Baffert's KHRC appeal postponed until Aug. 22
A hearing to consider an appeal by the trainer Bob Baffert of his 90-day suspension for the positive test by Medina Spirit in last year’s Kentucky Derby has been moved to Aug. 22, his lawyer confirmed on Thursday.
Baffert’s hearing before the full Kentucky Horse Racing Commission was scheduled to begin on Monday, but the two sides agreed to delay the start until Aug. 22 for “numerous reasons,” according to the attorney, Craig Robertson.
“Both parties agreed it needed to be moved,” Robertson said.
The new date for the hearing is nearly seven weeks after Baffert’s 90-day suspension expires on July 2. Most of Baffert’s horses were all moved during the term of his suspension to Tim Yakteen, a former assistant to Baffert two decades ago, and Sean McCarthy.
The suspension by the KHRC was finalized after eight months of legal wrangling by both sides over the source of the positive and the proper shipping and testing of the horse’s split sample. The KHRC did not approve the start date of the suspension until Baffert’s lawyers had exhausted appeals asking civil courts to stay the suspension and Baffert had a chance to argue his case in front of the KHRC.
Medina Spirit tested positive in the Derby for betamethasone, a regulated corticosteroid. Baffert has contended that the positive arose from the use of an innocuous skin ointment to treat a rash, and that KHRC rules should not apply to the substance. The KHRC has argued that the state’s rules prohibit the appearance of betamethasone in any post-race test, regardless of the source.
Medina Spirit, who died of a suspected cardiac event after a workout in December, was disqualified from the Derby, and his owner has appealed the disqualification.
The KHRC has blocked out three days for the hearing, but Robertson said on Thursday that the hearing “could take more or less depending on a number of evidentiary issues.”
Since the KHRC approved the stewards’ decision to levy the suspension, its executive director, Marc Guilfoil, who signed the initial order rejecting Baffert’s request for a stay of the suspension, has resigned to take a position with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, beginning July 15. Five of the KHRC's 15 members were recently replaced after their terms expired.