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Court Allows Ruis to Pursue Justify Matter

According to the attorneys representing Mick Ruis, a Los Angeles County Superior Court has ruled that the owner can continue his attempts to have the results of the 2018 GI Santa Anita Derby overturned. In January, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) voted to abide by the stewards' decision to let the result stand, with Justify (Scat Daddy) declared the official winner.

The decision by Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff was in response to the CHRB's attempts to have the case halted based on a legal term known as a demurrer, which is an argument that there's no factual or legal basis for a case to go forward. With the ruling, Ruis's suit against the CHRB will now proceed. A trial date has tentatively been scheduled for August.

Ruis is the co-owner and also trained Santa Anita Derby runner-up Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro). After it was revealed in a report in the New York Times that the Bob Baffert-trained Justify tested positive for the substance scopolamine, Ruis began his quest to have the result of the race overturned with Bolt d'Oro declared the winner.

Ruis alleges that the CHRB failed to follow its own rules when it decided not to pursue penalties after Justify tested positive for scopolamine. The CHRB acted on recommendations from then executive director Rick Baedeker and equine medical director Dr. Rick Arthur. It was their call that Justify should not be disqualified because the positive test was the result of contamination linked to jimson weed.

At stake is the $600,000 winner's share of the purse. Second-place was worth $200,000.

“We just want simply for the Horse Racing Board to follow its own rules,” said Darrell Vienna, who, along with Carlo Fisco, is representing Ruis. “Their rules are unequivocal. They state that when a horse carries in its system a prohibited substance of the classification that scopolamine was classified at at the time of the race, they will be disqualified. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it.”

Vienna said he is holding out hope that the CHRB will reverse directions.

“Potentially, this decision might open the CHRB's eyes and have them do the right thing rather than being forced to do so,” he said.

Friday, Vienna and Fisco issued a joint statement, which read: “We have a long way to go but are pleased that the court confirmed our client's undeniable claim in pursuing this case. Today was a technical hurdle introduced by the CHRB in attempt to escape its responsibility for the Justify debacle. We remain confident that the trial on this matter will expose the legal improprieties of the former CHRB Board and its former Equine Medical Director as well as the utter refusal by the CHRB Board of Stewards to correct an obvious injustice.”

At stake is the $600,000 winner's share of the purse. Second-place was worth $200,000.

Vienna said he is holding out hope that the CHRB will reverse directions.

“Potentially, this decision might open the CHRB's eyes and have them do the right thing rather than being forced to do so,” he said.

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Baffert vs. NYRA Fight Grinds On

Bob Baffert filed a legal response Friday to the New York Racing Association (NYRA)'s recent attempt to dismiss his amended civil complaint, in which the Hall-of-Fame trainer is fighting an allegedly “sham” hearing process initiated by NYRA to determine if he will be excluded from New York's premier tracks.

The Dec. 10 filing in United States District Court (Eastern District of New York) rebutted and reargued a number of legal points that have already been volleyed back and forth by both sides since Baffert filed the initial version of his lawsuit June 14.

But one updated section lets the judge know about the Dec. 3 urine test results that the trainer's legal team claims “have confirmed scientifically” that the betamethasone in Medina Spirit's system after the colt won the GI Kentucky Derby came from a topical ointment and not an intra-articular injection.

Yet this new information about Medina Spirit's urine was imparted in the filing without any mention of the tragic turn of events that took place about 72 hours after those test results were made public, when the Derby winner collapsed and died after laboring through a workout at Santa Anita Park.

It's understandable that Medina Spirit's Dec. 6 death is not a legal point that Baffert's counsel considers relevant to the case, which deals primarily with allegations and incidents that occurred months ago.

But to a layman reading the court filing with the knowledge that Medina Sprit's untimely and sudden passing rocked the sports world and dominated the international racing news this week, it does come across as a jarring omission of context in the overall saga.

“Unfortunately, NYRA refused to wait for the results of the aforementioned testing or to otherwise allow the comprehensive administrative process which must take place in Kentucky to play out,” Baffert's filing stated.

“Instead, on May 17, 2021, prior to the initiation of any administrative processes in Kentucky, NYRA took the unprecedented step of announcing that it was immediately and indefinitely suspending Baffert from entering horses in racetracks that it operates, including Belmont Park, Saratoga Race Course, and Aqueduct Racetrack,” the filing continued.

