Baffert, Zedan Again Denied Relief in KY Court of Appeals

Two weeks after a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge denied trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan an “emergency” stay in their fight against the penalties levied against them by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) over Medina Spirit (Protonico)'s betamethasone positive in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, a separate three-judge panel denied a motion for interlocutory relief that will keep the case from proceeding any deeper in that same court.

The Apr. 15 ruling did, however, note that the judges' order was not a ruling on the merits of the arguments related to Baffert's 90-day suspension and $7,500 fine or Zedan's being stripped of both his Derby-winning status and Medina Spirit's share of the purse.

On Mar. 21, a Franklin Circuit Court judge initially denied the trainer and owner's request to force the KHRC to impose any sort of stay on those sanctions. Baffert and Zedan then decided to kick the Franklin court's denial up to the higher Court of Appeals on Mar. 24. When the appeals court judge ruled against the “emergency” request Apr. 1, Baffert and Zedan asked for further court intervention via requests for interlocutory relief and a chance to make oral arguments on their own behalf.

Separately, the KHRC had also filed to dismiss the entire proceeding, but that motion was also denied within the same three-judge ruling (which effectively stopped the case from going forward anyway with the denial of Baffert and Zedan's request for interlocutory relief).

“[T]he circuit court did not err in determining that the equities of the situation mitigate against injunctive relief,” the three-

judge order stated. “We echo the circuit court's assessment that 'it is imperative to ensure public confidence in the Commonwealth's signature industry'…

“[T]he penalties the Stewards assessed upon Baffert may ultimately be reversed [but] Baffert's interest in staying enforcement of the Stewards' Ruling does not necessarily trump the public interest in the integrity of Thoroughbred horse racing and the safety of the horses,” the Apr. 15 order continued.

Baffert is now two weeks into his 90-day suspension, which is being appealed at the KHRC level. Depending on timing, the suspension could very well run its course before that administrative process gets underway or even results in a decision.

The Hall-of-Fame trainer's legal team had previously argued in court filings that “Baffert's income from racing is almost entirely linked to a horse's performance in a given race. There is simply no way to conclusively determine how his horses would have performed in the races taking place during his suspension. Missing out on the prestigious Triple Crown races (and many others) in 2022 is irreparable harm to a trainer like Baffert as the opportunity to compete in them can never be regained and the lost opportunity is not subject to remuneration.”

The three-judge Apr. 15 ruling dissected Baffert and Zedan's motions as follows:

“Neither Movants' motion for emergency relief, disposed of by this Court's April 1, 2022, Order, nor their motion for interlocutory relief, advances any specific argument as to 1) how or why Movant Zedan Racing Stables, Inc., will suffer irreparable harm from the circuit court's denial of a temporary injunction; or 2) what particular interim relief Zedan Racing Stables, Inc., seeks from this Court…

“In the April 1, 2022 Order, the Court pointed out that the motions, as they pertain to Zedan Racing Stables, Inc., are lacking in these respects…. Despite the Court's drawing attention to these omissions, Zedan Racing Stables, Inc., has not filed a motion for leave to supplement the motion for interlocutory relief, nor has Amr F. Zedan moved to intervene herein. In light of this failure to act, the Court denies the motion for…relief as it pertains to Zedan Racing Stables, Inc., and will consider the motion with respect to Baffert only.”

The order continued: “The circuit court's March 21, 2022, order addressed two separate claims made by Baffert [but] the statutory procedure under [Kentucky state law] is a complete and adequate remedy in itself, thus undermining any claim that Baffert could have properly sought a temporary injunction in the circuit court…

“This Court lacks a sufficiently developed record to assess Baffert's contentions of error,” the Apr. 15 order summed up. “Furthermore, because we have concluded the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in finding that Baffert failed to show he would suffer irreparable injury in the absence of injunctive relief, resolving the question whether Baffert has shown a substantial question on the merits is not necessary to our decision today.”

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Baffert, Zedan’s Motion for Emergency Stay Denied

Bob Baffert and Zedan Racing Stables' motion to stay Bob Baffert's suspension has been denied in Kentucky's Court of Appeals. The decision was filed Friday afternoon and signed by Allison Jones, Acting Chief Judge.

In accordance with the California Horse Racing Board regulations, signage was being removed from his barn at Santa Anita on Friday afternoon, and his suspension is scheduled to start Monday, Apr. 4.

