The New York Racing Association updated its statement on the allegations against coach Bob Baffert ahead of a January 24 disciplinary hearing, adding, among other items, two 2019 violations committed by the Commission The California Horse Racing Board reported and an allegation that a CHRB investigation discovered a medicine cabinet with 25 mislabeled medications.
“NYRA has revised its statement of charges against Bob Baffert to reflect additional facts, conclusions, and details based on NYRA’s ongoing investigation into Mr. Baffert’s conduct. The Rules and The NYRA Hearing Process provides a formal mechanism for a defendant to respond to allegations and to participate in a due process hearing,” said NYRA Senior Director of Communications, Pat McKenna said. “A designated hearing officer will ensure that proceedings are conducted fairly and objectively in accordance with the NYRA’s Hearing Rules and Procedures. Following the proceedings, the hearing officer will make a decision. a report that includes factual findings, legal conclusions, and recommended course of action.”
Subject to the revised fees, in 2019 at Del Mar, two Baffert-trained horses tested positive for phenylbutazone within a week of standard post-race testing. Cruel intentions tested positive after finishing in third place in the Really Good Trading Shares program on July 27, 2019. Eclair then tested positive after finishing fourth in the first special weight class race on August 3, 2019. Baffert was fined for both violations.
The NYRA’s ongoing investigation into two violations also uncovered an August 16, 2019 inspection of the barn conducted by the CHRB. As alleged in the revised allegation, inspection revealed an unlocked medicine cabinet, 25 improperly labeled medications and the presence of unwarranted phenylbutazone paste. In addition, the new charges allege Baffert told a CHRB investigator that he did not know how phenylbutazone got into the horses’ systems and that he would offer a “reward” for settling. case.
The NYRA charges include allegations that between July 27, 2019 and before the 2021 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), horses in Baffert’s care violated the rules and specified in six separate races. Those violations were fully adjudicated by the Thoroughbred racing authorities in three different states and all resulted in penalties imposed by Baffert.
W. Craig Roberston III, an attorney for Baffert, provided the timing of the revised charges and their intentions.
“The amendment charges were not introduced until December 23,” Robertson said in an email. Baffert at the hearing later this month.” “They refer to matters that occurred outside of New York, were thoroughly reviewed and investigated, and were decided years ago. None of them resulted in Mr. Baffert’s suspension. NYRA efforts. ignoring the findings of regulators in other states is just another example of it continuing to operate outside the regulatory framework of horse racing in an attempt to individually and identify worthy of Mr. Baffert.”
Baffert-trained Medina Spirit, who died suddenly last month, won the Kentucky Derby last year but two post-race drug tests found 21 picograms of the banned substance betamethasone in his system. According to a December 3 statement by attorney Baffert, the third trial completed by the Director of the New York Equestrian Laboratory and Research Laboratory, Dr. George Maylin, confirmed betamethasone did not come from one shot and the outcome of the Kentucky Derby will count.
The Kentucky Equestrian Commission has yet to announce its final verdict on the outcome of the May 1 Kentucky Derby.
The statement also lists violations related to Quack , Gamine (twice), and Merneith , in addition to Cruel Intent and the aforementioned Eclair.
Gamine (centre) wins the 2021 Ballerina Handicap championship at Saratoga . Racecourse
It also cites public statements made by Baffert and others regarding his claim to keeping a veterinarian (which did not happen) to insure against future violations and the keeping of a veterinarian. make rule changes with Churchill Downs for the qualifying points structure for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) and Kentucky Derby.
In its revised statement of allegation, the NYRA stated it has the legal right to exclude or deny a licensed Thoroughbred trainer from their facilities or privileges, subject to its requirements. due process, according to Matter of Saumell v. NY Racing Combination.
The NYRA initially slapped Baffert with a temporary suspension on May 17, but it was blocked in federal court two months later for lack of due process. In response, the NYRA drafted a new set of rules and protocols for disciplinary hearings and scheduled a 2022 hearing for Baffert and coach Marcus Vitali.
Baffert’s hearing on January 24 will be before O. Peter Sherwood, a retired New York State Supreme Court Justice who will serve as the hearing officer.
