LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A lawsuit on behalf of those who bet on Mandaloun to win last year’s Kentucky Derby claims negligence and argues it should pay bettors.
Monday, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission announced it disqualified first-place finisher Medina Spirit because the horse tested positive for the banned drug, betamethasone.
Medina Spirit died following a workout in December, but a news release about the necropsy report states, "a definitive cause of death was not established despite extensive testing."
The KHRC suspended and fined trainer Bob Baffert for 90 days.
Churchill Downs has declared Mandaloun the winner.
“This is something that could have been prevented, number one, by both the trainer Bob Baffert and Churchill Downs,” said William Nefzger, attorney for the plaintiffs. “They could have prevented this from happening from the get-go.”
He has filed a class-action lawsuit against Bob Baffert, Bob Baffert Racing, Inc. and Churchill Downs, Inc. on behalf of clients he says deserve to be paid based on the new order of race finishers.
Some bets would have cashed in at over $1 million, he said.
The lawsuit claims the track was “negligent in choosing to accept the entry of Medina Spirt” and that Baffert and/or through others “were negligent in their care of Medina Spirit and his entry” into the Derby.
“I think Churchill Downs could implement some safety, some pre-race testing reforms and have a system in place that prevents this from happening again,” said Nefzger.
Under Kentucky regulations, “a subsequent change in the order of finish… shall not affect the pari-mutuel payout.”
The lawsuit is not trying to reverse payouts already made, Nefzger said.
A spokesperson for the track told Spectrum News 1 that Churchill Downs cannot comment on ongoing litigation.
In a statement responding to the lawsuit Tuesday, Baffert’s attorney, Clark Brewster, told Spectrum News 1, “We expect this frivolous lawsuit to be promptly dismissed.”
He also has said he plans to appeal the KHRC ruling.
In a statement Monday, Brewster said, in part, “Medina Spirit would have won with or without the ointment because it was irrelevant in every way. The stewards’ decision to rob Medina Spirit of a victory he earned was not in accordance with the law but instead represents biased, purposeful, and wrongful action.”