NYRA, Jockey Club on why Baffert suspension should stay

The New York Racing Association and The Jockey Club have filed documents that argue against upholding Bob Baffert's request for a preliminary injunction to stop NYRA's suspension of the trainer from its racetracks.

The suspension, instituted on May 17, came after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive after the race for betamethasone, a banned substance. On June 14, Baffert filed suit, seeking a preliminary injunction against the suspension and claiming his rights to due process and to participate in New York racing are being violated by the organization.

In a memo filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, NYRA claims that Baffert "fails to demonstrate that he will suffer irreparable injury in the absence of emergency relief. Rather than allege any actual or imminent injury or irreparable harm warranting a preliminary injunction, Plaintiff offers only conclusory assertions of potential harm, speculates that he may lose unidentified clients if the suspension is not lifted, and fails to submit any evidence demonstrating that the speculative loss of clients would substantially damage his business."

Addressing the due-process claim, NYRA said in the memo that it "was not required to provide Plaintiff an opportunity to be heard before issuing a temporary suspension because NYRA’s decision was based on probable cause that Plaintiff’s actions warranted suspension and was necessary to protect the safety of the racehorses and their riders, and required to ensure the integrity of the sport."

In an amicus brief filed Thursday, The Jockey Club addressed the question of whether Baffert would suffer irreparable harm to his business because of the suspension.

"From 2011 through 2020, Mr. Baffert’s total NYRA starts (Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga combined) numbered only 134, constituting a mere 3.23 percent of his 4,146 total starts in the United States during that time period," Jockey Club attorney Susan Phillips Read wrote in the brief.

The Jockey Club also presented average and median earnings per graded-stakes starts of horses trained by Baffert from 2011 through 2020 at NYRA and non-NYRA tracks.

"These numbers are close (average: NYRA, $143,340; non-NYRA, $114,900) and very close (median: NYRA, $118,090; non-NYRA, $113,189). … In short, Mr. Baffert cannot plausibly argue that his temporary suspension from racing at NYRA tracks has shut him out from those races where he typically earns most of his purse money annually."