Baffert sues Churchill Downs to get back into the Kentucky Derby and Oaks
Don’t count Bob Baffert out of the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby just yet.
The Hall of Fame trainer filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court in Louisville to force the racetrack to allow him to race, alleging Churchill Downs Inc. has acted “with the singular, targeted and malicious intent to destroy Baffert’s career.”
Baffert has been unable to earn points for any horses he is training toward this year’s Derby on May 7 (or the Kentucky Oaks on May 6) since Churchill Downs Inc. suspended him last June following the detection of a prohibited medication in Medina Spirit’s post-Derby tests.
At the time, CDI CEO Bill Carstanjen said, “Mr. Baffert’s record of testing failures threatens public confidence in Thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby.”
Baffert has denied wrongdoing and his attorneys contend that Kentucky drug rules allow the betamethasone detected in Medina Spirit as an ointment, which is how they say it was applied.
However, last month Baffert and Medina Spirit were officially stripped of the Derby win by Kentucky racing stewards.
He remains licensed as a trainer in Kentucky but was been given a 90-day suspension, which would run March 8 through June 5. Baffert is appealing the stewards’ ruling on the Derby and is seeking to have his penalty delayed until the appeal is heard by an administrative law judge.
Now, he also is challenging actions by CDI that bar him from racing or stabling horses at any Churchill-owned track through the spring of 2023.
In his lawsuit against Churchill Downs Inc., Carstanjen and CDI board chairman Alex Rankin, Baffert alleges that the suspension by Churchill has violated his right to due process, among other issues.
He is asking U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings for an injunction that would force CDI to allow horses owned or trained by Baffert to be allowed to race and to recognize points Baffert’s horses would have earned toward the upcoming Derby if they’d run under another trainer.
Corniche, trained by Baffert, won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November and would have earned points toward racing in the Kentucky Derby but Churchill has not recognized the points. According to the lawsuit, several other Baffert-trained horses have been impacted.
Baffert also is asking the court to prohibit Churchill from denying him stabling privileges at Kentucky tracks Churchill Downs, Oak Grove and Turfway Park. CDI also owns or operates tracks in Louisiana and Florida, where key Derby prep races are run.
Churchill’s suspension “has rendered valueless Baffert’s training services at a national level,” according to the lawsuit. “CDI’s suspension is, in practical effect, a banishment from meaningful participation in top tiers of horse racing nationally, depriving him of the opportunity to earn substantial fees and winnings from training the world’s most elite horses.”
According to the Associated Press, Churchill Downs in a statement called the lawsuit disappointing and said they would defend the company’s rights.
“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,” Churchill Downs said.
Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/news/business/article258929513.html#storylink=cpy
Baffert also is challenging a potential suspension from New York racetracks.
Medina Spirit, who died in California in December of an apparent heart attack, has been cremated and his ashes will be interred at Old Friends retirement farm for Thoroughbred horses in Georgetown.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 4:08 PM.
