Zedan Lawsuit w/ John Cherwa L.A. Times

And we welcome in the only man who's ever been my newspaper

editor. His name is John Sherva.

He's with the LA Times at Jay Sherva JCHERWA on Twitter.

He has dropped the article about the Amirsa Don lawsuit in

Jefferson County Court. Good morning, John.

How was your dog? Griff is doing well up.

He just heard his name and he just.

Jumped up and. I'm sure he'll be on the show

before this segment is up. That's what I'll talk about.

There you go the the no one's dog eats better in America than

the sure of a household's dog. So there you go.

New lawsuit. Were you surprised to see this?

The timing anything? You know, I thought it was

really interesting. I kind of got wind of it

yesterday and chased it down. And in order to get some of the

details, I had to agree to kind of an embargo till about 9:00 AM

when the suit was filed, which I would have done anyway, because

you don't write stories about suits that may be filed, you

only wait till they are filed. And it it comes at this whole

topic differently. Every other suit has been, you

know, the legitimacy of the test of the rule of the you know.

Who the authority actually is, Right?

Yeah. Exactly.

But this one it was kind of it kind of interesting what it

states is, is it that in 2022 when everyone thought Bob was on

a two year suspension from Churchill Properties, Amber

Zaidan went out and bought about $10.7 million worth of horses,

which in his world is only six of them including the $2,000,000

purchase of Muth. And I think that nine.

I think it's 900,000 for me mom Neyman who is running Sunday,

Saturday in the San Diego Derby and that all he he bought these

horses with the expectation that they would be able to run in the

2024 Kentucky Derby which is I think what everybody thought.

I mean no one thought that the the band would go another year,

especially because Bob didn't commit any infractions none 0.

So anyway, so that suit was filed today, Wednesday and it's

my understanding that they reached out for a couple of days

to just have a conversation with with CDI and that didn't happen.

And it was based on Moose winning the Arkansas Derby where

he would have collected 100 Derby points and plus he had 10

in the bank, he would have had 10 in the bank from winning the

American Pharaoh last year, which clearly and unquestionably

makes him a starter in the 20 horse field.

So anyway, that's the deal they're asking for a temporary

injunction. And the real question, well, the

biggest question is would a judge grant it?

The second one is could the judge grant it in time to get

those horses in the Derby? What do you think that timeline

has to look like? Well, I'm told that they expect

a judge to be named by the end of the week.

And and this, by the way, isn't in the story.

So it's fresh to listeners of of your show, but then it's up to

the judge, you know, if he does it within two weeks.

I think. I think you've kind of got to

get the horses to Churchill, you know, 7 to 10 days early.

So that backs it up even in the week.

And if they can hear arguments and the judge can render a

decision quickly. But you know we're we're in a

world where, you know, the judicial system is not very

fast. There's some really important

things going on out in the world that, you know, the Supreme

Court or whatever court that doesn't want to want to deal

with. Now this is not a federal case.

This is a district case. It's the Jefferson County, which

I'm told is Louisville is all Jefferson County.

That's right. OK.

So, so it's basically filed in Louisville and and I don't know

the the politics or the the horse feelings or the

connections to CDI of any of the judges in which judge might get

it, but that that will be something for you guys to chew

on over the next week. All little collusion.

I like that. How about that John server with

US LA Times latimes.com/sports I if you're if you're a sports fan

they the LA Times actually has a ton of great coverage and they

have a they have a deal right now six essentially a a buck a

month for six months. So if you wanted to check them

out try them out. Great opportunity to go do that

right now they do a great job down there.

A couple of different questions by the by back-to-back texts to

the show John 437-9680 on our UPS jobs text line.

Man you knew Baffert's horses were banned and when you went

with them and and you went with him anyway you don't deserve to

run. It wasn't some surface some

secret that service and then the next one Texter Gandolfo who was

on before you is wrong about bafford.

Keeping the biggest name and best trainer in the sport out of

one of its biggest events in the sport is a disservice to said

sport. So that's kind of, I think John

you were asking sort of the temperature around here.

I think a lot of people are just like can we just move on with

this already And the next part is but hey you you knew you

weren't going to be able to do it.

The more famous example around here is we we have a local

college called Bellerman University.

It's a little Catholic college here and they made the move from

division two to Division One and then won their conference

tournament but weren't eligible for the NCAA tournament.

And so yeah, we had to kind of walk through that and and then

the after they made the transition, the NCAA had

purchased the NIT and so they couldn't even play in that.

It's all it was a whole mess. But so we've been kind of

dealing with that. How would you respond to those

people though, do do you think, Hey Doug, you knew in January

you had to move these horses? Do you do you side with that

kind of thinking? Well, OK.

But let's roll back the clock to 2022 when you're at the OBS or

wherever, you know, the Kingdom sale, wherever they were bought.

No, you thought those horses would be able to run in 2024

because that was what Churchill LED everyone to believe that it

was a two year ban barring some other circumstance.

And guess what, there was no other circumstance.

Bob has not had any kind of positive, any kind of punishment

during that entire time. So yeah, I think there is the

expectation that in in 2022 when you plug down ten $10.7 million

that those horses are going to be able to run.

So I guess I would disagree with your your readers or your

listeners assessment. But then again, as Mike Gandolfo

often calls me like a Baffert Homer, so that's OK.

Were you surprised about the language about CD?

Is CEO Bill Carstension? I was and and actually if you go

through the whole suit and I I only included some high points

there. It's pretty vitriolic and and

it's being called a personal vendetta.

And you know what, it's kind of hard to see it any other way.

You know, Carstantium is, you know, is a former attorney.

I guess he was general counsel for Churchill Downs before he

got the big job. He's really smart and he's made

the shareholders a ton of money. But one of the arguments that

that the Zeidan seek makes is that that he has diminished

#150. You know, the 150th running by

not allowing all the best horses.

