Baffert will appeal dismissal of his suit against Churchill Downs

A federal judge in Louisville, Ky., rejected the final claim in Bob Baffert’s lawsuit against Churchill Downs Inc. on Wednesday, and his attorney said the ruling will be appealed.

With the decision, judge Rebecca Grady Jennings dismissed the lawsuit, which stemmed from the trainer’s suspension by CDI after Medina Spirit tested positive for a banned substance following the 2021 Kentucky Derby.

Jennings, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, dismissed Baffert’s other claims in the lawsuit in February. Those included unlawful conspiracy in restraint of trade, unlawful use of monopoly power and tortious interference with prospective business relations.

The remaining claim was breach of due process, and a motion for summary judgment was filed by the defendants, who also included CDI chief executive Bill Carstanjen and Alex Rankin, chairman of the company’s board of director.

In granting the motion, Jennings rejected Baffert’s claim that his Kentucky trainer’s license was rendered useless by the suspension, noting that he had won more than $1 million at Keeneland during the suspension.

Baffert's attorney, Clark Brewster, said the ruling will be appealed, along with Jennings's February ruling to a federal court in Cincinnati. In a text message to Horse Racing Nation, Brewster said, "the ruling was the last hurdle cleared to enable a presentation to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which we look forward to."

Yet to be decided is Baffert’s dispute with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission over Medina Spirit’s disqualification from the Derby. A hearing on the matter had been scheduled for March but was postponed indefinitely and has not been rescheduled.