Bob Baffert sues Churchill Downs over 2-year suspension

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bob Baffert has sued Churchill Downs and track leadership in federal court, seeking to overturn the embattled Hall of Fame trainer's two-year suspension on grounds it violated his due process rights.

The suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court names Churchill Downs Inc., CEO William C. Carstanjen and board chair R. Alex Rankin. The historic track suspended Baffert last spring through 2023 and cited a recent spate of failed drug tests by his horses including now-deceased colt Medina Spirit after he won the Kentucky Derby. A postrace drug test revealed the corticosteroid betamethasone in his system, which is allowed in Kentucky but prohibited on race day.

Kentucky racing stewards last week disqualified Medina Spirit and handed Baffert a 90-day suspension and $7,500 fine. Churchill Downs recognized runner-up Mandaloun as winner soon after. Kentucky Horse Racing Commission director Marc A. Guilfoil on Friday denied the trainer's request to stay the suspension that is scheduled to begin on March 8.

Baffert and his representatives have argued that the steroid in Medina Spirit came from the topical ointment Otomax, rather than an injection that is banned. Attorney Clark Brewster stated in a release Tuesday that Churchill Downs is not tasked with regulating horse racing in Kentucky but «could unilaterally ban» a trainer without having facts or any semblance of due process.

«Churchill Downs and Mr. Carstanjen knew full well that imposing its suspension, based on zero factual or legal support, would give illegitimate credibility to a false narrative about Bob,» Brewster added, «creating pressure on the Kentucky Race Horsing Commission stewards to take action against him, too.»

Churchill Downs called Baffert's