Baffert attorneys file request seeking $160K in legal fees from NYRA

Attorneys for the trainer Bob Baffert have asked a U.S. District Court judge in New York to approve a request that would require the New York Racing Association to award him nearly $160,000 in attorney fees.

The request, filed on Aug. 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Court of New York, claims that Baffert had legal fees of $159,419 related to his challenge of a ban by the New York Racing Association earlier this year. In late July, the judge in the case granted an injunction that prevented NYRA from enforcing the ban.

In the request, Baffert’s attorneys argue that he should be awarded the legal fees because the judge in the case had ruled that his due-process rights had been violated by NYRA when it issued the ban without affording the trainer a hearing. NYRA issued the ban in May after Baffert acknowledged that his horse Medina Spirit tested positive for the regulated anti-inflammatory medication betamethasone, in a case that has not yet been adjudicated.

“The Court’s analysis made clear that it strongly assessed the merits of Baffert’s arguments, and that its opinion was driven by the merits,” the filing states. “As a result, Baffert has essentially achieved his main objective in this litigation — he received an Order enjoining NYRA from enforcing its suspension and allowing him to continue using his New York racing license at New York’s thoroughbred racetracks.”

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The filing also requests an award of $2,667 for expenses related to the legal dispute.

Patrick McKenna, a spokesman for NYRA, said that the association “will oppose Mr. Baffert’s request to recover attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the three law firms he is using in this case, and NYRA is vigorously defending its position in the lawsuit.”