Doesn’t Churchill Downs have some kind of agreement everyone has to sign in order to enter a race there? Something that says the person agrees to abide by the decisions of the management?
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Yes they do. How well it hold up in court we’ll see. I don’t think he’ll win, but I’ve been wrong before.
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They are also a private corporation and there is precedent that corporations can prevent people from entering their property for any reason, as long as the reason isn’t that they are from a protected class IE; race, sex, religion etc.
As someone here said, white haired racehorse trainers with many drug positives aren’t a protected class.
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I notice that Churchill doesn’t seem too worried about it. They have big time attorneys, more big time than Baffert’s, and they’ve had plenty of time to prepare.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Baffert just accepted that he made a big mistake, apologized and sat out his punishment like most people’s parents taught them to do? I was taught that when you break the rules you take your lumps and don’t whine about it.
He doesn’t seem to care about the effect of what he has done to the reputation of Churchill’s premiere race, or to the reputation of horse racing which (in the public eye) was far from stellar to begin with.
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Exactly! He’s like a spoiled toddler that has gotten away with so much and finally a parent has put their foot down and he’s throwing a tantrum. If he’d been held accountable in earlier instances, maybe he would have learned his lesson and this never would have happened. Then again, with his ego, maybe he would have continued to push the envelope.
I still firmly believe somewhere down the road it will come out that this was a situation just like Servis.
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You don’t sign something that’s specific to CD. But in order to get a Kentucky racing license, you do sign an application saying that you agree to abide by KY’s racing rules.
But as @skydy pointed out, Churchill Downs is private property and I believe that gives them the right to exclude BB if they want to.
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I completely understand CD being able to do as they wish on their own property.
I do wonder how this will play out with a private corporation’s ban being used to affect him elsewhere.
The Churchill Downs ban has no effect anywhere else (unless they extend it to their other properties.) The other thing Baffert is fighting in Kentucky is the 90 day suspension that the KHRC gave him which–if it goes into effect–should be upheld by numerous other racing jurisdictions.
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But the KHRC issue is a result of the issues at Churchill, right?
When first announced, CDI said that ban applied to all its properties. Per their website, this a list:
Yes and no. It’s about the DQ of Medina Spirit at CD but it’s also about the 4 other medication violations he had in Arkansas and California over the same year.
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It’s a result of him breaking the drug rules in Kentucky and elsewhere. The KHRC is the entity that can (and did) disqualify the horse from the Derby and suspend the owner and trainer, or disqualify any other drug positive horse that runs anywhere in Kentucky. Their suspension keeps him from running horses anywhere in Kentucky and with reciprocity, pretty much anywhere else in the U.S.
Churchill banned him from their premises. The Churchill ban didn’t affect him from running anywhere but on Churchill tracks. Now that the KHRC has suspended him he can’t run anywhere.
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If a judge feels that Baffert’s due process rights were violated by Churchill then they may do as NYRA did and set up a hearing for him. It is likely that they would suspend him afterward anyway, so it would just slow matters down a bit.
It may be more difficult to get a no due process ruling regarding the KHRC.
Oh hell, this isn’t good news for Dr.Baker, who also treated Medina Spirit
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He has a good chance at getting a stay of the KHRC suspension while the appeal process is underway, doesn’t he? @LaurieB @laurierace @Texarkana?
What happened to Little Alexis? Broodmare now?
Here is an interesting conversation ( very interesting in that there is an equine law attorney expressing some real outrage over the words in a press release written by one of Baffert’s attorneys.) it was recorded before Baffert sued Churchill but the potential lawsuit was discussed.
It’s a Q and A addressed to Bob Heleringer who it seems “wrote the book” on racing law when his book, Equine Regulatory Law was published in 2012.
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I am done making predictions, they definitely aren’t following the playbook anymore. Will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
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If that happens, can Churchill Downs still keep him off their property and prevent the horses in his care from getting points to qualify for the Derby?
Yes, until there is a ruling on the Churchill case, Churchill can keep him off of their tracks.
They are two different cases.
If there is a stay of his suspension from the KHRC he’ll be able to race at other tracks, but not those owned by Churchill, unless a temporary injunction in the Churchill case is given by a judge or an appeal of the Churchill case is decided.
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