Luan Machado civil lawsuit dismissed

A Kentucky judge in Jefferson County District Court has dismissed, with prejudice, a civil lawsuit filed against rider Luan Machado that had the potential to expose jockeys to direct liability for their performances in races.

The judge, Jennifer Bryant Wilcox, wrote in her Sept. 24 ruling that “the courts are not the appropriate forum to debate or try to determine the outcome of sporting events” in dismissing the suit outright.

“Jockeys make split-second decisions during races that can affect their personal safety and the safety of the horses they are riding,” Wilcox wrote. “As a matter of public policy, these decisions should not be clouded by concerns that they could face thousands of dollars in legal fees every time a horse owner or track bettor thinks the jockey should have done something different in the heat of the moment.”

The plaintiffs, the owner and breeder of the horse Hold My Bourbon, filed the suit against Machado in February, nearly three months after Machado was suspended four days by Kentucky stewards for easing up on the horse in “an error of judgment” in the final furlong of a 1 1/8-mile race on Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs. The plaintiffs alleged that Machado’s performance was a breach of contract.

The ruling was first reported by The Paulick Report.

:: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!

Legal experts considered the lawsuit a longshot, and attorneys at The Jockey’s Guild, which provides legal assistance to its members, had called the allegations and legal theory in the suit “utterly baseless” while warning that a ruling for the plaintiffs would upend decades of established practice.

“There is absolutely no basis for private parties to try to undermine the stewards’ statutorily entrusted decision by supplanting it with their own judgment as to what the appropriate penalty should be,” the Guild said in a statement released after the suit was filed.

In her ruling, Wilcox shot down a claim that the plaintiffs were entitled to legal relief because Machado had apologized to the horse’s owners following the race. She also dismissed the claim of a breach of contract in part because the two parties did not have an agreement in which “Machado promised to win the race, or, as plaintiffs allege, to ‘use reasonable diligence in his efforts’ to win the race.”

Although Wilcox dismissed the suit with prejudice, the plaintiffs have appealed the dismissal, according to a case file provided by the Jefferson County court clerk.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.