Thoroughbred owner Amr Zedan’s legal effort to allow his horse Muth to run in the Kentucky Derby was rejected by a Jefferson County Circuit Court judge Thursday, which likely means that suspended trainer Bob Baffert will again have no entries in this year’s Kentucky Derby.

While Baffert was not a party to Zedan’s quest for an injunction that would have allowed his Arkansas Derby champ to enter the race, it nevertheless marked the latest entry in an elongated legal pissing match between the white-haired westerner and his blue-blooded nemesis, Churchill Downs. 

As The Daily Racing Form reported, Baffert was initially suspended for two years in the summer of 2021 after one of his Zedan-owned trainees, Medina Spirit, tested positive for a banned substance and was stripped of his Kentucky Derby title. The suspension likely would have ended prior to this year’s race had Baffert not mouthed off last year and proclaimed his innocence, which led to an extension of his ban.

Whereas he had transferred his horses to other trainers’ barns prior to the Derby in years past in order for them to remain eligible, Baffert declined to do so this year. While this means the Derby will undoubtedly be less talented than it might have otherwise been, 99% of the race’s horse betting public — which is as recreational as recreational gets — is unlikely to waste a nanosecond contemplating such a deficiency.

Meanwhile, Churchill Downs’ statement in response to the ruling was deliciously flippant, chalking Zedan’s filing up to a case of “Derby Fever.”

Churchill Downs' statement on today's court ruling effectively ending Amr Zedan's bid to enter his Bob Baffert-trained Arkansas Derby winner Muth into the Kentucky Derby deserved its own post:

"We are pleased with the Court’s decision today and believe Mr. Zedan may suffer from…

— Eric Crawford (@ericcrawford) April 18, 2024

Baffert’s attorney may benefit from absence

In ruling against Zedan, Judge Mitchell Perry wrote, “Public trust and confidence in the integrity of the races run at Churchill Downs are essential to its business. It is also in the public interest to ensure that all those who attend or watch races at Churchill Downs can be confident in the fairness and integrity of the sport.”

During a hearing Wednesday, Perry questioned why Zedan filed his request less than five weeks prior to the Derby instead of closer to the extension of Baffert’s ban last July. Perry also said allowing Muth — and potentially other Baffert trainees — to run would unfairly impact other horses who might get bounced from the maximum field of 20 due to their inclusion.

“These are entities who have done nothing wrong, have followed the rules, and worked hard only to be denied the opportunity to compete at the last moment,” Perry wrote. “There could be nothing more unfair than that.”

Ironically, one of the parties who might benefit from Baffert’s horses being shut out of the race is one of his attorneys, Clark Brewster, who is part owner of the highly touted Derby contender Track Phantom.

Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images

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