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Zedan Dropped From Class-Action Horseplayers’ Lawsuit

Zedan Racing Stables, Inc., the owner of GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico), has been voluntary dismissed from a class-action federal lawsuit initiated by a group of horseplayers who want to collect damages from a purported years-long pattern of racketeering activity related to the alleged “doping” of Thoroughbreds by trainer Bob Baffert.

Zedan Racing's founder is Amr Zedan. The dismissal “without prejudice” was filed by the plaintiffs June 23.

Baffert, plus his incorporated racing stable, now remain as the only defendants in the suit, which was filed May 13 in United States District Court (Central District of California). Baffert has not yet responded in court to the complaint.

The suit, led by Michael Beychok, the winner of the 2012 National Horseplayers Championship, was filed four days after Baffert's disclosure that Medina Spirit had tested positive for betamethasone after winning the Derby.

Baffert's revelation was later confirmed by split-sample testing at two different labs approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, but no ruling has yet been issued over those findings.

The betamethasone finding in the Derby was the fifth positive test in a Baffert trainee for a regulated but prohibited race-day drug within the past year (two others were for lidocaine, one was for dextrorphan, and another also for betamethasone). It was the third during that time frame to occur in a Grade I stakes.

Simultaneously, Baffert has been embroiled in a long and complicated court and racing commission battle in California over whether to disqualify 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify from that year's GI Santa Anita Derby because of a scopolamine finding.

Back in 2013, after a cluster of seven sudden horse deaths in Baffert's Hollywood Park barn, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) issued a report that stated that although “the blanket prescribing of thyroxine to all horses in Baffert's barn does appear unusual” the fatalities remained “unexplained [and] there is no evidence whatsoever CHRB rules or regulations have been violated or any illicit activity played a part.”

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Six Ninety One Rolls to Ninth ’21 Win

Six Ninety One (Congrats) assertively stalked outside then pounced on the pacemaker entering the far turn to win his ninth race of the year Tuesday at Arizona Downs.

The victory augmented the 9-year-old gelding's lead as the winningest horse in North America for 2021. No other Thoroughbred on the continent has won more than six so far this year.

The most noteworthy aspect of Six Ninety One's achievement is that he has racked up those nine wins in just the first six months of the season from 12 starts.

In all of 2020, four horses tied with eight victories apiece to lead the continent–but it took 12 full months of racing to win that many.

In 2019, seven horses shared the year-end honor with nine wins.

Over the last decade, the number of most annual victories has ranged between eight and 12.

Six Ninety One's June 22 score came in a 4 1/2-furlong $4,000 optional-claimer with starter-allowance conditions that protected horses from being claimed if they had started for a $2,500 tag price since 2019 (the gelding met that condition).

Under jockey Karlo Lopez, Six Ninety One broke running, but was parked three wide into the bend, which can be a disadvantage in short sprints that start on the backstretch so close to the far turn.

He took over three furlongs out, cornered several paths wide into the lane, then kicked on with gusto in the straightaway as Lopez looked over his right shoulder for competition, which was 2 1/2 lengths behind by the time the 1-5 favorite hit the wire in :51.82.

Trainer Alfredo Asprino owns the gelding in partnership with Jesus Vielma. They've had Six Ninety One for his last four wins since claiming him for $5,000 Apr. 20.

Six Ninety One was bred in Kentucky by Edwin and Melissa Anthony. He sold for $75,000 at KEESEP in 2013, then hammered for $59,000 at OBSOPN eight months later.

The gelding has now won 14 races from 39 lifetime starts while racing in Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. A speed specialist in abbreviated sprints, two of Six Ninety One's victories in 2019 came against Quarter Horses in 870-yard dashes.

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Smith’s Unusual Claim to Benefit BLC

Owner Brook Smith, who made headlines when he claimed three horses for $100,000 each out of Saturday's fourth race at Churchill Downs, will enroll all three of those horses in Churchill's Backside Learning Center (BLC)'s Purses for a Purpose program. A percentage of each horse's winnings will be donated to the program to support BLC's mission to build community and enrich the lives of backside workers and their families. All three horses are to be trained by Jeff Hiles.

Smith has operated a small stable for more than 20 years, but is building a new operation called RSLP Racing, which is slated to eventually become a partnership. He has been a long-time supporter of BLC and was the person who initiated the concept of Purses for a Purpose in order for owners and trainers to directly support the organization.

“When launching RSLP Racing, beyond the excitement of doing things a bit differently–making a splash, thoughts immediately went to supporting those that make horse racing possible, the backside,” said Smith. “RSLP will give 4% of the purses of its runners to support the Backside Learning Center. At present there are eight RSLP horses and growing. It's time we all contribute to those who are making the industry great.”

Click here for more information on how to become involved with Purses for a Purpose.

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Jockey Club Wants to Give ‘Unique Perspective’ in Baffert vs. NYRA Suit

The Jockey Club (TJC) now wants to get involved in trainer Bob Baffert's federal lawsuit against the New York Racing Association (NYRA), which seeks to overturn his banishment from stabling and racing horses at Belmont Park, Saratoga Race Course, and Aqueduct Racetrack.

In a June 22 letter to United States District Court (Eastern District of New York), Susan Phillips Read, an attorney for TJC, asked permission to file an “amicus” brief that she believes will “provide the Court with a unique perspective and information to assist in deciding the pending motion for preliminary injunction.”

Baffert was told by NYRA that he was not welcome to stable or race at the association's three tracks on May 17 in the wake of his disclosure that Medina Spirit (Protonico) had tested positive for betamethasone after winning the GI Kentucky Derby. That revelation by Baffert was later confirmed by split-sample testing at two different labs approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, but no ruling has yet been issued over those findings.

On June 14, Baffert filed a civil complaint against NYRA, alleging that the association-level ban violates his Fourteenth Amendment constitutional right to due process. He wants a preliminary and permanent injunction ordered against NYRA to prevent his further banishment from those tracks, claiming that if that does not happen, he will suffer immediate and irreparable harm.

The betamethasone finding in the Derby was the fifth positive test in a Baffert trainee for a regulated but prohibited-on-race-day drug within the past year (two others were for lidocaine, one was for dextrorphan, and another also for betamethasone). It was the third during that time frame to occur in a Grade I stakes.

While all of this has been going on, Baffert has also been embroiled in a long and complicated court and racing commission battle in California over whether to disqualify 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify from that year's GI Santa Anita Derby because of a scopolamine finding.

“TJC has long believed that horses must only race when they are free from the effects of medication, and vociferously advocated for the passage of The Horseracing Safety and Integrity Act,” Read wrote. “TJC thus has a special interest in sharing with the Court its perspective regarding the deleterious effects of improper drug use on the health of horses, the Thoroughbred racing industry, and public trust in the honesty of competition.

“Further, TJC, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries and Thoroughbred Safety Committee, has access to information not necessarily available to the parties,” Read wrote.

Read wrote that she has asked the attorneys for both parties for consent to file TJC's amicus brief. NYRA's counsel has given permission; Baffert's has not.

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