trainer | 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

Temporary Injunction Allows Rice to Resume Training

A New York court has granted Linda Rice a temporary injunction that allows her to resume training while she pursues a legal appeal of the three-year license revocation and $50,000 fine for “improper and corrupt conduct” levied against her by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC).

The ban went into effect Monday. Later on June 7, Rice's legal team filed a complaint in the Schenectady County Supreme Court alleging that the penalty is “unduly harsh.”

Daily Racing Form first reported the June 9 granting of the injunction. TDN could not reach Rice or her attorney for comment.

Rice had one entry scratched at Finger Lakes Monday because of the ban, but her lone starter Wednesday ran second at that track. She has 10 entrants over the next four days at her Belmont Park base.

Rice's court complaint seeks a declaratory judgment that would either annul or vacate her penalties for receiving race-entry information about rival horses from New York Racing Association employees while paying some racing office workers thousands of dollars in “gifts” between 2011 and 2015.

Culminating an investigation that stretched over five years, NYSGC members voted 5-0 on May 17, to agree with a hearing officer that Rice's years-long pattern of seeking and obtaining pre-entry information from NYRA racing office workers was “intentional, serious and extensive [and] inconsistent with and detrimental to the best interests of horse racing.”

Andrew Turro, Rice's lawyer, told the Form that “We are very happy about today's decision. The court's order restores Ms. Rice's ability to get back to racing and training immediately. We also look forward to challenging the commission's order in the court and ultimately vindicating Ms. Rice's rights.”

The post Temporary Injunction Allows Rice to Resume Training appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Linda Rice Will Continue To Train After Court Grants Temporary Restraining Order

The County of Schenectady Supreme Court has granted a temporary restraining order to Linda Rice, just two days after the New York State Gaming Commission officially issued the order to revoke her training license for three years, reports the Daily Racing Form. As a result, Rice will be allowed to continue to train horses in the state of New York.

Andrew Turro, Rice's attorney, had argued that without injunctive relief, “Rice's training business, the result of a very successful 34-year career, will be irreversibly destroyed before the court can hear this case and determine Ms. Rice's application for a stay/preliminary injunction.”

Regarding Wednesday's decision, Turro told DRF: “The court's order restores Ms. Rice's ability to get back to racing and training immediately. We also look forward to challenging the commission's order in the court and ultimately vindicating Ms. Rice's rights.”

Licensees in New York are entitled to appeal a finding of a hearing officer to the appropriate court, and it is common for stays of suspensions to be issued while the appeals process plays out.

Rice had seen her license revoked officially on June 7, two weeks after the NYSGC voted to uphold a hearing officer's recommendation that Rice's license be revoked with the condition she could not reapply for licensure for at least three years. She had also been ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 and was to be denied all access to New York gaming commission-sanctioned properties.

Rice is accused of receiving information from the racing office about which horses were entered in which races prior to the official close of entries. The alleged information exchange took place over a period of 2011 and 2014, and the commission first brought a complaint against Rice in 2019. A series of hearing dates took place in late 2020, during which the commission and Rice's attorney presented information to a hearing officer along with numerous volumes of data and interview transcripts.

‘Reckless Practices,’ ‘Repeated Failures’: Churchill Downs Suspends Bob Baffert For Two Years

Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”) announced Wednesday the suspension of Bob Baffert for two years effective immediately through the conclusion of the 2023 Spring Meet at Churchill Downs Racetrack. The suspension prohibits Baffert, or any trainer directly or indirectly employed by Bob Baffert Racing Stables, from entering horses in races or applying for stall occupancy at all CDI-owned racetracks.

This decision follows the confirmation by attorneys representing Bob Baffert of the presence of betamethasone, a prohibited race-day substance, in Medina Spirit's bloodstream on the day of the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby in violation of the Commonwealth of Kentucky's equine medication protocols and CDI's terms and conditions for racing.

“CDI has consistently advocated for strict medication regulations so that we can confidently ensure that horses are fit to race and the races are conducted fairly,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI. “Reckless practices and substance violations that jeopardize the safety of our equine and human athletes or compromise the integrity of our sport are not acceptable and as a company we must take measures to demonstrate that they will not be tolerated. Mr. Baffert's record of testing failures threatens public confidence in Thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby. Given these repeated failures over the last year, including the increasingly extraordinary explanations, we firmly believe that asserting our rights to impose these measures is our duty and responsibility.”

CDI reserves the right to extend Baffert's suspension if there are additional violations in any racing jurisdiction.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (“KHRC”) has the sole authority to disqualify Medina Spirt as the winner of Kentucky Derby 147. It is the understanding of CDI that the KHRC is pursuing the completion of its investigation of this matter in accordance with its rules and regulations.

The post ‘Reckless Practices,’ ‘Repeated Failures’: Churchill Downs Suspends Bob Baffert For Two Years appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post