Dismissing Bob Baffert’s claims of irreparable damage as “entirely speculative,” and characterizing the costs to his reputation as self-inflicted, The Jockey Club argued against the Hall of Fame trainer’s move to overturn his temporary suspension by the New York Racing Association in an amicus brief filed Wednesday.
Bob Baffert was banned at NYRA tracks on May 17, after he acknowledged Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone.
The NYRA has filed a response to a lawsuit from trainer Bob Baffert arguing that a court should lift his ban at NYRA’s tracks.
The response, which contains affidavits running 236 pages long, was filed on Wednesday night in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York, nearly two weeks prior to a hearing scheduled for July 12 to hear arguments in Baffert’s request for a preliminary injunction lifting the ban. NYRA’s prestigious meet at Saratoga Race Course begins on July 15.
In its court filings, NYRA argues that the ban is necessary to protect the reputation of its business and that Baffert’s attorneys have failed to demonstrate that the ban constitutes a substantial threat to his business or reputation, despite the fact that a significant number of horses have been moved out of Baffert’s barn because of their owners’ intentions to run in stakes races during the Saratoga meet.
Updated 7/2/21, 12:21 pm
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