Hall of Fame coach Bob Baffert was denied a stay by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission after a 90-day suspension he was given by the managers. February 21, KHRC confirmed on February 25. The stay is a separate decision to disqualify the late Baffert intern Medina Spirit from his win in the 2021 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) was also denied on Friday.
The stay request is the next step for Baffert’s attorneys in a lengthy legal process that began when a post-race examination (and dissociation sample) after the Kentucky Derby revealed the presence of corticosteroids. betamethasone — banned to any degree on race day in the state of Kentucky — in the Medina Spirit system. More than nine months after the race, Baffert was suspended and fined $7,500. The suspension will last from March 8 to June 5 and will be reciprocal in US racing jurisdictions.
In Kentucky, betamethasone is a Class C penalty, a level deemed “less likely to affect performance” than the performance-enhancing effects of Class A or B drugs. Penalties that the administrator designates consistent with the extent to which Kentucky recommends sanctions for such a finding.
Those recommendations called for horse owners to be fined through disqualification of the horse and loss of money in the wallet. As for Baffert’s sanctions, they are consistent with the Level C conclusion but appear to have included four unsuccessful drug tests by the trainer in the 12 months leading up to the Derby as a mitigating circumstance. light. Recommended penalties for Class C for three or more offenses are suspension of 30-60 days and a fine of $2,500 to $5,000 in the absence of extenuating circumstances.
A letter to Baffert’s lead attorneys, Craig Robertson and Clark Brewster, was published Friday detailing the denial from KHRC chief executive Marc Guilfoil.
“I have found no good reason to allow the stay… As a result, requests to stay under the judgment of these managers are denied,” wrote Guilfoil, who went on to refer to the right to an opinion. Baffert’s motion to reconsider the decision.
Robertson did not return calls from BloodHorse seeking comment, but earlier on Friday Robertson told Daily Racing Form reporter Matt Hegarty that Baffert’s legal team would of course appeal the decision and file a lawsuit. submit it to a civil court if necessary.
Robertson told DRF: “We will do whatever is necessary for the stay to take effect by March 8.
The first stop in an appeal would be at the regulatory level — for the full KHRC. Usually upon such an appeal, the KHRC will appoint a hearing officer who will review the evidence and testimony before making a recommendation to the KHRC. Commissions generally follow that recommendation, although it’s not required.
The parties also have the right to appeal decisions made in court. Legal appeals of KHRC decisions usually begin at the Franklin (Ky.) Circuit Court.
It was the second time in history that a horse was disqualified from the Kentucky Derby for a failed drug test after the race. In 1968 Dancer’s Image was disqualified after testing positive for phenylbutazone, or “bute.” That decision was ultimately upheld after years of litigation, making Forward Pass the winner.
Baffert’s lawyers argued in court that Medina Spirit’s test results showed betamethasone was related to the foal being treated with Otomax antifungal ointment for a skin problem on its hind legs. They have since said that testing at a New York lab backs up their theory that the post-race failure was caused by the ointment, not the injection.
In a statement on December 3 about Dr. George Maylin’s trial at the New York Equine Research and Experimental Laboratory, Baffert’s attorney Robertson not only said that the results indicated that the ointment was as the source, but added that Kentucky’s rules do not apply to betamethasone from the ointment. Monday’s manager’s decision made no difference.
Medina Spirit died suddenly on December 6 after a training session at Santa Anita . Park.
