Finley Elected to The Jockey Club Board of Stewards; Highet Reelected

West Point Thoroughbreds President and Chief Executive Terry Finley has been elected to the board of stewards of The Jockey Club, it was announced Monday. He fills the expired position of Vinnie Viola. Ian D. Highet, a steward of The Jockey Club, was reelected to the board.

Finley, who has been a member of The Jockey Club since 2019, at the helm of West Point campaigned either solely or in partnership Horse of the Year Flightline (Tapit), GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister), and a number of other Grade I winners. Finley also serves as chairman of the New York Race Track Chaplaincy, the board of directors for the Thoroughbred Charities of America and New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, and the board of trustees for the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.

The other members of the Jockey Club Board of Stewards are Barbara Banke, Dr. Larry Bramlage, Louis A. Cella, William S. Farish Jr., Stuart S. Janney III (chair), William M. Lear Jr., and R. Alex Rankin.

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Baffert Sues CDI, Carstanjen & Rankin Over Suspension

Trainer Bob Baffert has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky against Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI), CDI CEO Bill Carstanjen and CDI Board Chair Alex Rankin. Baffert is seeking a preliminary or permanent injunction that will enjoin Churchill from barring him. At present, Baffert cannot compete in the 2022 or 2023 runnings of the GI Kentucky Derby or any other races at Churchill or Churchill-owned tracks.

He  is also fighting a separate action from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which suspended him for 90 days after Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive for betamethasone in last year's Derby.

“The notion that Churchill Downs, which is not even tasked with regulating horse racing in Kentucky, could unilaterally ban a trainer by an edict coupled in a press release without having the facts or any semblance of due process should arouse outrage in any fair-minded person,” said Baffert's attorney Clark Brewster.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Churchill issued a scathing statement, declaring that its fight against Baffert was about protecting the integrity of racing.

“The lawsuit filed by Bob Baffert is disappointing, but certainly not surprising,” the statement read. “His claims are meritless and consistent with his pattern of failed drug tests, denials, excuses and attempts to blame others and identify loopholes in order to avoid taking responsibility for his actions. These actions have harmed the reputations of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs and the entire Thoroughbred racing industry. Churchill Downs will fight this baseless lawsuit and defend our company's rights. What's at stake here is the integrity of our races, the safety of horses and the trust of the millions of fans and bettors who join us every year on the first Saturday in May.”

The Baffert side did not mince words, either. The lawsuit charges that “CDI has, with malicious intent, caused significant damage to Baffert's ability to conduct his customary business on a national scale. From context, it is apparent that CDI's targeted sanctions have the singular aim of destroying Baffert's career.”

The crux of Baffert's case against Churchill is twofold, that the ban deprives him of his right to due process and that only the state racing commission is permitted to issue a ban against trainers.

“Despite the prevalence of actual reckless and dangerous conduct by others trainers and owners (which have sometimes culminated in Racing Commission suspensions), CDI has arbitrarily and capriciously singled out Baffert for this baseless sanction in violation of Baffert's procedural and substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” the suit reads.

A federal court ruled that the New York Racing Association violated Baffert's due process rights when issuing a suspension of its own against the trainer. That forced NYRA to hold a hearing into the Baffert matter, the results of which have yet to be determined. However, NYRA is a quasi-state organization and the courts generally treat such an entity differently than they do a privately held company like Churchill. In most cases, private tracks can ban individuals and do so without due process.

On the issue of whether or not Churchill can ban an individual, Baffert's legal team is arguing that such a suspension can only be handed down by a racing commission.

“Baffert expressly agreed to cooperate with the Racing Commission's regulatory process when he entered horses at Churchill Downs and to submit to any penalties imposed after a final order issued by that body. Baffert's culpability, if

any, will be determined in that forum,” the suit reads.

The lawsuit also seeks to force Churchill to award points for the Kentucky Oaks and Derby in the event a Baffert-horse places in a prep race. Churchill has declared that all Baffert-trainees are not eligible to earn any points in the preps, still another factor that might keep Baffert's horses out of those races.

But even if Baffert can win this round in court that does not mean he will be eligible to compete in the Derby. In order to do so, he will also have to find a way through the courts to get a stay of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's ban, which is set to begin Mar. 8.

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Banke, Lear, Rankin Elected to TJC Board of Stewards

Barbara Banke, William M. Lear, Jr., and R. Alex Rankin have been elected to the The Jockey Club (TJC) board of stewards. Lear has been reelected, while Banke and Rankin are filling the expired positions of Everett R. Dobson and John W. Phillips. The board of stewards also consists of chairman Stuart S. Janney III, as well as Dr. Larry Bramlage, C. Steven Duncker, William S. Farish, Jr., Ian D. Highet, and Vinnie Viola.

Reelected Lear has served as TJC's vice chairman since 2015 and has been a member of TJC since 2010. He is the chairman emeritus of Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC and currently serves on the board of Keeneland and Commonwealth Seed Capital LLC.

Banke previously served on the board of stewards from 2016-2020 and has been a member of TJC since 2013. Proprietor of Jackson Family Wines, she also owns Stonestreet Stables and is an owner and breeder. Banke serves on the board of the Breeders' Cup, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, and Keeneland. She is also on the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association American Graded Stakes Committee.

Rankin has been a member of TJC since 2016 and has been the chairman of Churchill Downs Inc. since 2018. He is the chairman of the board of Sterling G. Thompson Company in Louisville and founder of Upson Downs Farm. He has also served as president and board member of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, president and director of the Kentucky Derby Museum, director of Breeders' Cup Limited, and director of Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders.

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