lawsuit | Horse Racing Free Tips

Baffert Files New York Lawsuit Claiming NYRA Has No Legal Authority For Suspension

Bob Baffert has filed a lawsuit against the New York Racing Association in United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News, seeking to overturn NYRA's May 17 decision to not accept his entries or allow him stall space.

Patrick McKenna, NYRA's Senior Director of Communications, issued the following statement Monday: “On May 17, the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) temporarily suspended Bob Baffert from entering horses in races and occupying stall space at Belmont Park, Saratoga Race Course and Aqueduct Racetrack. NYRA took this action to protect the integrity of the sport for our fans, the betting public and racing participants following Mr. Baffert's public acknowledgement that the Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone, a banned corticosteroid.

“In making the determination to temporarily suspend Mr. Baffert, NYRA took into account the fact that other horses trained by Mr. Baffert have failed drug tests in the recent past, resulting in the assessment of penalties against him by thoroughbred racing regulators in Kentucky, California, and Arkansas.

“NYRA will vigorously defend the action it has taken in this matter.”

The lawsuit, filed by attorney Craig Robinson, argues that NYRA does not have the legal authority to suspend Baffert. It alleges that while NYRA is a non-profit corporation, it “is specifically governed by the New York law that grants it the exclusive franchise to conduct live Thoroughbred racing and simulcasting at the state-owned racetracks on behalf of the state, from which the state derives substantial revenue.”

As such, the suit contends, the only entity with the authority to suspend Baffert is the New York State Gaming Commission. That, in turn, would mean that Baffert is protected from violations of his right to due process, which the suit alleges would include suspending the trainer prior to the completion of the Medina Spirit investigation by the Kentucky State Horse Racing Commission.

The suit reads: “Specifically, Baffert maintains a right to rely upon and use his New York State occupational trainer's license that was duly issued to him without limitation by the New York State Gaming Commission (the “Gaming Commission”); NYRA has, without legal authority, and without any notice or opportunity to be heard, attempted to indefinitely suspend Baffert's trainer's license issued by the Gaming Commission, thereby preventing Baffert from practicing in his chosen profession or using his state-issued license on state-owned property.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

The post Baffert Files New York Lawsuit Claiming NYRA Has No Legal Authority For Suspension appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Horsemen File Suit Against New Mexico Racing Commission

Edited Press Release

The New Mexico Horsemen's Association has taken additional legal action against the New Mexico Racing Commission after the regulatory body ordered the defunding of the organization that represents about 4,000 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse owners and trainers in the state.

On May 20, the racing commission ordered tracks to withhold the 1% of purse money that goes to the horsemen's association for administrative costs, about $400,000 a year. Additionally, the commission ordered a halt to the $5 per-starter fee NMHA member owners pay toward medical expenses for horsemen and their employees, as well as a $2 per-starter fee utilized for legislative advocacy.

The horsemen's association responded three days later with its second suit in less than six months filed against the commission in the Second Judicial District Court in Bernalillo County. On Dec. 2, the NMHA went to court to ensure that the state's laws governing the distribution of purse monies are followed.

Horse owners have been charged a $100-$150 starter fee to cover certain track operation costs, including staffing the starting gate. The amount of money siphoned from purses to the racetracks dating to 2004 totals more than $8.4 million, which the horsemen's association is asking to be refunded to the purse account.

“I think we've been very reasonable in trying to negotiate settlements of litigation, and the commission has refused to negotiate in good faith” said Gary Mitchell, the attorney representing the horsemen's association. “It's a matter of people communicating, getting together, but the arrogance of the commissioners stands in the way.”

“This is a small state where we all know one another, as lawyers, as horsemen and as track owners,” Mitchell said. “There's no reason why somebody leading this couldn't get everybody together and say, 'We can iron out these problems.' We do need to figure out some way to insure jockey and exercise riders, outriders and people who work on the tracks, including grooms and such so these people will be safe and have insurance to cover their injuries and work loss. But we have no idea what the tracks are doing. We have no idea what the policies read. We just know that it's cost us a small fortune in purses, over $8 million.”

