Kentucky Court of Appeals declines to issue emergency stay of Baffert suspension

The Kentucky Court of Appeals on Friday declined to issue an emergency injunction that would have stayed a 90-day suspension handed down by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to trainer Bob Baffert, setting in motion the start of the penalty on Monday.

In an order signed by Judge Allison Jones, the court ruled that it did not find cause to issue the emergency injunction and said that the larger case appealing the commission’s decision to deny a stay would be “assigned to a three-judge panel of this court following expiration of the response time provided in the civil rules.”

With the denial, it is highly likely that Baffert will be denied the ability to enter horses at any track in the United States beginning Monday. Under a system known as reciprocity, racing commissions honor suspensions that are handed down in other states.

One of Baffert’s attorneys, Clark Brewster, issued a statement Friday night saying that he was “disappointed” in the Court of Appeals decision, but Brewster also reiterated that he believed Baffert would prevail in his attempt to overturn the decision of the stewards to suspend him.

“It’s important to understand that the court made it clear that it denied the stay purely on procedural grounds and not on the merits, all of which point to Bob ultimately winning this case,” the statement said. “We will continue to fight for Bob’s ability to race and win in Kentucky and against the injustice of the KHRC against Bob.”

The denial of the stay is the tail-end of a long series of legal skirmishes as Baffert attempted to avoid serving the penalty while he appeals the initial stewards’ ruling, which was based on a positive for the regulated corticosteroid betamethasone in the horse Medina Spirit after he won the 2021 Kentucky Derby.

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Kentucky stewards issued the suspension Feb. 21, with an initial start date of March 8. Baffert immediately appealed the ruling to the KHRC and requested a stay of the suspension from the KHRC’s executive director, Marc Guilfoil, who denied the request. Baffert then appealed the denial of the stay to the full KHRC, which unanimously upheld Guilfoil’s decision on March 4.

Prior to the March 4 vote, Baffert had sought a hearing in Franklin County Circuit Court for a stay of the suspension, but the judge, Thomas Wingate, declined to address the issue until the KHRC conducted a vote on Guilfoil’s decision. Wingate also asked the KHRC to delay the onset of the decision until he could rule on the case.

On March 21, four days after conducting a hearing, Wingate ruled that the KHRC was within its rights to deny a stay. Wingate also ordered the start date of the suspension to be pushed to April 4 to allow Baffert to seek an appeal of his own decision in the state court of appeals.

Baffert’s appeal of the penalty in front of the KHRC is scheduled to begin April 18. The appeal will be heard by a hearing officer appointed by the KHRC. The hearing officer’s recommendation can be accepted or rejected by the KHRC. Typically, it takes four to six months to fully adjudicate an appeal in front of the racing commission.

Separately, Baffert has been banned by Churchill Downs Inc. from all of its tracks through the 2023 Kentucky Derby. The company also modified a points system to determine eligibility for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks that prevented any horse trained by Baffert from earning points in prep races for the two stakes.

Baffert filed a lawsuit challenging the ban last month, and the judge in that case has scheduled an April 15 hearing to discuss a request for an emergency injunction. Churchill announced the ban shortly after the 2021 Kentucky Derby, and courts have generally upheld decisions by private companies to ban individuals provided that the ban is not based on protected traits or classes, such as age, sex, or skin color.

Last week, four of the top 3-year-old colts in Baffert’s barn were transferred to other trainers, including one of his former assistants, Tim Yakteen, who has been training on his own since 2004. The horses included Messier, Blackadder, Doppelganger, and McLaren Vale. Doppelganger is entered in Saturday’s Arkansas Derby. Blackadder is expected to scratch from Saturday’s Jeff Ruby Stakes at Turfway Park and run in next week’s Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. Messier is pointed to the Santa Anita Derby on April 9.

Yakteen also received a top 3-year-old filly in Baffert’s barn, Adare Manor, who is being pointed to the Santa Anita Oaks on April 9.