“Tthe motion for emergency relief under CR 65 07(6) is DENIED,” writes Jones in her opinion. “The Court emphasizes that it makes no determination of the merits of Baffert's contentions of error The underlying motions for interlocutory relief along with any additional, dispositive motions shall be assigned to a three-Judge panel of this Court following expiration of the response time prov1ded in the Civil Rules.”

“In his Amended Complaint,” the document says, “Baffert asserted two causes of action against the Racing Commission; (1) an appeal of the Racing Commission's ruling denying him a stay pursuant to KRS 230 320(2)(f), and (2) a claim for injunctive relief pursuant to CR 65 04. Having carefully reviewed the record in conjunction with the applicable statutes and regulations, the Court concludes that the statutory right to appeal to circuit court pursuant to KRS 230 320(2)(f) provides an adequate remedy at law, such that equitable forms of relief, including the requested 1 7 emergency stay, are presently unavailable. There can be no irreparable injury where, as here, the General Assembly has provided adequate administrative remedies.”

This story will be updated.

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More Confusion Added to Baffert Appeal Process

With the clock ticking toward the Apr. 4 deadline for trainer Bob Baffert's looming 90-day suspension, a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge now wants to figure out whether the original venue chosen for legal action last month by the owner and trainer of disqualified 2021 GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit constitutes the correct county-level court. Dick Downey of the Blood-Horse first reported on the judge's order requesting briefs from the movants (Baffert and Zedan) and the respondent (the KHRC) covering just that single issue to be filed with the court by Tuesday.

Because of overlapping uses of the term “appeal,” it has grown difficult to keep track of the status of what has now escalated to Baffert and owner Amr Zedan's intertwined administrative and legal cases against the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC).

At the commission level, Baffert and Zedan have already appealed the KHRC's penalties (the suspension and a $7,500 fine for Baffert, plus the forfeiture of Zedan's purse winnings from the Derby) that were handed down Feb. 21 in the wake of now-deceased Medina Spirit's betamethasone positive in last year's Derby.

But when a routine request to stay those penalties (pending the outcome of the commission-level appeal) was denied by the KHRC Feb. 25, Baffert and Zedan took the matter to Franklin Circuit Court Feb. 28.

A Franklin Circuit Court judge Mar. 21 rejected Baffert and Zedan's plea for a stay or temporary injunction to keep the penalties from going into effect, so the trainer and owner bumped up their request to the next legal level, the Court of Appeals, Mar. 24.

On Mar. 25, the Court of Appeals judge raised the out-of-the-blue issue of whether the underlying Franklin Court appeal originated in the correct venue in the first place.

As Downey reported, the question drills down to: Should the case have originally been heard in Jefferson County (specifically Louisville, where the Derby itself is run), Fayette County (Lexington, where the KHRC's offices are headquartered), or Franklin County (Frankfort, where the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet, the KHRC's parent organization, is housed)?

Even if Baffert prevails in this Court of Appeals attempt, he is still barred from having horses qualify for and run in the Derby based on a separate, private-party prohibition issued by the gaming corporation that owns Churchill Downs.

But Baffert is also fighting that banishment in federal court even while contingently transferring his Derby contenders to other trainers so they can try and earn qualifying points and enter the Derby.

 

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Kentucky Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal Of Farms From MGG/Zayat Case

A Kentucky appeals court has upheld a lower court's dismissal of several Thoroughbred entities from a civil suit between MGG Investments and Zayat Stables. The Kentucky Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the actions of Fayette County Circuit Court, which determined the New York investment firm could not sue the purchasers of stallions, mares, and stallion shares sold by Zayat.

MGG sued Zayat Stables in early 2020 after the investment firm said the stable failed to pay back a $23 million loan. Among its accusations against the Triple Crown-winning owner, MGG claimed that Zayat had sold off assets without informing MGG or giving the company the money it was entitled to from those sales. MGG had named Yeomanstown Stud, Hill 'n' Dale, LNJ Foxwoods, Orpendale, and others who had purchased bloodstock assets from Zayat.

Zayat Stables was put under the care of a third-party receiver, and as of early 2021 was down to two horses. Zayat Stables owners Ahmed Zayat has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy since the start of the MGG lawsuit.

Read more at The Blood-Horse

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