Baffert Wins Attorneys’ Fees from NYRA

A federal judge has ordered that the New York Racing Association (NYRA) must pay trainer Bob Baffert $109,124 in legal expenses. Those fees and costs were incurred in the early stages of the trainer's civil rights lawsuit against NYRA, and the court has determined that legal precedents qualified him as the “prevailing party” five months ago when he obtained a preliminary injunction to overcome NYRA's banishment of him from Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct.

That figure represents only a partial award. The Hall-of-Fame trainer had been seeking $162,086.

NYRA had argued that he wasn't entitled to any money based on the fact that the overall case has not been fully adjudicated.

But Judge Carol Bagley Amon of United States District Court (Eastern District of New York) wrote in a Dec. 15 order that Baffert does indeed qualify for some reimbursement, quoting from relevant precedents in her ruling.

“First, the preliminary injunction was decided on the merits of Baffert's claims. Over 10 pages of [my] 27-page preliminary injunction opinion were dedicated to finding that 'Baffert has established a likelihood of proving that NYRA's suspension constituted state action, and that the process by which it suspended him violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution…'

“Accordingly, the preliminary injunction was 'governed by [an] assessment of the merits' as required by [precedent]. Second, the preliminary injunction was against a state actor that later changed its procedures, mooting the question. Rather than appeal the preliminary injunction, NYRA changed its suspension procedures such that trainers can no longer be suspended without a pre-suspension hearing….

“Therefore, because Baffert 'neutralized and then caused to be superseded a [state action he] persuasively argued was unconstitutional' and because 'the preliminary injunction [he] secured was never reversed, dissolved, or otherwise undone,' Baffert has, 'unavoidably, prevailed.'”

Amon continued: “At oral argument, Baffert also agreed not to seek damages on his [civil action] claim related to the May 2021 suspension should I grant him attorneys' fees. With this concession, the portion of this case related to the subject matter of the preliminary injunction is complete. That there will be no additional litigation on this topic belies NYRA's worry that there will be serial attorneys' fee litigation regarding the subject matter of the preliminary injunction. Accordingly, I find that attorneys' fees on the preliminary injunction are appropriate at this time.”

NYRA, when it filed a Sept. 27 motion opposing Baffert's expenses, said such an award would be unjust because NYRA's suspension itself was aimed at just ends.

But Amon dismissed that argument: “Following this logic would deny civil rights plaintiffs attorneys' fees in a majority of Section 1983 [civil rights] cases. Section 1983 claims are necessarily brought against state actors, and a state actor will undoubtedly argue that the ends of its policies are in the public's interest,” she wrote.

“And where the state actor has lost on the merits of the Section 1983 claim–in other words, where the court has ruled that the means of its policies were unjust–it would denigrate a plaintiff's constitutional rights to disallow attorneys' fees so that the ends can justify the means.”

NYRA had barred Baffert back on May 17, a bit more than two weeks after the now-deceased Medina Spirit won the GI Kentucky Derby while testing positive for an overage of betamethasone. In the 12 months prior to that positive, four other Baffert trainees had also tested positive for medication overages, two of them in Grade I stakes.

Baffert responded to NYRA's ruling-off by filing a June 14 civil complaint alleging that the ban violated his constitutional right to due process.

On July 14, the eve of the Saratoga season, the court granted Baffert a preliminary injunction that allowed him to race at New York's premier tracks until the lawsuit was adjudicated in full.

On Aug. 25, Baffert petitioned the court to get NYRA to pay for the legal costs he had incurred to that point.

Some of the attorneys who argued Baffert's case billed the seven-time Derby-winning trainer between $450 and $975 hourly. His total $162,086 request covered fees and expenses for six attorneys and two paralegals who performed work on his case.

NYRA had argued that many of the hours billed were duplicative, caused by the overlapping of multiple attorneys from different firms.

Judges have discretion to adjust such expense requests upward or downward based on prevailing rates and the nature of the case. Amon ended up paring down the amount she ordered NYRA to pay by roughly one-third.

She wrote that “the case was high-profile and offered reputational benefits for Baffert's attorneys, especially those attorneys who market themselves as equine law experts.”