NYRA had banished the seven-time GI Kentucky Derby-winning trainer 16 days after Medina Spirit tested positive for a betamethasone. But NYRA's stated desire to rule off Baffert goes beyond Medina Spirit's still-in-limbo Derby penalization status, which has not yet even resulted in a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission hearing.

In the 12 months prior to Medina Spirit's positive, four other Baffert trainees also tested positive for medication overages, two of them in Grade I stakes, and this has been a key plank in NYRA's argument.

On July 14, the court granted Baffert a preliminary injunction that currently allows him to race at New York's premier tracks until his lawsuit gets adjudicated in full.

But the judge also wrote in that ruling that “Baffert should have been given notice of all of the reasons that NYRA intended to suspend him.”

So in the wake of that decision, NYRA drafted a new set of procedures for holding hearings and issuing determinations designed to suspend licensees who engage in injurious conduct. On Sept. 10, NYRA then summoned Baffert to appear at an exclusion hearing.

Baffert first filed a motion asking the judge to hold NYRA in civil contempt for trying to schedule such a hearing and to stay the hearing itself. When those requests were denied, he amended his original complaint to try and keep that hearing process from moving forward (it's currently scheduled to begin Jan. 24).

When NYRA previously addressed the issue of the hearing in court documents, it termed Baffert's characterization of the process as “misguided,” noting that “Plaintiff s argument that he had no notice of the conduct prohibited by NYRA likewise fails given that common law has long recognized the standards and interests NYRA intends to uphold.”

NYRA had also previously pointed out to the judge that it was “providing Plaintiff exactly what he argued he was entitled to in support of his motion for a preliminary injunction–notice and an opportunity to be heard.”

On Friday, Baffert's filing contended that, “Shockingly, NYRA's Motion to Dismiss even asks this Court to dismiss the [civil action for deprivation of rights claim] on which Baffert has already prevailed. Baffert's Amended Complaint states valid claims for each of the five causes of action…NYRA's Motion to Dismiss should be denied in its entirety.”

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Andy Howard Named Lane’s End Yearling Manager

Andy Howard has been appointed Yearling Manager at Lane's End Farm. He will be taking over Peter Sheehan's role–Sheehan is now the stallion manager.

“Andy has been a key part of our success with yearlings and will be an important asset on our team moving forward,” said Bill Farish of Lane's End. “We are extremely confident in his ability to manage such a fundamental part of our operation.”

Howard worked as an assistant in the Versailles, Kentucky farm's yearling division since 2013. Notable yearlings he has helped raise are GI Kentucky Derby winner Country House, multiple Grade I winner Code of Honor and multiple Group II winner Spanish Mission.

“I am very grateful for this opportunity to continue growing in my career at Lane's End,” said Howard. “I have always considered myself fortunate to work at a world-class operation like this one and I look forward to continuing the farm's path of success.”

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Charles Churchill Awarded Joe Hirsch Legacy Award

Charles Churchill, a University of Kentucky senior majoring in Equine Science and Management from Louisville, has been named the recipient of the 2021/2022 Joe Hirsch Legacy Equine Academy Scholarship.

Churchill, who completed an internship with the Keeneland track maintenance team during the summer of 2021, is a member of the UK Horse Racing Club, the UK Collegiate Professional Horsemen's Association and a Wildcat Wrangler, the student ambassador team within the equine major.

The scholarship was originally established at UK in 2005 but to keep in step with current industry needs, was recently modified to include a preference for diverse students to encourage inclusivity throughout the equine industry. It now resides in UK's College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, which is home to the Equine Science and Management undergraduate degree program. The scholarship was made possible by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the Daily Racing Form and many other contributors and is coordinated in conjunction with the Legacy Equine Academy.

“Through this venture, the NTRA will help fund scholarships for students in the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's Equine Programs with the intent of fostering a more inclusive Thoroughbred racing industry for generations to come,” said Alex Waldrop, NTRA president and chief executive officer. “Change cannot wait, so we will work with all of our racing partners to further the goal of a more diverse, inclusive environment for all participants in our sport.”

The Legacy Equine Academy, which encourages students in grades 6-12 to attend college and pursue equine, agriculture, natural resources and environmental science degrees, is the brainchild of Ronald Mack, the organization's founder and CEO.

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