Bob Baffert In Kentucky Derby? Kentucky Judge Schedules April 15 Hearing

On Monday, a Kentucky judge ordered that owner Amr Zedan and representatives of Churchill Downs, Inc. return to court in one week for a hearing on an injunction that would allow Zedan's Muth, trained by Bob Baffert, to run in this year's Kentucky Derby, reports the Courier-Journal.

Last week, Zedan filed a civil lawsuit in Kentucky's Jefferson Circuit Court in hopes his horses may be allowed to run in this year's Kentucky Derby. Baffert is not a party to the suit. Last summer, CDI announced it would extend its ban on the trainer, based on private property rights of exclusion, through at least 2024.

CDI filed a motion to dismiss Zedan's suit on Monday. 

"The demand for a last-minute judicial takeover of the world’s most storied horse race … is baseless, outrageous and should be immediately rejected," CDI wrote.

Horses running in this year's Kentucky Derby must be on the Churchill Downs grounds by April 27. 

“Everybody involved in horse racing is watching this issue, I’m sure,” said Judge Mitch Perry.

Zedan Racing released the following statement Monday afternoon: "We are pleased with today’s hearing and the schedule set by the court. The motion filed today by Churchill Downs is a transparent delay tactic. It avoids addressing the merits of our request for a temporary injunction to overturn the ban of trainer Bob Baffert that we maintain has no basis in law or in fact. We look forward to addressing the actual substance of our case before the court at Monday’s hearing.”

Read more at the Courier-Journal.