NYRA argues it had 'a right and duty' to suspend Bob Baffert to protect racing

The New York Racing Association has argued its actions in temporarily suspending Bob Baffert were consistent with its right and duty to protect the integrity of racing, after the trainer last month sued the organisation for an alleged improper suspension.

Baffert claimed he was suspended without legal authority and notice, or given the opportunity to be heard prior to the action being taken in May.

Baffert, who has also been suspended by Churchill Downs Inc. for two years, argues the NYRA ban violates his constitutional right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment, damages his reputation and will cause a “mass exodus from his care of horses worth tens of millions of dollars as owners cannot allow themselves to be excluded from participation in the lucrative Belmont/Saratoga meets”.

However, in documents filed in a New York district court on Wednesday, the NYRA and the Jockey Club argued Baffert will not suffer irreparable financial harm, did not suffer a violation of due process and will only face damage to his reputation due to his own lack of oversight regarding medication use.

The NYRA’s move to suspend Baffert prevented him from using stables and entering horses at Belmont Park, Saratoga and Aqueduct, with its court documents stating public interest and impartial considerations overwhelmingly weighed in favour of the action taken.

Medina Spirit: won the Kentucky Derby at the start of MayCredit: Tim Nwachukyu (Getty Images)

The temporary suspension was enforced eight days after this year’s Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for banned raceday substance betamethasone. A second sample analysis confirmed the medication was in the horse's blood on raceday.

A final determination on the length and terms of the NYRA’s suspension will be based on information revealed during an ongoing investigation in Kentucky, with a stewards’ hearing set to take place before the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission takes any action.

The absence of any action by the KHRC is a key point in Baffert’s lawsuit, which seeks an injunction prohibiting the NYRA from denying his horses' participation at its racecourses.

NYRA CEO David O’Rourke submitted a written statement, which partly read: “Given the indisputable facts that were in the public domain, NYRA had not only a right but also the duty to temporarily suspend him, just as Churchill Downs did a few weeks earlier, to uphold the integrity of racing and protect NYRA, horses, jockeys and the public.

"Allowing Baffert to enter horses in races and stable horses at the racetracks threatened the reputation of the Belmont Stakes and NYRA.” A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Monday week.

Read more . . .

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