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| Staff Writer |
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The legal team for trainer Bob Baffert filed a motion April 4 to withdraw its pursuit of a preliminary injunction related to his two-year ban from participation in racetracks owned by Churchill Downs Inc.
Defense counsel for CDI and CDI CEO William Carstanjen and CDI board chairman R. Alex Rankin, the two executives also named in the two lawsuit, have indicated, according to the motion, no objection to it being withdrawn.
With Baffert starting April 4 a 90-day suspension levied by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission as part of the penalties for Medina Spirit having tested positive for the corticosteroid betamethasone, the immediate need for the injunction has "evaporated," according to the motion that was filed with the U.S. District Court Western District of Kentucky.
A necessary element of a preliminary injunction request is that the alleged harm "must be both certain and immediate.
Baffert will resume his business operation when the KHRC suspension ends July 2 and only then will he learn what impact, if any, the actions taken by CDI might have on his training operation, according to the trainer's attorneys.
California as part of reciprocity for the KHRC suspension forced Baffert to disband his training stable and his horses were moved to other trainers.
Baffert's attorneys reassert in the motion that the likelihood of Baffert's success in the case based on its merits were strong.
The Kentucky Court of Appeals denied Baffert's request for emergency relief on his suspension April 1 and an appeal of a Franklin County Circuit Court order denying judicial relief is still pending before the Court of Appeals.