LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A Kentucky Court of Appeals judge refused to reverse an emergency appeal by thoroughbred owner Amr Zedan to allow Muth, his Bob Baffert-trained winner of the Arkansas Derby, into the May 4 Kentucky Derby.
Zedan had challenged an extended ban of Baffert by Churchill Downs, saying that he and the Derby itself were harmed by the track’s decision to extend an original two-year ban of the Hall of Fame trainer. Baffert was suspended for the positive post-race drug test of 2021 Derby winner Medina Spirit, who was found to have had an impermissible amount of betamethasone in his blood after the race. Medina Spirit was disqualified as a result.
Jefferson Circuit Court judge Mitch Perry had ruled against Zedan last week, and the owner filed an emergency appeal the next day. In upholding Perry’s decision, the court assures that Baffert will miss a third straight Kentucky Derby. The trainer himself was not part of this suit, and has dropped his appeals that concern Medina Spirit.
The text of the Court of Appeals decision was not available on its website on Wednesday night.
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