Bob Baffert Sues Churchill Downs Over 2-Year Ban Following Derby Disqualification: Report

Thoroughbred racing trainer Bob Baffert has filed a lawsuit against Churchill Downs Inc. CHDN, CEO Bill Carstanjen and Chairman Alex Rankin, claiming that they lacked the legal authority to ban him for two years after Medina Spirit, the horse he trained for the 2021 Kentucky Derby, finished first but was disqualified for failing a drug test.

What Happened: Medina Spirit had his victory voided after testing positive for betamethasone, a corticosteroid, during a test conducted after the race. Kentucky’s racing regulations prohibit the presence of betamethasone in a horse’s system on a race day.

Baffert has insisted the drug ban applied only to injectable betamethasone and that Medina Spirit had absorbed the drug through the ointment Otomax, which could not have produced an unfair racing advantage. However, Medina Spirit was Baffert’s fifth drug violation since 2020, with two cases in Kentucky, two in Arkansas and one in California.

After the disqualification, the Churchill Downs board ordered a 90-day suspension for Baffert and fined him $7,500. He is appealing that decision to a Kentucky state court.

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What Happens Next: The Wall Street Journal reported that the new lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky, said Baffert was deprived of his right to due process by preventing him from training horses to race at any Churchill Downs-owned track for two years. Baffert accused the track and its executives of “harassment and sabotage” designed with “the singular aim of destroying Baffert’s career.”

“[Churchill Downs] was acting like a regulatory agency without having the due process established,” said Baffert’s attorney, Clark Brewster. “They’ve gone down this pathway of accusation and condemnation, and they can’t retreat from it when they realized they are wrong,” Brewster said

Baffert is also seeking a preliminary injunction to allow his horses to earn qualifying points for this year’s Kentucky Derby, to be held May 7, and to recognize any points that his horses have already earned.

A spokesman for Churchill Downs Inc. said in an emailed statement that Baffert’s claims were “meritless and consistent with his pattern of failed drug tests, denials, excuses and attempts to blame others and identify loopholes in order to avoid taking responsibility for his actions.”

Photo of Medina Spirit in the Kentucky Derby winner’s circle courtesy of the Kentucky National Guard.