Churchill Statement on Favorable Federal Court Ruling

One day after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by trainer Bob Baffert against Churchill Downs Inc., its CEO Bill Carstanjen, and its board chair Alex Rankin, over the Louisville, Ky.-based company's decision to suspend the Racing Hall of Fame trainer from its tracks, the company issued a statement saying it was pleased with the court's decision. 

The statement also noted that in the coming weeks the company would communicate its decision on the status of Baffert's two-year suspension scheduled through the end of the current Churchill Downs meeting, which ends July 3. 

When the company announced this current suspension in June 2021, it said it "reserved the right to extend Baffert's suspension if there are additional violations in any racing jurisdiction." 

The statement issued Thursday by CDI follows in full.

A federal lawsuit filed by Bob Baffert against Churchill Downs Inc. and two of its principal officers was dismissed on May 24 by a Louisville judge.

Churchill Downs (Inc.) is pleased that the court granted our motion for summary judgement in the civil action brought against our company, CEO, and board chairman by Bob Baffert, resolving in our favor the last remaining claim, just as the court had ruled in our favor on all of his previous claims. While (Baffert) may choose to file baseless appeals, this completes the seemingly endless, arduous, and unnecessary litigation proceedings instigated by Mr. Baffert.

Our actions to suspend Mr. Baffert following Medina Spirit's confirmed positive for a prohibited race-day substance, coupled with his extensive history of drug violations, was done in the best interest of protecting the integrity of horse racing. Now more than ever, participants and operators in this industry must individually and collectively assume responsibility to take every reasonable measure to protect our equine and human athletes and reject any practice that jeopardizes that mission.

We are encouraged that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program has gone into effect this month, which will allow uniform rules to govern the industry and expedite both the testing and adjudication process, which has historically created confounding delays and threatened the confidence and trust of our fans.

As we stated when we suspended Mr. Baffert in June 2021, we reserve the right to extend his suspension and will communicate our decision at the conclusion of the initial two-year suspension period. This U.S. district court ruling in our favor is a victory in our ongoing actions and steadfast commitment to protecting the safety of our equine and human athletes.