The post Horsemen File Suit Against New Mexico Racing Commission appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

New Mexico Horsemen File Suit Against Commission Over ‘Retaliatory’ Defunding Attempt

The New Mexico Horsemen's Association (NMHA) filed an immediate Appeal and Motion to Stay with the Second Judicial District Court in Bernalillo County on May 23 over action taken by the New Mexico Racing Commission (NMRC) at its meeting on May 20, 2021.

On that date, the NMRC unanimously passed a motion that the NMHA “is to immediately discontinue the practice of requiring its membership to pay the 1% purse diversion, the $5.00 Starter Fee and the $2.00 PAC [Political Action Committee] fee stemming from their participation in horseracing in New Mexico. The motion also is to instruct all five (5) racetracks to not provide those improper funds to the New Mexico Horsemen's Association.”

According to a letter written by NMRC in-house counsel Richard Bustamante, “stopping that improper diversion of purse money will translate to the addition of approximately $700,000.00 a year to purse money.”

The Commission's order cannot stand for several reasons, the court filing by the Horsemen alleges. They contend horsemen were not afforded Due Process, the commission has no authority or jurisdiction over donation by horsemen owners to the horsemen, and the order was made in retaliation.

According to the Appeal and Motion to Stay filed by the NMHA: “The true motive behind the order/directive is to deprive the Horsemen of all or a large portion of funding because the Horsemen objected to racetracks using 'purse monies' for operational expenses [insurance], Horsemen objected to the Commission canceling race meets and/or shortening race meets, Horsemen refused to pay from purse money the operational expenses of the racetracks, and Horsemen were demanding racetracks keep the tracks and backsides in good, clean and safe condition.”

In addition, the NMHA plans to amend its current civil lawsuit against the NMRC to include additional causes of action for both discrimination against the NMHA and for ethics violation of public officials based on alleged conflict of interests of commissioners.

On Dec. 2, 2020, the NMHA filed a lawsuit against the Commission seeking the return of more than $8 million it alleges the Commission has been collecting improperly from horsemen since 2004 to pay liability insurance for jockeys.

That complaint, a petition for declaratory judgement and relief, also alleges that the commission has improperly ordered horsemen to pay a “gate fee or starter's fee” every time a horse races.

“The costs of operating the 'gate' are and always have been an expense of the association putting on the race, that is a cost or expense of the racino and not the owner or trainer of the horse entering the gate for a scheduled race,” the complaint states, adding that “there is no provision in New Mexico law that allows the Racing Commission to access a fee to horsemen for the starter's gate.”

Finally, the Dec. 2 complaint alleges that the New Mexico Racing Commission improperly demands the Horsemen's Association pay a fee for a license. “The Horsemen's Association does not race horses, or train horses and is a benevolent, non-profit organization and no license is required,” the complaint alleges.

The commission subsequently filed a Motion to Dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim, to which the horsemen responded on May 3, 2021.

A portion of that response reads: “In a stunning admission, the New Mexico Racing Commission admits they have taken the Horsemen's purse money, and now suggest the Horsemen have no remedy, not even in the Courts of New Mexico. The Commission suggests the Horsemen can come to them and seek relief, which is akin to asking the fox to return the chicken.”

The response concludes: “Horse racing in New Mexico was saved when each racetrack was allowed to institute casino gaming. The plan, as set forth by statute, was that certain proceeds from casino gaming would go to purses for horse racing. Casino gaming was meant to save horse racing, not the other way around. The New Mexico legislature clearly wrote the money was to be used for purses. Purses are not defined as operating costs of the racetrack/casinos. The rule-regulation of the Commission is not in compliance with the statutes. There is no administrative remedy for the Horsemen and they have attempted, to no avail, to get the Commission to stop allowing racetracks/casinos to use part of the purse money for operating costs. The Horsemen are correct about what the money can be used for, that is, for purses. The Horsemen request the law be complied with and the Court determine not only that it has the jurisdiction but the Horsemen have no remedy but through the Courts.”

