By Gregg Slager
My wife and I recently started working on our travel plans for next year's Triple Crown races. Unfortunately, that will likely not include the 2024 Kentucky Derby as our trainer, Mr. Bob Baffert, for the 3rd year in a row still won't be allowed to race our horses at Churchill Downs, should our horses be so qualified. We have had to deal with this for the past few years with multiple horses, where Churchill Downs, a public entity, has deemed itself to be a higher power than the various state horse racing commissions and arbitrarily and capriciously chose to exact its own extended punishment on Mr. Baffert for, what now really appears to be, personal and vindictive reasons.
It's disappointing that Churchill Downs has decided to use its private property exclusion rights in the manner it has. Not only has Churchill Downs initially applied these rights to suspend Mr. Baffert for a period eight times as long as that imposed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (the body responsible for implementing the rules of racing), Churchill Downs decided in July 2023 to apply these rights indefinitely to a validly licensed trainer with no regulatory violations since his initial suspension. Extending the suspension and leaving it open to review at the end of 2024 is unprecedented.
I am not aware of other sports where the tracks, arenas or stadiums can dictate what athletes, coaches or owners are allowed to compete in their facilities. When NASCAR penalizes drivers, crews or other team members for infractions, does Daytona Speedway, Bristol or other tracks randomly ban those same drivers and crews for additional length of times? Imagine if Jerry Jones, who owns Texas Stadium, was allowed to ban a specific athlete, coach or team from competing at Texas Stadium because he wasn't happy with punishment the NFL governing committees meted out for a late hit, a personal foul or Deflategate. What if MLB, NHL, NBA/WNBA, MLS or any other competitive sport league allowed for arena owners to do this for petty offenses under the guise of specific conduct being detrimental to the sport? It's ludicrous and unimaginable!
With the advent of HISA we now have a national governing body in place that is developing consistent standards across all states. The Kentucky state rules that existed at the time of the original suspension with respect to betamethasone, a controlled substance, have been superceded by HISA regulations. Mr. Baffert was suspended for 21 picograms (or .021 nanograms) of betamethasone in Medina Spirit. The most recent HISA regulations now use a screening limit of .20 nanograms of betamethasone in horses before any action would be taken. It's ridiculous to me for Churchill Downs to extend Mr. Baffert's suspension given that 21 picograms is almost 90% below the threshold!
I have had the opportunity to work with many world class public and private companies during my career as a partner at a large global firm, having worked closely with C suites and boards on over 500 transactions. I have never seen behavior like this from a board in my career. The allegations around the “false narrative” that the Churchill Downs board has used to defend this action indicate to me there is something deeper and more personal. It appears that Churchill Downs is sending a message to all horsemen and horsewomen not to cross Churchill Downs or proffer alternative points of view lest similar suspensions, far in excess of what is deserved, will be meted out to them. This bullying and abuse of power is not in the best interests of the sport.
It's not just the trainer that suffers either. By extending the suspension, Churchill Downs is not just punishing Mr. Baffert, but Churchill Downs is punishing me. There is significant value that has been lost. Similarly, Churchill Downs is punishing my partners. Churchill Downs is punishing other owners with horses with Mr. Baffert. Churchill Downs also is punishing Mr. Baffert's employees and their families. Churchill Downs is punishing fans, old and new, many of whom are drawn to the sport because of Mr. Baffert.
The bigger issue at play here is the upside down relationship between Churchill Downs and the athletes/horses, the coaches/trainers/breeders and owners. Churchill Downs is nothing without them. I am not alone in this opinion. It would be a shame to see the history of Churchill Downs diminished because of the bullheadedness of a few.
With the upcoming 150th anniversary, the story isn't going to be just about who's there, but who's not and why.
Gregg Slager, Waves Edge Capital, LLC
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