Owner of Bob Baffert-trained Arkansas Derby winner Muth appeals denial to run in the Kentucky Derby

Advertisement

Advertise with us

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Zedan Racing Stables has appealed a Kentucky Circuit Court ruling that denied its request for a temporary injunction seeking to allow Bob Baffert-trained Arkansas Derby winner Muth to race in next month’s 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/04/2024 (908 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Zedan Racing Stables has appealed a Kentucky Circuit Court ruling that denied its request for a temporary injunction seeking to allow Bob Baffert-trained Arkansas Derby winner Muth to race in next month’s 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

The stable’s motion filed Friday with the Kentucky Court of Appeals comes a day after Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry denied the injunction and expressed concern about “innocent third parties” having to remove eligible horses from the milestone Derby on May 4 to accommodate the colt trained by the suspended Hall of Famer. Muth won last month’s Derby qualifier but not the 100 points because of the suspension. Churchill Downs extended his suspension last July through the end of 2024 because of public comments following his discipline.

Perry also noted that ZRS was aware that Baffert’s horses had to be transferred to a non-suspended trainer by Jan. 29 to be eligible yet chose to remain with him. The judge also wrote that Churchill Downs has a duty to ensure rules and regulations put in place to “guarantee an even playing field” are upheld and followed as host of one of the world’s preeminent sporting events.

FILE - Trainer Bob Baffert stands for a photo ahead of the Breeders' Cup horse races at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., Oct. 27, 2023. A judge has denied a request by the owner of Baffert-trained Arkansas Derby winner Muth for the colt to run in next month’s 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Jefferson County (Ky.) Circuit Judge Mitch Perry declined Thursday, April 18, to grant a temporary injunction to Zedan Racing Stables, which had argued that the ban of Baffert was “illegal.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - Trainer Bob Baffert stands for a photo ahead of the Breeders' Cup horse races at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., Oct. 27, 2023. A judge has denied a request by the owner of Baffert-trained Arkansas Derby winner Muth for the colt to run in next month’s 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Jefferson County (Ky.) Circuit Judge Mitch Perry declined Thursday, April 18, to grant a temporary injunction to Zedan Racing Stables, which had argued that the ban of Baffert was “illegal.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Zedan stated that it shares those sentiments in the filing and is pursuing the injunction to serve the public interest. It added that by excluding a horse based on a trainer’s public narrative rather than qualifications and merit, Churchill Downs Inc. is “skewing the Derby and casting a cloud over the ultimate ‘winner.’ … No one should want to see the Derby unfold this way.”

The filing also notes that while the court doubted some aspects of Zedan’s counts, it did not find any of them insubstantial.

“It would suffice if just one of Zedan’s claims affords a substantial prospect of invalidating the ban,” the appeal added. “For the reasons noted herein, all of them do, especially given CDI’s abject failure to advance any creditable justification for banning Muth from the upcoming Derby.”

___

AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

Report Error Submit a Tip

World

LOAD WORLD ARTICLES