Muth, Imagination work for Preakness; Derby is up to courts
With their next starts yet to be determined, Muth and Imagination worked at Santa Anita on Sunday for trainer Bob Baffert, who confirmed in a text message they were being aimed for the May 18 Preakness Stakes.
He did not, however, say whether the Kentucky Derby might yet be in their plans if a court order should block a suspension that is keeping them out of Churchill Downs.
Muth's owner files appeal to get into Kentucky Derby.
Muth went five furlongs in 1:00.2 in his second workout since he won the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on March 30. Imagination was clocked at 48.0 seconds for a half-mile in his first timed work since finishing second in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) on April 6.
Zedan Racing Stables, Muth's owner, filed an emergency motion with the Kentucky Court of Appeals on Friday, a day after it lost a lower-court case to force Muth into the Derby. The lawsuit is being monitored by the SF Racing-led partnership that owns Imagination, who conceivably could be allowed in the May 4 classic if Zedan were to get a favorable ruling for Muth.
Lawyers for Churchill Downs Inc., which suspended Baffert and the horses he trains, have until Wednesday to reply to the motion. Derby contenders must be in the Churchill Downs stables by Saturday, according to the written conditions established this winter by track management.
Their most recent results would have qualified Muth and Imagination for the Kentucky Derby, but CDI suspended Baffert after Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone after finishing first in the 2021 run for the roses. The initial suspension was for two years, but CDI extended it in June to run through the end of 2024.
Baffert is not a plaintiff in this case, in which stable owner Amr Zedan said he bought Muth and five other horses for $10.8 million with the understanding Baffert’s original suspension was going to end last summer.
A Jefferson County circuit judge agreed Thursday with CDI, which said it never firmly declared the suspension would end last summer and that it was within its rights to extend it based on its belief Baffert had not been contrite.