Animal Wellness Group Applauds California Horse Racing Board for Suspending Bob Baffert, Reciprocating Kentucky Decision

Suspension Comes in the Wake of Kentucky Court of Appeals Decision to Uphold Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's 90 Day Time Out for Baffert

LOS ANGELES , CA, USA, April 2, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In the wake of a Kentucky Court of Appeals decision Friday to uphold the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's (KHRC) suspension that prevents notorious trainer Bob Baffert from running horses in the 148th Kentucky Derby, the California Horse Racing Board¹ has reciprocated by imposing the same penalties for Baffert in the Golden State. On Friday, longtime horse racing media guru Ray Paulick tweeted photos² of Baffert's stable at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia in which Baffert's signs had been removed as Baffert prepares to vacate the space on April 4th.

Animal Wellness Action executive director Marty Irby, who testified³ before Congress in 2020 about the rampant doping in American horse racing, issued the following statement:

“We applaud the California Horse Racing Board for reciprocating and suspending Bob Baffert just as its Kentucky counterpart has. Baffert's flagrant disregard for the rules and repeated violations have resulted in this long overdue consequence and while justice in the tragic life and death of Medina Spirit may never be fully served, we're glad to see leaders in the sport are no longer willing to tolerate Baffert's shenanigans – this notorious trainer is the Lance Armstrong of horse racing."

The Kentucky Court's decision represents the fourth consecutive loss Baffert has suffered in the case of Medina Spirit this year with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's (KHRC) original ruling that stripped Baffert of the 2021 Kentucky Derby title, Baffert's loss in the KHRC appeal, and loss in the lower Kentucky Court last month.

Animal Wellness Action is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) organization with a mission of helping animals by promoting legal standards forbidding cruelty. We champion causes that alleviate the suffering of companion animals, farm animals, and wildlife. We advocate for policies to stop dogfighting and cockfighting and other forms of malicious cruelty and to confront factory farming and other systemic forms of animal exploitation. To prevent cruelty, we promote enacting good public policies, and we work to enforce those policies. To enact good laws, we must elect good lawmakers, and that’s why we remind voters which candidates care about our issues and which ones don’t. We believe helping animals helps us all.

Marty Irby
Animal Wellness Action
+1 202-821-5686
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter

¹ https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/1-st-issues-statement-on-baffert-suspension/
² https://twitter.com/raypaulick/status/1510014296813494275
³ https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF17/20200128/110418/HHRG-116-IF17-Wstate-IrbyM-20200128.pdf