By Bill Finley
Owners Gary Barber and C2 Racing Stable have filed a suit in a California Superior Court alleging that defendants Breeders' Cup Limited, the California Horse Racing Board, and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club engaged in intentional interference with prospective economic relations, negligent interference with prospective economic relations, violation of California business & professions code, gross negligence, negligence, breach of contract, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
The matter involves the scratching of White Abarrio (Race Day), which took place just minutes before the running of the 2025 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar. The scratch was made on the advice of the on-track veterinarian, Brant Cassady, who relayed his concerns to the stewards. The regulatory veterinarian cited potential lameness in the horse's left front leg. On Cassady's recommendation, White Abarrio was ordered to be scratched by the stewards.
The plaintiffs are represented by W. Craig Robertson and Robert Schwartz. A joint-statement late Tuesday read: “In the week leading up to the race, White Abarrio was under intense scrutiny from the Veterinary team assembled by the Breeders' Cup, the CHRB, and Del Mar Racetrack. He underwent extensive advanced medical diagnostics–including18F NaF PET imaging and AI based Sleip gait analysis–as well as daily physical examinations.
“On each occasion, he was cleared and documented as racing sound. Throughout that week, the veterinary team repeatedly noted White Abarrio's well known “choppy” gait yet consistently documented him as racing sound. However, just before the race, the veterinary team decided to treat that same gait as disqualifying. We believe this decision was indefensible given that all medical protocols had been completed and passed without issue.
“C2 Racing Stable, LLC and Gary Barber are fully committed to equine safety, but when established rules and protocols are disregarded and veterinarians act as though they have the authority to scratch with impunity, we cannot remain silent. After many good faith efforts to resolve this privately, we were left with no real alternative. Based on what we have learned, we are deeply concerned and feel a duty to stand up for horsemen, trainers, and the betting public when hard data, established protocols, and governing rules are disregarded.
The plaintiffs contend that the veterinarian who suggested the horse be scratched should have been more familiar with White Abarrio's background, which included examinations that took place the week of the race.
“Defendants' decision stunned all who were familiar with White Abarrio and his characteristic gait,” the suit reads. “It was the same gait that had been noted in almost every pre-race veterinary inspection of White Abarrio throughout his career and in the numerous, daily pre-race veterinary inspections by Defendants' own veterinarians leading up to the Breeders' Cup race. It was the same gait with which White Abarrio had already run in 24 races and won 10 of them. And it was the same gait that had carried him to victory at the 2023 Breeders' Cup Championship Classic race. White Abarrio had never been scratched for his gait–or for any other veterinary reason.”
The suit continues: “Defendants' decision was unjustified, unlawful, and in violation of Defendants' contractual obligations, Defendants' own policies and procedures, and federal and state horseracing rules.”
According to the suit, Cassady had also examined White Abarrio before his victory in the 2023 GI Breeders' Cup Classic and had noted the “choppy gait,” but still concluded that the horse was “racing sound.”
“Cassady also knew that White Abarrio had won the 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic with his trademark “choppy” gait,” the suit reads. “But in a snap decision two years later, he claims that the same gait that he had observed and cleared in 2023, and that White Abarrio had when he won the 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic, somehow rendered White Abarrio “unsound” in 2025. The objective evidence renders Defendants' decision even less defensible.”
The White Abarrio legal team will seek compensatory damages “currently believed to be in excess of $10 million.” It will also seek “punitive damages sufficient to punish Defendants for their willful, wanton, and malicious conduct and to deter similar conduct in the future.”
Reached via email by the TDN, Del Mar President Josh Rubinstein issued the following reply: “Del Mar does not, as a matter of policy, comment on ongoing litigation. We look forward to presenting our defense to any allegations made against us in court at the appropriate time.”
Said a Breeders' Cup spokesperson: “Breeders' Cup Limited does not comment on threatened or pending litigation.
The CHRB's Scott Cheney said, “While the CHRB's policy is not to comment on pending litigation, we always take the opportunity to reiterate our commitment to safety and animal welfare. Furthermore, I would like to personally express appreciation for the work of regulatory veterinarians in California and around the country. They do exemplary, thankless work in difficult conditions.”
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