Pimlico

Preakness 2021: Request for temporary restraining order to be filed if Medina Spirit entry is denied

Matt Hegarty|May 10, 2021

Bob Baffert speaks with the media outside his barn at Churchill Downs on May 2

Barbara D. Livingston Bob Baffert speaks to the media the morning after Medina's Spirit's Kentucky Derby victory, which is now in jeopardy of being taken away due to a medication violation.

The attorney for Bob Baffert is prepared to file a motion for a temporary restraining order that would prohibit Pimlico Race Course from denying Baffert the ability to enter Medina Spirit in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, the attorney, Craig Robertson, said Monday morning.

Pimlico Race Course, owned by 1/ST, a company formerly known as The Stronach Group, issued a statement Sunday saying it was reviewing Medina’s Spirit eligibility after Baffert acknowledged earlier in the day that the horse tested positive for a regulated corticosteroid following his Kentucky Derby win. The company pushed back the draw for the Preakness until 4 p.m. Tuesday to review the matter.

Robertson said that he has not yet had discussions with Pimlico’s management but would be “reaching out to them” on Monday to discuss the thorny legal issues surrounding a potential ban of the horse from the race. In any case, Robertson said, a motion for a TRO will be filed if Pimlico decides to deny the entry.

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“Hopefully they reach a decision that is one we can live with,” Robertson said. “If not, we will go to court and we will seek a TRO.”

Racetracks have well-established legal rights enabling them to bar individuals, but those rights have limitations. Robertson contended that any decision to bar Baffert at this point – without a split-sample confirmation of the Derby test – would be a violation of Baffert’s due-process rights, an argument that courts have sympathized with in the past.

On Sunday, Churchill Downs barred Baffert from the entry box indefinitely, citing the trainer’s acknowledgement of the positive test. Robertson said that the legal tangle over the Churchill decision “has been put on the backburner” in order to focus on any legal issues arising from Pimlico’s decision.“We don’t even have an official positive yet,” Robertson said. “Any decision to ban him, by anyone, be it Churchill or Pimlico or anyone else, is unlawful."

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