KHRC

A federal judge on Thursday granted Bob Baffert the expedited preliminary injunction hearing the trainer is seeking in his fight to overturn a private-property ban by Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI). But getting that hearing on the docket is only one step in a complicated, deadline-driven legal process in the Hall-of-Famer's long-shot quest to try to be able to saddle horses in the GI Kentucky Derby. The just-assigned Apr. 15 date for the hearing in United States District Court (Western District of Kentucky, LouisvilleDivision) will come 22 days before the Derby....

With the clock ticking toward the Apr. 4 deadline for trainer Bob Baffert's looming 90-day suspension, a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge now wants to figure out whether the original venue chosen for legal action last month by the owner and trainer of disqualified 2021 GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit constitutes the correct county-level court. Dick Downey of the Blood-Horse first reported on the judge's order requesting briefs from the movants (Baffert and Zedan) and the respondent (the KHRC) covering just that single issue to be filed with the...

Trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan filed motions with the Kentucky Court of Appeals on Thursday in an attempt to legally block a series of looming penalties related to the equine drug positive rulings of Medina Spirit in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. The most severe of those sanctions is a 90-day suspension for Baffert that is set to start Apr. 4. The Mar. 24 filing came barely 72 hours after a lower court rejected Baffert and Zedan's plea for a stay or temporary injunction that would have kept...

Earlier this week, a Kentucky judge denied trainer Bob Baffert's attempts to stay a 90-day suspension related to Medina Spirit's betamethasone-positive disqualification from the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC). While the appeals process plays out, the question now is: What will happen to the nearly 100-horses in Baffert's California-based stable if the suspension goes into effect on April 4. As the TDN previously reported, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) will honor the 90-day suspension metered down to Baffert through a system of reciprocity between jurisdictions. That honor system is...

A Kentucky judge on Monday denied a request for a stay and/or a temporary injunction that would have kept trainer Bob Baffert's and owner Amr Zedan's penalties from being enforced while the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) appeals process plays out for rulings related to Medina Spirit's betamethasone-positive disqualification from the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. Judge Thomas Wingate of Franklin Circuit Court did, however, keep Baffert's 90-day suspension and $7,500 fine and Zedan's forfeiture of the Derby purse winnings from going into effect for two more weeks so that they...

The hearing on the motion for a stay to be granted for Bob Baffert's 90-day suspension by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) was held on Thursday, Mar. 16 in the Franklin County (Ky) Circuit Court, with both sides repeating what are now familiar arguments about the initial ruling. Thursday's court hearing was held after the original hearing scheduled on Mar. 2 was postponed when it became apparent that the KHRC would be holding a special meeting two days later to consider and rule on Baffert's request for a stay....

FRANKFORT, KY.--The hearing to appeal Bob Baffert's suspension by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in Franklin County (Ky.) Circuit Court was delayed Wednesday morning and rescheduled until Mar. 17. The delay was put into place to allow the KHRC hearing on the same matter, scheduled for this Friday, Mar. 4, to be held in advance of the Franklin County hearing, as a successful outcome for Baffert with the KHRC Friday would have rendered Wednesday's hearing moot. Judge Thomas Wingate said he would issue his decision on Monday, Mar. 21, after...

As had been anticipated, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) will honor the 90-day suspension meted down to trainer Bob Baffert by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) if the trainer's legal efforts to block the suspension aren't successful in the interim, confirmed a CHRB spokesperson Saturday morning. Likewise, the CHRB will reciprocate any stay on the KHRC's ruling "if granted by a court," the spokesperson confirmed in an email. Earlier this month, the KHRC handed Baffert a 90-day suspension and a $7,500 fine after Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive...

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) has denied trainer Bob Baffert's request for a stay of a 90-day suspension handed down to him earlier in the week for Medina Spirit (Protonico)'s betamethasone positive in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. The KHRC also denied a stay of its decision to disqualify Medina Spirit from first place in last year's GI Kentucky Derby. The Louisville Courier Journal and the Daily Racing Form were among the first to report the story. In most circumstances, once a trainer or owner has appealed a racing...

This week, 296 days after the race was run, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission ruled on the case of the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, officially disqualifying winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) and elevating Mandaloun (Into Mischief) into first place. Additionally, the KHRC suspended trainer Bob Baffert for 90 days and Baffert's legal team quickly promised appeals to an administrative law judge. Bob Heleringer, a lawyer, law professor and the author of "Equine Regulatory Law", joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Tuesday as the Green Group Guest of the Week...

Dan Ross's article from Sunday, February 20 highlighting the many unanswered questions regarding provisions of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) should concern anyone who cares about American racing. For an entity which many are expecting to be vitally important to the future of the sport, it has left much to be desired in the way of its public communications. Just shy of four months from launch, the lack of answers to a major industry publication should concern anyone involved in, or subject to, the new organization. Transparency is...

Against the backdrop of the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby drug positive investigation dragging past the nine-month mark and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) maintaining a conspicuous silence throughout the drawn-out process, KHRC chairman Jonathan Rabinowitz obliquely referred to the scandal for the first time at an open, public meeting Tuesday. Although Rabinowitz did not specifically mention Medina Spirit's betamethasone overage or trainer Bob Baffert's long-delayed stewards' hearing that was finally conducted Feb. 14, that controversy was almost certainly the catalyst for the chairman stating that the KHRC is seeking...