The order also stated that “Baffert is correct that the litigation was hotly contested and included quick turnaround of substantial briefing in a high-pressure situation. Moreover, Baffert's attorneys handled the case well, achieving victory on the preliminary injunction with well-argued briefs. Taken together with the previously mentioned case-specific factors, these factors counsel a reasonable rate in the middle of the range.”

But, Amon added, she is not bound to award the actual rates billed by the attorneys that Baffert agreed to pay.

“Baffert's decision to pay a premium to guarantee the attorneys of his choice is relevant, but it does not overwhelm the overall inquiry: what is the 'minimum (rate) necessary to litigate the case effectively?'” the order stated.

The lawyer who billed Baffert the most was the New York-based Charles Michael, who wrote in his declaration that “my $975 hourly rate is within the reasonable rate customarily charged by attorneys with comparable experience.”

Baffert's two next-highest priced attorneys both have long-term expertise in horse racing-related litigation, and they have represented multiple trainer clients in recent high-profile cases across the nation: The Kentucky-based W. Craig Robertson, the lead counsel in the case, charged Baffert $475 hourly for his work. The Oklahoma-based Clark Brewster billed $450 hourly.

The judge ruled that Michael's fee is “far in excess of the high end of the prevailing-rate range for partners in Eastern District civil rights litigation…. Michael has less experience than Robertson and does not have a longstanding relationship with Baffert. Therefore, he merits a slightly lower rate. Accordingly, I find that a rate of $450 per hour is reasonable,” for NYRA to pay.

Robertson's and Brewster's rates were both deemed “reasonable” by Amon.

The judge made further reductions to what NYRA has to pay based on billable hours she said were duplicative. But, she added, “I am unable to determine whether [Brewster's firm] performed duplicative work because its bills are overly vague…. Rarely do Brewster's [billing] descriptions exceed five words.”

To compensate for Brewster's vagueness and “the possibility of duplication obfuscated by those vague entries, I will apply an across-the-board reduction of 33% for the hours claimed by [Brewster's firm],” Amon wrote.

When asked to comment Wednesday on the ruling that it must pay Baffert's partially claimed expenses, a NYRA spokesperson replied with a statement that did not directly address the $109,124 court order.

“NYRA remains focused on protecting the integrity of the sport of Thoroughbred racing in New York and ensuring it is conducted safely,” wrote Patrick McKenna, NYRA's senior director of communications. “To that end, NYRA will conduct an independent hearing beginning on Jan. 24 to determine whether Mr. Baffert has engaged in conduct that is detrimental to the best interests of the sport or potentially injurious to the safety of horses and riders.”

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With NYRA Ban Overturned, Baffert Plans To Enter Gamine At Saratoga

After a judge overturned the New York Racing Association's ban of Bob Baffert on July 14, the trainer told the Daily Racing Form he plans to enter reigning champion sprint mare Gamine in the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 28.

NYRA notified Baffert ahead of the Belmont Stakes that it was suspending his ability to enter horses in races or have stall space at its racetracks due to his recent history of medication violations, the conflicting statements he provided to media around the Medina Spirit scandal, and Churchill Downs' suspension of the trainer.

Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the Eastern District of New York determined that NYRA's suspension of Baffert should not have taken place without some sort of hearing allowing him to address the organization's accusations against him. Although NYRA was asserting its private property rights in the case, Amon said the organization is closely entwined enough with the state that its suspension of Baffert constituted a state action, thereby requiring due process.

Gamine, a 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief, is undefeated in three starts in 2021. She won the G3 Las Flores at Santa Anita on April 4, the G1 Derby City Distaff on May 1 at Churchill Downs, and the G2 Great Lady M Stakes at Los Alamitos on July 5. She has breezed twice at Del Mar since the Great Lady M victory.

The only blemish on Gamine's nine-race career is a ninth-place finish in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks, after which Baffert has kept the filly to sprint distances.

The Ballerina, contested over seven furlongs, is a “Win and You're In” race for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint this fall at Del Mar.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

Additional stories about Baffert's Kentucky Derby positive and ensuing legal battles can be found here.

The post With NYRA Ban Overturned, Baffert Plans To Enter Gamine At Saratoga appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Judge Delays Ruling in Baffert-NYRA Case

BROOKLYN–After an-hour-and-forty minute hearing Monday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, in which lawyers representing Bob Baffert argued for a preliminary injunction that would allow the trainer to once again race at the New York Racing Association tracks, Judge Carol Bagley Amon did not render a decision and did not give a time frame for doing so.

