Rich Strike Was on Vet’s List, But Reed Says It’s No Big Deal

Rich Strike (Keen Ice), the winner of the GI Kentucky Derby and a starter in the upcoming GI Belmont S., was placed on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's veterinarian's list May 22 and did not come off the list until last Sunday. However, trainer Eric Reed reports that the horse's presence on the vet's list is not a cause for concern.

“He was on there because of routine stuff that we had a chiropractor work on,” Reed said “In Kentucky, with anything like that you have to report it to them. You have to report everything and I think it's going to get even stricter with HISA about to come in.”

Reed said that chiropractic work has been a part of Rich Strike's routine between races.

“We work on his back constantly,” Reed said. “He's a big muscular horse and it's part of what we do. We worked on him before the Derby as well. This is not a big deal at all. Beyond a doubt, he's fine and will be ready to go Saturday.”

Reed said this was the only time Rich Strike had appeared on the vet's list.

While still on the list, Rich Strike worked five furlongs between races at Churchill Downs May 30 in :59 flat.

To have a Kentucky Derby winner go on the vet's list just 15 days after his victory, does raise some questions. Why would a horse appear on the list after what seems like a routine matter? Do all horses that undergo chiropractic work have to appear on the vet's list? How long must they be on the list and what needs to happen for them to get off the list?

Answers were not forthcoming as it is the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's policy not to disclose any information about horses that make it onto the vet's list.

“The Commission does not discuss medical records and that includes veterinary records,” said Commission spokesperson Kristin Voskuhl.

Prior to the Derby, Derby starters Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), Charge It (Tapit) and Barber Road (Race Day) had spent time on the Kentucky list.

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CDI: Baffert ‘Broke Rules, Must Bear Consequences’

Just days after the one-year anniversary of Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI)'s, ruling-off of trainer Bob Baffert over his repeated equine medication violations, the gaming corporation that controls the GI Kentucky Derby swatted back at the Hall of Fame trainer in federal court in an attempt to get a judge to dismiss a lawsuit initiated by Baffert that aims to reverse the two-year ban.

“For the past eleven months, Bob Baffert has tried to dodge accountability for drugging Medina Spirit,” CDI wrote in a reply brief filed June 6 in United States District Court (Western District of Kentucky, Louisville Division).

“He has brought legal challenges around the country, all of which have ended in failure,” the filing continued. “The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and the New York Racing Association (NYRA)–organizations Baffert admits have 'no skin in the game'–have independently reached the same conclusion as CDI: Baffert broke the rules and must bear the consequences.”

Baffert, whose horses have crossed the finish wire first in the Derby a record seven times, was declared unwelcome to race in the Derby or at any CDI-controlled property through the 2023 spring meet after post-race tests revealed his 2021 Derby winner, Medina Spirit, tested positive for betamethasone.

The CDI ban is separate from the under-appeal, 90-day suspension Baffert is currently serving for the Class C drug infraction ruling that was handed down in February by the KHRC.

“In this Court, Baffert has failed to defend the legal sufficiency of his complaint, and this lawsuit should meet the same fate as all his others,” CDI's filing stated.

The filing continued: “None of this misdirection works…. Baffert's lawsuit is a desperate and baseless attack on CDI's right to protect the integrity, reputation, and safety of the races it hosts. The Court should dismiss his complaint.”

Baffert doesn't see it that way. The federal lawsuit he filed Feb. 28 against CDI, its chief executive, Bill Carstanjen, and corporate board chair, Alex Rankin, alleged that Churchill Downs is actually a “municipal park” that counts as “public property,” and that CDI is purportedly restraining his ability to participate in interstate commerce.

Baffert also took umbrage with CDI's supposed “usurping” of the powers of the state racing commission to police the sport, and he alleged a “conspiracy” by CDI's higher-ups to “deprive [his clients] of their freedom to select their chosen trainer for their Derby horses while leaving the licenses of their own trainers unencumbered.”

