![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wvih.com\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Bob-Bafferts.jpg?resize=125%2C125\")
\nA federal court has ruled against a preliminary injunction to remove horse trainer Bob Baffert\u2019s ban from Churchill Downs on Friday.<\/p>\n
\nA federal court has ruled against a preliminary injunction to remove horse trainer Bob Baffert\u2019s ban from Churchill Downs on Friday.<\/p>\n
In a ruling handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, Baffert\u2019s attorneys failed to demonstrate why the injunction against the suspension should be imposed.<\/p>\n
The two-year suspension will remain and horses trained by Baffert will not be able to enter to run in the 149th Kentucky Derby.<\/p>\n
Grady Jennings said in the ruling Baffert is the only trainer whose horses have tested positive in back-to-back marquee races on Churchill Downs Inc. tracks and Churchill Downs claimed failure to punish trainers could harm the track\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n
If the injunction was approved, trainers who have already entered points into the Kentucky Derby and were qualified to race could be pushed out of competition.<\/p>\n
The nearly two-year-long legal battle began following the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby, where Baffert\u2019s horse Medina Spirit finished first and later tested positive for a banned race-day substance.<\/p>\n
Betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory, was found in Medina Spirit\u2019s blood sample. Baffert said the sample came from a topical ointment which was used for treating a skin condition.<\/p>\n
Medina Spirit was disqualified as the winner and Churchill Downs issued a two-year suspension to Baffert following the results of the drug test.<\/p>\n
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission upheld the suspension in a unanimous vote in March 2022.<\/p>\n
Baffert appealed the decision, with his team arguing the betamethasone sample comes from a topical ointment and that the KHRC only prohibiting the substance if it is injected.<\/p>\n
With the suspension still in place, Baffert will not be able to participate in the Kentucky Derby until 2024 at the earliest.
\nSource: WAVE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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