The hearing came on the heels of a May 17 announcement from NYRA in which the racing organization said Baffert had been temporarily suspended, which meant he could not stable at the New York tracks or race there. The decision came shortly after Baffert announced that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission had informed him that Medina Spirit (Protonico) had tested positive for Betamethasone following his win in the GI Kentucky Derby. Baffert's legal team has argued that the NYRA ban is causing him irreparable harm for a number of reasons, among them the fact that he currently cannot race at Saratoga, one of the premier meets in the sport. Saratoga opens Thursday, July 15.

While much of the discussion among the lawyers and the judge rehashed details already made public, there was at least one new development. To date, NYRA has not given Baffert a hearing. Its lawyer, Henry Greenberg, revealed that after an Aug. 11 board meeting, NYRA will announce the length and terms of Baffert's suspension. Baffert will not be allowed to testify at the board meeting, but will be given the opportunity to be heard if he decides to appeal should NYRA go forward with its suspension.

Baffert's lawyer, Craig Robertson said his client is hoping to run at least three horses in Saratoga, Gamine (Into Mischief) in the GI Ketel One Ballerina Aug. 28, Illumination (Medaglia d'Oro) in the GI Longines Test S. August 7 and Fenway (Into Mischief) in an unspecified race. He has also seen a handful of owners, among them WinStar Farm, take horses eligible for major races in Saratoga away from him.

Flanked by three lawyers, Baffert appeared in court, but was not called on to testify.

Among the Baffert team, Robertson was clearly in charge and pounded away at what have become common themes from the trainer's defense. Robertson argued that, by issuing a suspension without affording Baffert a hearing, NYRA had deprived him of his due process rights. He also alleged that, in the case of Baffert, NYRA does not have the legal right to exclude the trainer.

“NYRA jumped the gun and decided to be judge, jury and executioner and suspend him,” Robertson said. “It was a case of fire, ready, aim. They acted outside of their authority and they violated his constitutional right to due process. He has a trainer's license issued by the New York Gaming Commission and that is a constitutionally protected property interest which cannot be taken away without due process. And there has been zero due process.”

While Judge Amon was careful not to tip her hand, she did pepper Greenberg with questions about NYRA's failure to give Baffert a hearing. Greenberg said one of the reasons NYRA did not do so was because Baffert never asked for one.

“He has to ask for one?” she asked incredulously.

Noting the importance of the Saratoga meet and the number of important stakes races run there, Robertson said that Baffert would be subject to irreparable harm if not allowed to race there.

“The opportunity to participate [at Saratoga] is vitally important. “Saratoga is the premier race meet in the country. Saratoga is the crown jewel, and has 43 graded stakes races. These races come around only once a year and if he is denied the opportunity to participate in them, he cannot get back that opportunity. That is irreparable harm.”

Greenberg zeroed in on integrity issues and a need for NYRA to suspend someone who had not only the Derby positive but four others within the course of a year. He said Baffert has smeared some of the biggest events in the sport, mentioning not only Medina Spirit in the Derby, but another Betamethasone positive, with Gamine in the GI Kentucky Oaks.

“There's never been anyone else who has managed to smear the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks and has had five violations within the span of a year,” Greenberg said. “That's what NYRA was presented with…He continues to race and all the while, the reputation of the sport suffers.”

Greenberg also attacked the way Baffert handled the dispute in its earliest days, which included an impromptu press conference at Churchill Downs and several media appearances in which he first maintained that Medina Spirit was never given Betamethasone. He later reversed course and said it likely got into the horse's system because it was an ingredient in an ointment used  to deal with a skin problem.

“He never accepted responsibility or said he was sorry,” Greenberg said. “In a 14-minute interview, he attacked regulators, their integrity and their credibility and he said the horse was never given Betamesthasone.”

Greenberg also attacked Baffert's clumsy assertion that the Medina Spirit positive and the ensuing uproar was a matter of “cancel culture.”

Baffert, Robertson and Greenberg all declined to comment afterward. So did NYRA President and CEO Dave O'Rourke, who was in attendance along with a cadre of NYRA officials.

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