Bob Baffert is still engulfed in controversy a year after his Kentucky Derby win.
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The defense attorney for Bob Baffert said that he expects to see the trainer at the Kentucky Derby after the race.
"I think it's a good bet that he'll be in that winner's circle this year," he said.
During an ongoing controversy surrounding the white-haired veteran trainer, whose horses have won the Derby seven times, Brewster has confidence in his client being able to enter horses in the storied "Run for the Roses."
The Baffert-trained horse Medina Spirit won the 2021 Derby, but after the euphoria of that victory, the colt tested positive for a banned steroid. The New York Racing Association suspended Baffert for two years, followed by a two-year suspension from the New York Downs.
The New York Times reported Monday that Baffert's camp is planning to file a lawsuit against the track. Bill Carstanjen, its chief executive, was quoted in the Times story as saying that any threat of litigation is completely meritless.
Bob Baffert drew a hard line with NYTimesChurchill Downs.
Representatives from Carstanjen and Churchill Downs did not return calls. Following Baffert's suspension last year, Carstanjen lambasted the trainer, saying "Reckless practices and substance violations that jeopardize the safety of our equine and human athletes or compromise the integrity of our sport are not acceptable." Mr. Baffert's record of testing failures threatens public confidence in thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby.
The organization rejected any meeting of the two sides after he tried to engage in genuine, open dialogue.
It was so shocking when Baffert was suspended. We asked if we could share what we thought were the important facts that would make a reasonable decision. There has been no chance to speak. There was no chance to share information, said Brewster, who is also a successful horse owner and breeder. They have to give some semblance of due process. Instead of looking at what we had with a degree of intellectual honesty and good faith, they calculated a media opportunity to get out in front before the lawsuit was filed.
You have more money and you can't be taken on, that's what it's about. It is a power-based response.
Baffert initially blamed a Cancel Culture for Medina Spirit testing positive, but eventually admitted that the horse had been treated with an ermine that contained a banned substance.
A necropsy report has not yet been issued on Medina Spirit, who died during a workout at Santa Anita track in California in December.
Baffert did not commit a violation at the Derby last year because he did not use an injection.
Within 14 days of the race, the conduct is to inject a joint. That didn't happen, said Brewster. Baffert's camp took on a "Herculean effort" last year to have a urine sample of Medina Spirit analyzed in an accredited New York lab.
After good faith attempts were made to reach out to Churchill Downs, they decided to be private. According to case law, we have the right to remove undesirables, vagrants and people that create a security risk. This is not close to that situation. In 29 years of racing in Kentucky, Bob Baffert has had a single positive. One.
Baffert-trained horses have failed 30 drug tests over four decades, including five in a recent 13-month period. The outcome of the Derby is still in dispute, and it is not certain if Medina Spirit will be stripped of their victory. If that were to happen, the owner of Medina Spirit would have to give up the first place check and the Derby win would be nullified.
An officer of the New York Racing Association will preside over the upcoming hearing. Baffert has been charged with engaging in conduct detrimental to the best interests of thoroughbred racing.
Baffert was temporarily banned from entering any of his horses in races at the NYRA's three race tracks. Baffert filed a federal lawsuit and Judge Carol Amon of the Eastern District of New York granted a preliminary injunction that allowed him to race horses at NYRA properties.
The bigger legal battle and whether Baffert will be allowed to compete in the Kentucky Derby is still pending. When the lawsuit would be filed, no one knew, but the client wrote in a text message that he was fighting for himself and other peers.
Baffert said that he had to stand up for himself and his owners, but also for any trainer who may want to destroy. Their money and power isn't a match for truth and law.
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