Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is suing Churchill Downs Inc. and its leaders, seeking to overturn a suspension that bans him from its tracks through 2023.
The federal lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky against the corporation, CEO Bill Carstanjen and board chairman R. Alex Rankin.
The complaint asks the court to lift the suspension against Baffert and his horses, allowing them to compete in races including the Kentucky Derby. It contends Churchill Downs leaders violated Baffert’s right to due process with their action.
“The notion that Churchill Downs, which is not even tasked with regulating horseracing in Kentucky, could unilaterally ban a trainer by an edict coupled in a press release without having the facts or any semblance of due process should arouse outrage in any fair-minded person,” said Baffert attorney Clark O. Brewster of Brewster & De Angelis in a news release on Tuesday.
The lawsuit also is asking the court to issue an injunction that would prevent Churchill Downs from future action in the case.
Last June, Churchill Downs issued the suspension after 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was found to have failed a second drug test for the banned steroid betamethasone.
“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,” Carstanjen said in a statement at the time of Baffert’s suspension. “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.”
Medina Spirit died in December. It is believed the colt may have died of a heart attack but a necropsy report was inconclusive.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission last month stripped Medina Spirit of the title and suspended Baffert for 90 days from statewide tracks, also fining him $7,500.
Mandaloun, who initially finished in second place, is now recognized as the winner of the 147th Kentucky Derby.
Baffert, 69, has been the trainer of six Kentucky Derby winners, and his horses also have won seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes and three Kentucky Oaks. Two of his horses have won the Triple Crown: American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018.
–Field Level Media