Amr Zedan

A colt by Bernardini (hip 385), who advertised himself with a :9 4/5 work last week, ignited a bidding duel between West Point Thoroughbreds and bloodstock agent Gary Young in the Midlantic sale ring Tuesday. Young, doing his bidding out back while standing alongside advisor Charlie Boden and trainer Bob Baffert and on the phone with Saudi businessman Amr Zedan, answered every bid from the West Point team doing its bidding at the back of the pavilion to ultimately secure the colt for a sales-record $3.55 million. "Obviously we thought...

A colt by Coolmore super sire Uncle Mo (Hip 206) inspired a furious round of bidding during the opening session of the OBS Spring Sale Tuesday, hammering for $2.3 million to bloodstock agent Gary Young, who was acting on behalf of Amr Zedan. Young did his bidding alongside Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who will train the colt at the conclusion of his suspension. Coolmore was the underbidder on the bay colt. Consigned by Jimbo & Torie Gladwell's Top Line Sales, the :9 4/5 breezer, who is out of Borealis...

Two weeks after a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge denied trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan an "emergency" stay in their fight against the penalties levied against them by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) over Medina Spirit (Protonico)'s betamethasone positive in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, a separate three-judge panel denied a motion for interlocutory relief that will keep the case from proceeding any deeper in that same court. The Apr. 15 ruling did, however, note that the judges' order was not a ruling on the merits of...

Less than a year after an apparent win in the GI Kentucky Derby turned into a nightmare for Amr Zedan, the owner is set to return to Churchill Downs with a chance to wash the bad taste out of his mouth. A win by GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner Taiba (Gun Runner) would be a redemptive one after his Medina Spirit (Protonico) was disqualified from the win in the 2021 Derby after testing positive for the substance betamethasone, which kicked off what has been a bitter fight waged by...

The Kentucky Court of Appeals on Friday denied a motion by trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan to stay their penalties related to Medina Spirit's betamethasone positive in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. This means the most severe of the sanctions, an under-appeal 90-day suspension imposed on Baffert by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC), will now go into effect as ordered on Monday, Apr. 4. In accordance with suspension-related regulations in California where Baffert is stabled at Santa Anita Park, signage was already being removed from his barn...

Before the G1 Dubai World Cup, Country Grammer (Tonalist) was already a Grade l winner in North America, but that race that he won on May 31, 2021, the Gl Hollywood Gold Cup S. at Santa Anita, was worth only $180,000 to the winner. Since then, Country Grammer has made only two starts, both abroad and both fruitful: he was second in the G1 Saudi Cup, a $20-million race in Riyadh on Feb. 26, earning $3.5 million; and he won the $12-million Dubai World Cup Saturday, collecting almost $7 million,...

With the clock ticking toward the Apr. 4 deadline for trainer Bob Baffert's looming 90-day suspension, a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge now wants to figure out whether the original venue chosen for legal action last month by the owner and trainer of disqualified 2021 GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit constitutes the correct county-level court. Dick Downey of the Blood-Horse first reported on the judge's order requesting briefs from the movants (Baffert and Zedan) and the respondent (the KHRC) covering just that single issue to be filed with the...

Trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan filed motions with the Kentucky Court of Appeals on Thursday in an attempt to legally block a series of looming penalties related to the equine drug positive rulings of Medina Spirit in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. The most severe of those sanctions is a 90-day suspension for Baffert that is set to start Apr. 4. The Mar. 24 filing came barely 72 hours after a lower court rejected Baffert and Zedan's plea for a stay or temporary injunction that would have kept...

A Kentucky judge on Monday denied a request for a stay and/or a temporary injunction that would have kept trainer Bob Baffert's and owner Amr Zedan's penalties from being enforced while the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) appeals process plays out for rulings related to Medina Spirit's betamethasone-positive disqualification from the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. Judge Thomas Wingate of Franklin Circuit Court did, however, keep Baffert's 90-day suspension and $7,500 fine and Zedan's forfeiture of the Derby purse winnings from going into effect for two more weeks so that they...

Taiba (Gun Runner--Needmore Flatter, by Flatter) emerged as the latest standout for trainer Bob Baffert and Zedan Racing Stables as he ran to a hefty price tag as well as plenty of wagering dollars to be named a 'TDN Rising Star'. A $140,000 FTKOCT yearling turned last year's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream second topper at $1.7 million thanks to a powerful :10 1/5 work, the overwhelming 1-2 favorite broke well, but had to settle for a pressing spot in between rivals early. Jockey John Velazquez tapped on the gas entering the bend...

The connections of recently disqualified GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) took to a Kentucky court Monday in an attempt to keep their equine drug positive penalizations from being enforced while their case gets appealed at the commission level. Trainer Bob Baffert is facing a 90-day suspension and $7,500 fine for now-deceased Medina Spirit's betamethasone overage in the 2021 Derby. Owner Amr Zedan has been ordered by the KHRC to forfeit his colt's purse winnings. But the DQ of Medina Spirit from America's most important horse race will affect...

Amr Zedan, who sat down with Nick Luck on the world feed of the Saudi Cup Day races Saturday, offered a passionate defense of his trainer and friend Bob Baffert, pledging to take their Kentucky Derby title defense of Medina Spirit (Protonico) all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court if necessary, using his substantial means to do so. "Myself, my means, my resources are at Bob Baffert's disposal," Zedan told Luck. "We are going to see this 'til the end, and if it takes going to the Supreme...