Baffert Files Suit Against NYRA

[Wandering Eyes]

Bob Baffert has filed suit in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, against the New York Racing Association charging violations under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution violating his right to due process.

The suit was filed Monday by Baffert's attorney Craig Robertson.

NYRA announced that it had suspended Baffert on May 17, after it was revealed the Medina Spirit (Protonico) had tested positive for Betamethasone in the Kentucky Derby.

The suit reads, “Specifically, Baffert maintains a right to rely upon and use his New York State occupational trainer's license that was duly issued to him without limitation by the New York State Gaming Commission (the “Gaming Commission”); NYRA has, without legal authority, and without any notice or opportunity to be heard, attempted to indefinitely suspend Baffert's trainer's license issued by the Gaming Commission, thereby preventing Baffert from practicing in his chosen profession or using his state issued-license on state owned property.”

In the suit, Baffert seeks, among other things, a declaration that NYRA is prohibited from denying horses he owns or trains for entering races at NYRA tracks, denying him the privileges of the grounds, and denying his stall space. He is seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction from NYRA from further banning him from the tracks, and says that if that does not happen, he will suffer immediate and irreparable harm.

Attachments to the suit include a letter sent to Baffert from NYRA on May 17 outlining the reasons for the suspension. The letter, signed by NYRA COO David O'Rourke, reads, “NYRA has determined that the best interests of thoroughbred racing compel the temporary suspension of your entering horses in races and occupying stall space at our racetracks. To do otherwise would compromise NYRA's investment in its operations as well as the public's perception of thoroughbred racing generally.” The letter says that NYRA would make a final determination on the length and the terms of the suspension in the future “based on information revealed during the course of the ongoing investigation in Kentucky.”

 

 

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