Judge asks KHRC to delay Baffert suspension

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A Kentucky Circuit Court judge on Wednesday asked attorneys for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to delay the onset of a 90-day suspension of the trainer Bob Baffert until at least March 22.

Judge Thomas Wingate of the Franklin Circuit Court made the request in order to allow the commission to meet on Friday to determine whether Baffert’s appeal of the commission’s decision to deny a stay of the suspension is upheld.

The judge also noted that he has a previously scheduled vacation upcoming, and asked attorneys for both sides to agree to meet on March 17 in his courtroom in order to hear Baffert’s request for a temporary injunction preventing the suspension from going into effect while he appeals the penalty.

Baffert’s suspension was set to go into effect on March 8, running through June 5.

Last Friday, Baffert’s initial request for a stay of the suspension was denied by the KHRC’s executive director, Marc Guilfoil. Baffert’s attorneys then simultaneously appealed the decision to the full KHRC while filing the request for the temporary injunction in Franklin Circuit Court.

Wingate noted that he needed to allow the full commission to vote on the appeal before he held a hearing on the request for a temporary injunction.

“You have to exhaust your remedies on that,” Wingate told Baffert’s attorney, Craig Robertson. “If the commission gives you relief on Friday, this whole thing is moot.”

“I’m happy to give the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission the opportunity to do the right thing on Friday,” Robertson said.

Wingate, who frequently hears cases involving the KHRC, said that it was his understanding that granting stays while licensees appeal penalties was “pretty much automatic,” and he asked Robertson if he has “ever heard” of the KHRC denying a stay.

“Never, your honor, never,” Robertson replied.

“But this is also a highly unusual case,” Wingate said.

Wingate said that he would need at least three days after conducting a hearing to issue a ruling on the request for a temporary injunction, necessitating the pushback of the suspension start to at least March 22. He also asked the KHRC to not enforce the suspension until he has ruled, while also allowing Baffert several days to transfer his horses before the suspension goes into effect. Jennifer Wolsing, the KHRC lead attorney, verbally agreed to the request.

Baffert was issued the 90-day suspension on Feb. 21, based on the finding of the regulated corticosteroid betamethasone in the post-race sample of Medina Spirit after the horse won last year’s Kentucky Derby. In a separate ruling by the stewards on the same day, Medina Spirit was disqualified from the race. The disqualification has also been appealed.