Baffert Attorneys Seek $162K in Legal Fees From NYRA

Attorneys representing Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert submitted a motion Aug. 25 in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York to require the New York Racing Association to pay their legal fees and expenses totaling more than $162,000.

The fees are from Baffert filing a lawsuit contesting a ban issued by NYRA that prevented the West Coast-based trainer from running horses at NYRA tracks in the late spring and early summer. NYRA initiated its ban May 17, approximately a week after the Baffert-trained Medina Spirit , owned by Zedan Racing Stables, failed a post-race drug test for betamethasone following his first-place finish in the May 1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs.

Kentucky regulators have not yet issued a ruling on Medina Spirit and Baffert, with follow-up drug testing still ongoing. The colt's post-Derby test marked the fifth time a Baffert-trained horse showed the presence of prohibited medications since May 2, 2020.

NYRA's ban of Baffert is no longer in place after Judge Carol Bagley Amon granted Baffert a preliminary injunction July 14, ruling that he had not been afforded due process by NYRA, an organization with state ties. The trainer had not been given a hearing before the judge's ruling.

The motion submitted Wednesday before Judge Amon from Baffert's attorneys Craig Robertson, Charles Michael, and Clark Brewster seeks $159,419 in legal and paralegal fees and other expenses of $2,667.31. According to their motion, "federal district courts, in their discretion, may allow a prevailing party a 'reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs' associated with a statutory civil rights claim."

Noting that Baffert has resumed running horses in New York at Saratoga Race Course this summer, they cite the preliminary injunction as "the functional equivalent of a final judgment on the merits with respect to his claims and relief sought."

Baffert has four horses entered Aug. 27-28 in New York, including Gamine  in the Ketel One Ballerina Handicap (G1) and As Time Goes By  in the Personal Ensign Stakes Presented by Lia Infiniti, both on Travers Day.

Pat McKenna, senior director of communications for NYRA, released a statement that "NYRA will oppose Mr. Baffert's request to recover attorneys' fees and costs incurred by the three law firms he is using in this case, and NYRA is vigorously defending its position in the lawsuit."