CDI, in its June 6 rebuttal, described Baffert's legal approach as “free-wheeling,” adding that “he offers a jumble of factors that might bear on state action, propounding six different formulations in a single perplexing paragraph. The Sixth Circuit does not take this approach. It holds plaintiffs 'must prove' state action under one of three tests established by the Supreme Court.”

They are, according to CDI:

The Function Test–“Baffert fails to allege facts showing that horse racing has been 'traditionally and exclusively performed' by 'the government' in Kentucky.”

The Compulsion Test–“Baffert has not plausibly alleged that Kentucky compelled CDI to suspend him.”

The Nexus Test–“Baffert drains the thesaurus in offering various proposed formulations of state action, but he cannot satisfy the nexus test, which requires showing Kentucky was 'a joint participant in the challenged activity.'”

As for Baffert's assertion that Churchill Downs is a public space because CDI 20 years ago transferred its flagship Louisville facility to the city and then leased back the land as part of a lucrative redevelopment financing deal, CDI wrote that the track “is not a public park, and there is no constitutional right to race in the Derby or [GI Kentucky] Oaks. Baffert…remains free to attend races at the Racetrack, [but] there is no 'liberty interest' in competing in horse races at a privately operated track.”

The CDI filing continued: “Baffert has not even pled a coherent theory as to how the suspension restrained trade…. Even if the suspension could be deemed a restraint of trade under some other theory Baffert does not articulate, it would be evaluated under the rule of reason…which would require Baffert to establish that Defendants have market power.

“Here, however, Baffert does not even allege that CDI or Carstanjen compete in a 'horse breeding' market, let alone have market power in it.”
The filing continued: “As to Rankin, the complaint contains no plausible factual allegations that he exerts power over the purported market, nor could it, given that Rankin is just one among a universe of horse breeders in the United States and is not even alleged to have ever run a horse in the Derby or Oaks.”

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TDN Snippets: Week of May 9-15

It was a relatively quiet week in the U.S. as everyone drew breath between Derby and Preakness, but the action came thick and fast in Europe. Here's what grabbed our attention over the last seven days.

From San Antonio to Longchamp…

Tony Parker, former San Antonio Spurs icon, was in the headlines Sunday as part-owner of Mangoustine (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}), winner of the G1 Emirates Poule d'Essai des Pouliches. Parker, who joins a growing list of sports stars involved in horse ownership in France, won four NBA championships (2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014) with the Spurs. His number nine jersey was also retired.

Never-Ending Success…

We the People is the second consecutive son of Constitution to win the GII Peter Pan S., following Promise Keeper last year. He's also bred on the same cross as the stallion's best son, Tiz the Law, whose quartet of Grade I wins includes the Belmont S. Although it should be noted that was the year it was run at 1 1/8 miles as the first leg of the Triple Crown in 2020.

2022, No More Drama…

It was reported last week, by the KHRC, that the post-race tests for banned substances in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Longines Kentucky Oaks horses were cleared. Onwards and upwards.

The World's Greatest?…

Trainer William Haggas didn't quite go that far, after Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire})'s seventh win on the spin, but he also didn't really dismiss it. “I would not go as far as to say he is the best horse in the world–that is the sort of thing others might say–but he has done very well.” Either way, it's worth watching his latest romp in the G1 Al Shaqab Lockinge S. on repeat. Enjoy.

All That Glitters Is Gold For Brant…

She may have cost €3-million when purchased by Michel Zerolo's Oceanic Bloodstock at Arqana in December, and Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) will have far bigger goals than Saturday's GIII Beaugay S. at Belmont, but she's off to a good start for Chad Brown and new owners Peter Brant and Michael Tabor. Brant is on a terrific run at the moment, which is great to see for such a staunch supporter of the game.

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Derby, Oaks Post-Race Tests Clear

The post-race tests for banned substances in GI Kentucky Derby and GI Longines Kentucky Oaks horses have cleared, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission announced Wednesday.

“The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) has received laboratory results from post-race samples taken on May 6, and May 7, 2022, at Churchill Downs,” said the KHRC press release. “All samples for both days were cleared. This includes the post-race samples from the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby.”

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