lawsuit

A Kentucky Court of Appeals judge on Wednesday denied a motion by Amr Zedan's incorporated racing stable that would have conferred "emergency" status on his legal quest to get 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic) into the GI Kentucky Derby despite a ban by Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) against the colt's trainer, Bob Baffert. Technically, the Apr. 24 order by Judge Jeff Taylor didn't decide Zedan's appeal of a lower court's denial of a temporary injunction in full. But from a practical standpoint, it appears that time has all but...

One day after a lower court in Kentucky denied a motion to make Amr Zedan's 'TDN Rising Star' Muth eligible for the GI Kentucky Derby by overturning Churchill Downs Inc., (CDI)'s ban again trainer Bob Baffert, Zedan's incorporated racing stable on Friday asked the Kentucky Court of Appeals to "vacate the Jefferson Circuit Court's order and issue a temporary injunction" to let his Good Magic colt at least begin the entry process to race in the first leg of the Triple Crown. Zedan's Apr. 19 motion proposed that "At a...

Amr Zedan's incorporated racing stable is planning an immediate appeal to a Thursday decision by a Kentucky judge who denied an injunction request that would have overturned Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI)'s ongoing ban against Bob Baffert. Zedan had initiated an Apr. 3 lawsuit in an effort to get his Baffert-trained 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic) eligible for the GI Kentucky Derby. But Judge Mitchell Perry of Jefferson Circuit Court also denied CDI's request to dismiss the case in his Apr. 18 order. This means that barring a successful appeal...

The Kentucky judge overseeing the lawsuit initiated by Amr Zedan's incorporated racing stable against Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) to try and get Bob Baffert-trained horses unbarred from the GI Kentucky Derby told both parties Wednesday he now has a clearer understanding of a relatively new "meritless lawsuit" law to be able to issue a written opinion by the end of the week. That opinion is unlikely to decide the Apr. 3 civil lawsuit in full, but it is expected to address Zedan's motion for an injunction that could pave the...

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, Owner Amr Zedan filed suit Wednesday in Louisville seeking a temporary injunction that would allow his horses and all others trained by Bob Baffert to run in the GI Kentucky Derby and all other Derby-week races. Baffert is not a party to the lawsuit. Zedan owns the GI Arkansas Derby winner Muth (Good Magic), who would be among the Derby favorites if allowed to race. After Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive for betamethasone in the 2021 Derby Baffert was banned by...

The two defendants facing allegations of civil extortion and defamation in a federal lawsuit initiated by trainer Bob Baffert and his incorporated racing stable are contending that the case should be dismissed because "Baffert is the rare, libel-proof plaintiff given his notorious history in the horse racing industry," according to a discovery plan filed jointly by lawyers for all sides in United States District Court (Southern District of California) Jan. 2. Baffert's legal team, however, is banking that dismissal won't happen, and it told the court in the same document...

An Albany County Court Judge has dismissed a lawsuit from two New York taxpayers backed by PETA that attempted to block the State of New York from loaning NYRA $455 million that is earmarked for the construction of a new Belmont Park. The new Belmont Park is expected to open for the 2026 spring meet. The plaintiffs, Jannette Patterson and John Dileonardo, had argued that the New York State Constitution prohibited the state from giving or loaning state funds to any private corporation. The lawsuit, filed in June, was announced...

The Supreme Court of New York will hear oral arguments Oct. 11 in a case involving two self-described "citizen taxpayers" who want the state's $455 million loan to renovate Belmont Park declared as "an illegal and unconstitutional expenditure, misappropriation, misapplication, or disbursement of State funds." During the oral arguments, the court will consider both the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction and a motion to dismiss the case made by the defendants, who are the New York Racing Association (NYRA), the State of New York, the New York State Assembly,...

A federal judge has stayed a 14-month-old lawsuit initiated by the states of Louisiana and West Virginia that is trying to wipe out the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) via alleged constitutional violations, ordering the case to be "administratively terminated" until the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals makes a ruling in a separate suit in which the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) is also alleging HISA is unconstitutional. However, U.S. District Court (Western District of Louisiana) Chief Judge Terry Doughty wrote in his Sept. 14 ruling...

With oral arguments in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit now five weeks away, the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) filed a legal brief Aug. 25 underscoring that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority unconstitutionally "wants the best of both worlds" by allegedly portraying itself as both a governmental body or a private organization "depending on which suits its interests on any individual argument." "Sometimes [the Authority] wants to be like a government entity, with the power to compel registration, collect mandatory...

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) and the state of New York asked the Supreme Court of New York Aug. 18 to dismiss a lawsuit filed by two residents that is attempting to block the $455 million state loan to NYRA that will renovate Belmont Park. In addition, both the state and NYRA want to quash a motion for preliminary injunction that the plaintiffs initiated back on June 22 to try to halt any state money for the project from flowing to NYRA. The Belmont renovation was approved back in...

A federal judge in Kentucky has dismissed the class-action lawsuit against trainer Bob Baffert and Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), that was initiated by a group of horseplayers who alleged negligence, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment because their losing pari-mutuel bets on the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby weren't honored as winners after Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive for and was subsequently disqualified for a betamethasone overage. The July 20 order tossing the case out of United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky (Louisville Division), could have ramifications on a...