By T. D. Thornton
Trainer Bob Baffert spent 2 1/2 hours on the witness stand testifying at a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) appeal hearing Monday.
Baffert's intent by filing the appeal is to clear from his record a 90-day suspension he has already served while also reversing the KHRC's disqualification of Medina Spirit from the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby.
Those penalties were the result of the Baffert-trained colt returning a positive for betamethasone after crossing the finish wire first in America's most historic and important horse race.
Beyond the already-served suspension (which ran from early April through early July) and a pending KHRC fine for $7,500 (that is also being appealed), Medina's Spirit's betamethasone overage also triggered separate banishments and sanctions from racing at the Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) portfolio of racetracks, plus at the New York Racing Association tracks.
Baffert has either fought or is in the process of fighting both of those sanctions in court, but right now he is precluded from having a trainee in the 2023 Derby because of CDI's actions against him (as part of a two-year ban, CDI had also denied Derby participation to the Hall-of-Fame trainer in 2022).
Monday's hearing rekindled many of the same pro-and-con arguments that have been repeatedly articulated by both sides over the past 16 months in various courtroom and hearing settings.
This latest KHRC hearing process could last the entire week.
Horse Racing Nation (HRN) published live updates of the Aug. 22 proceedings in Frankfort, Kentucky.
HRN reported that Jennifer Wolsing, general counsel for the KHRC, framed the case in straightforward terms during her opening statement.
“This is a very simple case,” she stated. “Betamethasone is a class C medication which has been prohibited in Kentucky.”
Clark Brewster, who represents Baffert, countered with his own opening statement that focused on disputing the KHRC's claim that there was an applicable “limit of detection” rule while also disputing the KHRC's assertions that Baffert had a pattern of medication rulings against him.
HRN also reported that, “Brewster also sought to discredit Industrial Labs, which returned the positive test on Medina Spirit, suggesting that the company needed to come back with positive tests to stay in business.”
Brewster also claimed there was a difference between injecting betamethasone (which Baffert has denied) and using it topically as an ointment like Otomax (which is Baffert's explanation of how the drug got into Medina Spirit), according to HRN.
“I won't say it was a mistake [to give Medina Spirit an ointment the day before the Derby],” Baffert was quoted as saying in HRN. “If you use an ointment to humanely heal a rash, it's not a mistake.”
At one point during testimony, Wolsing questioned Baffert's knowledge about medication rules in Kentucky, and asked Baffert to read aloud the ingredient list for Otomax, which includes betamethasone valerate.
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