Churchill Downs ends trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.'s suspension
Churchill Downs Inc. announced late Friday that suspended trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. will be permitted to enter horses in races and may apply for stall occupancy at all company-owned racetracks effective immediately.
The decision follows the completion of an investigation by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the release of necropsy reports of two of Joseph’s horses that died suddenly in races at Churchill Downs early in its since suspended spring-summer meet.
“We remain deeply concerned about the condition of Parents Pride and Chasing Artie that led to their sudden death,” said Bill Mudd, president and chief operating officer of CDI, referring to the Joseph trained horses that died. “However, given the details available to us as a result of the KHRC investigation, there is no basis to continue Joseph’s suspension.”
The racing commission did not identify any conclusive causes for the deaths after conducting necropsies - a common outcome in investigations of catastrophic injuries in racehorses resulting in death.
CDI suspended Joseph indefinitely in early May after the deaths - among 12 reported at the Louisville, Ky., track in training leading up to its spring-summer meet that opened on April 29 and in the early days of racing. As a result of the suspension, the track scratched Joseph's Kentucky Derby entrant Lord Miles as well as other horses the conditioner planned to run at the track.
CDI canceled racing at its namesake track in early June and switched the remainder of the meet to Ellis Park, which it also owns, in order to conduct a top-to-bottom review of Churchill Downs' racing surfaces.
Joseph's attorney, Craig Robertson, told Blood Horse on Friday that the Florida-based trainer is pleased to put the matter behind him.
"Obviously, when the KHRC decided that they wanted to conduct an investigation, that somewhat put a black cloud over him," it quoted Robertson as saying. "We fully cooperated with that investigation. We stayed in constant contact with the KHRC, provided them every single document that they requested, and responded to every inquiry or question they asked.
"Mr. Joseph is happy and relieved. He feels like he's been exonerated from any wrongdoing."