporate parent is Churchill Downs, Inc., (CDI). The disputed on-track bets are allegedly getting steered to ADW platforms like TwinSpires that are controlled by another CDI-owned entity, the Churchill Downs Technology Initiatives Company (CDTIC).

Additionally, the PAHBPA had argued during the grievance process that the source market fee (derived from ADW bets made by in-state residents) that PID agreed to with CDTIC is too low in comparison to industry standards.

In its lawsuit, PID had countered that “PID does not own the majority of CDTIC. CDTIC is a separate legal entity from PID.”

The PAHBPA's Sept. 7 response and counterclaim states that “PID's purported declaratory judgment action is nothing more than an improper attempt to further delay resolution of PID's contractual breaches and cause PAHBPA to incur unnecessary legal costs and expenses.

“By way of further response, PID's ultimate parent, [CDI], through its subsidiaries, has employed similar tactics against horsemen's organizations like PAHBPA in other states. In any event, PID is not entitled to the declaratory judgment it seeks, as the underlying contractual disputes between PAHBPA and PID clearly fall within the scope of the arbitration language of the PID Live Racing Agreement…

“PID has breached and continues to breach the Live Racing Agreement, which breaches are the subject of the underlying claims PAHBPA has elected to submit to arbitration….PID has manufactured this 'controversy' over arbitrability out of whole cloth, and the complete lack of support for PID's strained positions indicates that PID's Complaint may have been filed for an improper purpose, particularly when viewed in the context in which PID commenced this action.”

The filing continues: “By way of example only, and upon information and belief, PID has purposely understaffed the wagering locations within the racetrack enclosure at Presque Isle Downs, thereby making it more difficult to place wagers within the racetrack enclosure and encouraging patrons to place wagers through PID's electronic wagering system instead.”

Back on June 24, PID's initial complaint stated that “PAHBPA's asserted allegations of breach are nothing more than a money grab without legal merit….PAHBPA's asserted allegations are an attempt to renegotiate through arbitration a long standing contractual provision, that with the benefit of hindsight and changed circumstances, they now disfavor.”

The post PAHBPA Swats Back at Presque Isle in Counterclaim Over ADW ‘Money Grab’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Warrior’s Pride Goes Wire-To-Wire In Gulfstream Turf Sprint

Trainer Antonio Cioffi was understandably thrilled with Warrior's Pride's gate-to-wire victory in Sunday's $100,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. but he was especially delighted to win a race named to honor the memory of the late and beloved racing official.

“I very happy to win this race, because when I came into this country Bob Umphrey helped me so much. At the time, he was the racing secretary at Calder,” said the Italian-born Cioffi, who emigrated from Venezuela in 2001. “I'm proud to win this race.”

The Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint, a five-furlong turf dash for 3-year-olds and up, wrapped up the Fourth of July Weekend stakes action that got underway on Saturday's Summit of Speed card, highlighted by Ce Ce's triumph in the $350,000 Grade 2 Princess Rooney Invitational and Miles Ahead's mild upset victory in the $200,000 Grade 3 Smile Sprint Invitational.

Warrior's Pride, a 3-year-old son of Poseidon's Warrior who was sent to post at 9-1, rocketed to the early lead as Caribou Club, the 8-5 favorite, and Ete Indien, the 7-2 second choice, got away slowly. The Cioffi trainee set fractions of :22.03 for the first quarter and :44.92 seconds for the first half-mile while maintaining a clear lead into the stretch under Emisael Jaramillo. Tiger Blood, the veteran turf sprinter with 19 career victories, made a late surge from off the pace but fell a neck short of catching the pacesetter. Yes I Am Free finished third, 1 ¼ lengths back.

Warrior's Pride earned a $25,000 'Win Only' bonus available to Florida-bred starters as well as the winner's share of the purse after running five furlongs in :57.30 over a 'good' turf course. The Umphrey score was Warrior's Pride's second turf victory in two starts on the grass. He captured the five-furlong Texas Glitter during the Championship Meet prior to finishing fifth in the 6 ½-furlong Roar on the main track.

“He's so speedy. This is the race for him,” Cioffi said.

The post Warrior’s Pride Goes Wire-To-Wire In Gulfstream Turf Sprint appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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