Coach Bob Baffert’s attorneys and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission argued in court March 17 whether to grant the coach a stay while he appeals a related 90-day suspension. to the disqualification of Medina Spirit during the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) for a drug violation.
Additionally, KHRC chief executive Marc Guilfoil testified before Franklin Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate, explaining his reasoning for being the first to deny Baffert’s request to stay. Among his considerations, he said, was KHRC’s mission statement to uphold honesty and integrity.
Wingate gave no clear indication on Thursday how he would rule but said he would make a decision by March 21, after which he suggested the losing side could bring the matter up first. Kentucky Court of Appeals. Wingate claimed in court that the Kentucky Court of Appeals could expedite an appeal of his ruling, perhaps within a 10-day period. He suggested that if Baffert was required to promptly serve the suspension, it would begin after the Kentucky Court of Appeals decision.
Last month, Kentucky managers issued long-delayed rulings regarding the Derby, fined Baffert $7,500 along with a suspension. Both Guilfoil and then the full KHRC committee refused to grant the first, the latter a 10-0 vote after three commissioners abstained or did not vote due to a conflict of interest or perceived conflict. conflict of interest. The stay will allow Baffert to continue training until the conclusion of the appeal, although that process could take months or years, depending on the number of appeals.
The next step in the pre-KHRC appeals process takes place before a hearing officer on April 18, Baffert attorney Craig Robertson told the judge, with up to four days of procedural scheduling, though may take less days. The KHRC protocols will then call on the hearing officer to make a recommendation to the KHRC, which the regulator generally accepts but is not required to do. If an appeal before KHRC proves unsuccessful, the court system is another option.
If such a regulatory suspension of the KHRC takes place, all North American racing jurisdictions will honor the reciprocal suspension. This is in contrast to an order to suspend private property issued by Churchill Downs Inc. issued, barring Baffert from racing at his tracks until mid-2023.
Baffert was suspended and fined because Medina Spirit, owned by Zedan Racing Stables, tested positive for betamethasone after crossing the front hurdle at the Kentucky Derby. Also in February, management announced Juddmonte’s Mandaloun winner with Medina Spirit disqualification.
Medina Spirit separates from Mandaloun in final strides of 2021 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs
Historically, the KHRC has authorized the suspension of a coach in dispute for a drug violation — neither Guilfoil nor KHRC general counsel Jennifer Wolsing have been able to repeat in court an unlikely case — although the case This is unique as it relates to the Derby and follows a series of well-publicized drug violations from Baffert in the year leading up to the race. KHRC counts four sanctions issued against Baffert over a one-year period, although Baffert’s legal team disputes two of them. They believe the coach was vindicated when the Arkansas Racing Commission removed two qualifications and suspended the coach from last spring, although Arkansas is still issuing two separate $5,000 fines. for Baffert under the coach responsibility rule.
Baffert’s legal team argued that Baffert should not be sanctioned, nor should Medina Spirit disqualified, due to test results they obtained from the New York Equine Research and Trial Lab, Medina Spirit said. showed in its system the presence of betamethasone valerate, not betamethasone acetate. They argued that this was because Medina Spirit had received pre-Derby applications for Otomax antifungal cream for a skin condition documented in veterinary records.
In explaining his decision not to grant a stay, Guilfoil questioned Baffert’s failure to make a public statement in the fall of 2020 to improve drug monitoring and compliance. At the time, Baffert said he would hire Dr Michael Hore of the Hagyard Equine Health Institute to assist in that effort, although Hore admitted to BloodHorse in May, shortly after the Derby positive, that the role was His role at the time “did not materialize as intended.” The travel restrictions and COVID-19 announced by Hore were factors. Hore is based in Kentucky, Baffert is in California.
Guilfoil’s testimony was the first public explanation for why he refused to stay. Earlier, in a letter to Baffert’s lawyers, he only wrote that he “did not find good reason” to grant it.
Speaking in court on Thursday, Guilfoil questioned Baffert’s ruling whether Otomax applied to Medina Spirit.
“You have to consider the ingredients you put into the horse. That’s Training 101 for me,” he said.
Otomax, marketed by Merck to treat ear infections in dogs, lists betamethasone valerate on the packaging below the product name.
Guilfoil expressed disappointment at Baffert’s denials and moved his explanation regarding the drug test in the days after the initial drug test was reported last year. He also notes that by his count, Baffert averages drug violations every 88 starts over a 365-day period, including the 2021 Derby.
Clark Brewster, who represents Zedan Racing Stables and is also Baffert, countered in his argument, presented via videoconference, that Baffert had only tested positive for the drug once in his 29 years of racing in Kentucky before Medina. Spirit.
The same goes for betamethasone and leads to disqualification Gamine from third place in the 2020 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). She tested positive for drugs which resulted in Baffert being fined $1,500, but not a suspension. Baffert’s attorneys say she was treated 18 days before Oaks, but the drug did not clear her system according to the detox guidelines because two joints were treated.
Betamethasone is a corticosteroid, approved for use in horses, but not authorized for use in the horse’s system on race day. It has a recommended discontinuation period of 14 days after injection.
In his first statement to the court, Robertson said Baffert had been treated unfairly compared with other coaches with similar infraction records.
“Forget the last 365 days. Let’s talk about the last 5 years, 10 years, 15 years. This is the total number of days of suspension that any racing jurisdiction (finally) gives Mr. Baffert: no.”
Baffert’s attorneys believe that KHRC’s restrictions on betamethasone apply to betamethasone acetate, which is betamethasone given to horses via a shared injection.
The KHRC disputes its interpretation of its rules, with KHRC’s general counsel and other KHRC attorneys writing to Wingate in court documents that “the Commission’s regulations prohibit horses carrying betamethasone in race, regardless of the management path.” They added that “the origin of betamethasone is scientifically unrelated to its pharmacological effects.”
Some KHRC regulations include restricted substances citing betamethasone, while others note betamethasone acetate. This ambiguity was a major factor in Baffert’s case.
Medina Spirit passed away in December after collapsing after a training session at Santa Anita . Park in an incident deemed unrelated to betamethasone treatment more than seven months earlier.
In making its decision on Monday, Wingate must conclude that Baffert and Zedan Racing Stables would be irreparably harmed without a retainer and that their appeal would have a high chance of success.
Robertson argued in his opening statement that under California’s rule for trainers that issued a 90-day suspension, Baffert would need to disband his stables for the duration of the suspension, which which he said would be “devastating”. He also noted that the suspension will cover Triple Crown days, an annual focus for the trainer and his clients. Baffert has won Derby six times, Preakness Stakes (G1) seven times, and Belmont Stakes (G1) three times. Two of his horses won the Triple Crown.
“Why are we ending a Man’s career with a topical ointment, a vet-prescribed topical appointment, made on veterinarian recommendations and a record of that prescription is also provided to the regulatory authority?” He argued.
Wolsing countered in his comments that the sanctions were introduced based on four drug-positive cases in a 365-day period, prompting the manager to increase his penalty beyond KHRC’s guidelines. lists only one coach who is likely to have up to three violations in a year.
“Sir, it is not every day that coaches accumulate enough positive drugs to break out of the leaderboard in a disciplinary rule,” she said. “But on May 1, 2021, that’s exactly what Bob Baffert did. And those recidivism gave rise to the committee’s legitimate concerns that he was at high risk of recidivism.”