The post New Mexico Horsemen File Suit Against Commission Over ‘Retaliatory’ Defunding Attempt appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Horseplayers Sue Baffert, Zedan

Led by Michael Beychok, the winner of the 2012 NTRA National Horseplayers Championship, four gamblers have filed a Class Action Lawsuit against trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan, alleging fraud. Each maintains that they made bets that would have won had GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) not been “doped.” The plaintiffs allege that Baffert and Zedan are in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the California Control of Profits of Organized Crime Act (CCPOCA) and for committing state common law and equitable fraud.

The suit was filed Thursday in United States District Court for the Central District of California.

When reached by the TDN, Beychok declined to comment and referred all questions to his attorney, Bill Federman.

“The horse racing industry as a whole has refused or cannot take steps that are necessary to protect the horses and the horseplayers from cheats” Federman said. “That's really the bottom line. Bob Baffert is known to have drugged horses in the past. Each time he said that it was an accident, that something was wrong, that somebody with steroids walked into the barn and sneezed. Can you believe it, the horse then tested positive ? Enough is enough, and that is the bottom line. If the industry is not going to police itself it's going to have to be further regulated or you will have outside groups forcing change.”

In several tweets earlier this week, Beychok touched on the controversy and welcomed gamblers to join in the class action suit.

“This guy Baffert wants us to believe that a horse in his care for the biggest horse race in the world was given an injectable drug without anyone in the barn's knowledge,” he wrote. “Are you kidding me with this? That's the best he's got?”

It was revealed shortly after the Derby that Medina Spirit had tested positive for a banned corticosteroid, Betamethasone. Subsequently, Baffert revealed that Medina Spirit was treated with an antifungal medication that contained Betamethasone to clear up a case of dermatitis and that he was treated with the ointment as late as Apr. 30, the day before the Derby. He maintained that he made an innocent mistake and gave the horse a medication that could not have had any effect on his performance.

The Kentucky Racing Commission has yet to take any action against Baffert and cannot do so until a second lab has tested a split sample.

In the suit, Beychok claims he made bets totaling $966 that would have resulted in payoffs between $10,000 and $100,000 had Medina Sprit not won the race. The other plaintiffs are Justin Wunderler, Michael Meegan and Keith Mauer. Wunderler claims he bet roughly $2,000 and stood to win at least $40,000. Meegan and Mauer each made small wagers.

In 2020, a bettor, Jeff Tretter, backed by PETA, sued harness trainer Robert Bresnahan, Jr. and owner J.L. Sadowsky for doping, racketeering and fraud after betting on a horse that finished behind a Bresnahan trained horse who won a 2016 race at the Meadowlands and tested positive for EPO. Bresnahan and Sadowsky settled with Tretter out of court, paying the Illinois gambler $20,000.

“The New Jersey case was clearly a shot across the bow for the trainer and the industry that apparently went unnoticed,” Federman said. “It's time for the industry to regulate itself. The industry has not been willing to represent those who bet their money.”

The plaintiffs maintain that they wagered on the Derby with the belief that there would be a level playing field and that none of the starters would be racing on prohibited medications.

“Bettors and members of the public expect that horses will give their best effort in every race and that all horses entered in every race will not be racing under the influence of a drug or foreign substance that has been administered in violation of racing rules and regulations,” the suit reads.

They contend that Baffert and Zedan committed fraud because they misrepresented to bettors that they had entered a horse that complied with all racetrack rules. The suit also points to the numerous drug positives racked up by Baffert throughout his career.

“The Baffert Defendants' acts are not isolated events; rather they are a pattern of events related to each other in that they have similar purposes, participants, methods of commission, and other distinguishing characteristics,” the suit reads. “Relatedness is also established by the fact that all acts were done for the purpose of winning thoroughbred races, including but not limited to the Kentucky Derby.”

Beychok is a partner and creative director at Ourso Beychok Inc., a Democratic direct mail consulting firm based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He has worked on political campaigns at the local, state and national levels. His victory in the NHC netted him $1 million plus an Eclipse Award for best handicapper of 2012.

The post Horseplayers Sue Baffert, Zedan appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post