Via TD Thornton
Bob Baffert filed a legal response Friday to a recent attempt by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) to dismiss his revised civil complaint in which coach Hall- of-Fame is fighting an alleged “sham” hearing process initiated by the NYRA to determine if he will be removed from New York’s top hits.
The December 10 filing in the United States District Court (Eastern District of New York) refutes and reinforces some of the legal positions that have been argued back and forth by both parties since Baffert’s submission. the first version of its lawsuit on June 14.
But an updated section told the judge about the December 3 urine test results that the coach’s legal team claimed “scientifically confirmed” that betamethasone in Medina Spirit’s system follows when the foal won the GI Kentucky Derby came from the topical ointment, not the intra-articular injection.
However, this new information about Medina Spirit’s urine was revealed in the filing without any mention of the tragic event that took place approximately 72 hours after that test result became public, when The Derby winner collapsed and died after giving birth during a practice session at Santa Anita Park.
It is conceivable that Medina Spirit’s death on December 6 is not a legal point that Baffert’s attorney considers related to the case, which is primarily concerned with allegations and incidents that have been going on for many months. before.
But for a layperson reading a court filing to learn that the untimed and sudden departure of Medina Sprit has rocked the sports world and dominated the international racing news this week, it’s that. It’s really an amazing lack of context in the overall story.
“Unfortunately, the NYRA has refused to wait for the results of said trial or allow the full administrative process that had to take place in Kentucky to take place,” Baffert’s filing states.
“Instead, on May 17, 2021, prior to the commencement of any administrative process in Kentucky, the NYRA took the unprecedented step of announcing that it would immediately and indefinitely suspend Baffert puts horses on the racecourses on which it operates, including Belmont Park, Saratoga Course, and Aqueduct Racecourse,” the record continued.
The NYRA expelled the seven-time GI Kentucky Derby-winning coach 16 days after Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone. But the NYRA’s desire to exclude Baffert extends beyond Medina Spirit’s still-liquid Derby sanction, which hasn’t even led to a hearing by the Kentucky Equestrian Commission.
In the 12 months before Medina Spirit tested positive, four other Baffert interns also tested positive for the median drug, two of them in the Class I stake, and this represents an important opportunity in the argument. of the NYRA.
On July 14, the court granted Baffert a preliminary order that now allows him to race at New York’s top tracks until his case is heard in full.
But the judge also wrote in that ruling that “Baffert should have been informed of all the reasons for which the NYRA intended to suspend him.”
So, following that decision, the NYRA drafted a new set of procedures for holding hearings and issuing decisions designed to suspend licensees for causing injury. On September 10, the NYRA then summoned Baffert to appear at an exclusion hearing.
Baffert first filed a motion asking the judge to keep the NYRA in civil contempt for attempting to schedule such a hearing and uphold the hearing. When those requests were denied, he revised his original complaint to try to keep that hearing process going (currently scheduled to begin January 24). ).
When the NYRA previously addressed the issue of the hearing in court documents, it called Baffert’s description of the process “erroneous,” noting that “plaintiff’s argument that he had no Reporting of conduct prohibited by the NYRA has also failed because common law has long recognized the standards and interests that the NYRA intends to uphold.”
The NYRA had also previously indicated to the judge that it was “giving Plaintiff exactly what he argued he was entitled to in support of his motion for a preliminary restraining order – through newspaper and the opportunity to be heard.”
On Friday, Baffert’s filing reads, “Incredibly, the NYRA’s Motion of Rebuttal even asks this Court to dismiss [civil action for deprivation of rights claim] over which Baffert prevailed. Baffert’s revised complaint outlines valid claims for each of the five causes of action… The NYRA’s Repeal Motion should be denied in its entirety. ”