Well I think that argument lost a little steam when Nicos was

taken off off the the trail because I think a lot of people

put some future bets Preakness, future bets on him and and I

don't I just don't know. I'm going to I'll see Bob this

weekend and I'll just ask him flat out and he just flat out

won't tell me what my sister's condition is and when he'll come

back or maybe he will, maybe he will.

I mean we just don't know. I hope he does and Muth is Muth

is a is a good is a really good horse.

He was really outstanding in the 7th.

Furlong was San San Vicente and then he looked good in Arkansas.

You know he dialed down a little bit the end get you know up to

two just A2 length win. But I was in Gulfstream this

past Saturday and fierceness was just a monster in that race and

you know you're the handicapper. I mean, isn't.

And I listen to your The illustrating happy hour isn't

one of the real questions that this might be a Derby without

any speed, Andy. Speed, Andy, at all.

That's exactly right. Yes, it is.

That is a major question. And you know that recently

changes their, that changes the complexion and and then we're

probably going to get 2 Japanese horses in and I don't know if

we're going to get a European horse in.

So again you're looking at a a field of 18 US horses and

Timberlake just went out yesterday or today.

So I don't know it's it's the the Derby was completely

uninteresting to me before I saw fierceness on Saturday and I'm

thinking well that's good. Let's say he wins the Derby,

then you and I will be in in Baltimore.

Just seeing how much the Todd Pletcher hates running back

horses after two weeks absolutely hates it.

And but you know, but we'll have Ripoli doing his little dancing

clown act and, you know, to entertain us.

We're doing a we're doing a a Preakness seminar the night of

Black Eyed Susan at Jimmy's Seafood.

Do you want to say right now you're on a deadline, or do you

want to wait till that Friday to tell me you can't come because

you're on a you're on a deadline?

I'll wait till that Friday to tell you where is Jimmy's

Seafood. Man, not close to the track,

unfortunately. It's like a 20 minute drive,

2025 minutes, yeah. 'Cause I 'cause I like, I

usually stay up in Towson. Oh yeah, yeah.

It's not terribly from Towson, you can get there pretty easy.

But anyways, John service with us, he's from the LA Times

latimes.com/sports. Go ahead.

No, that's that's, that's all I got, you know.

Well, I mean you know, you you right in here.

Look his the biggest enemy here is actually time.

Do you it? Does it feel like, oh crap muth

one, we got to get this thing in here?

Or do you think they've been planning this for a minute?

I think they've they've been planning it and I and it's a

really important fact to remember that Bob is not a

plaintiff in the suit because he does not want to irritate

Churchill any more than, you know, they are already

irritated. As a matter of fact, I thought I

I think that he thought when that last suit was dropped,

previous suit, that they would let him back.

I was going to ask you that question.

Is this a, is this a scramble? Because they did think when he

withdrew the suit that they would have a shot at this

already. I I believe that he he hasn't

told me that in those words, but I get every indication from his

his words and and body language that yeah, they thought that

that was going to take care of it.

That was like the last impediment to him being let him

back into Churchill Downs. In your sort of, you know,

experience in horse racing, how much do you think other owners

are rooting for Zadon to win this case?

Wow, boy, that's a really good question.

I don't think they are. I think they're all rooting for

their horse got. It.

I get it. I get it.

It's not a bad thing to say. You're you're right.

You know, they they, I was really, it was very interesting

that he was able to pull together all the owners to have

none of them transfer their horses.

The one that never transfers his horse is Michael Lynn Peterson.

But that's the gift. That's part of the giveaway that

he thought he was going to have a starting spot, right?

I mean for sure. Yeah, yeah, OK, OK Yeah.

And you know, and I'm and I'm and Saddam, you know, has all

the money in the world. But he wouldn't like that Derby

and he's willing to spend millions of dollars for horses.

And Bob will win another Kentucky Derby and I'll just

throw out a out of left field here.

The only question is will he win it before saying I need a closes

or after, You know, that's the whole question he's going to

have. Things are so, so grim, so grim

in California, right? He's.

Bringing Is he going to bring the Sunderland Derby winner to

the Derby? Is that what I'm hearing?

Yeah, actually that that. I'm glad you mentioned that.

I think it's Stronghold. It's the Summer Derby winner,

which might, which is the only if.

If Bob is out of the Derby and he runs 12 on Saturday, that's

the only horse that has a shot. The only California horse that

has a shot to be in the Kentucky Derby.

And we may be looking at the first Kentucky Derby in at least

70 years with no California horse or California bred and it

may be longer than 70 years. But records are tough to find.

You know horses before then. Last question about the suit

itself. They bring up defying the HEISA

Act, defying the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority

#1. How and #2 do owners want to see

them using this as a leverage point?

Well, I will agree to you from from this.

It says that Heisa was established by Congress

specifically to standardize horse racing regulations and

prevent situations like this from occurring.

CDI supported the creation of HEISA, which is kind of a lie,

but at the moment race tracks owned by CDI are the only place

where Baffertrain horses cannot race if they are otherwise

qualified to compete. As the complaint alleges.

This is a direct challenge to Heisa's authority, imperiling

the assurance of industry wide safety and integrity that HEISA

is meant to ensure. So it's interesting, you know

and yeah Churchill did not want to join heist of McConnell.

You know, strong armed them into into being part of it.

And if you go back and look at that press conference, you can

see just by the body language that Churchill did not want to

be there, but they had to be. And so that's the highest

argument is is is interesting. This suit is interesting because

it's stuff that we haven't heard or seen or read before.

It's coming at this situation from an entirely different

angle. And if a judge buys it, that'll

be an interesting 10 days at Churchill Downs.

You mentioned the situation at Santa Anita.

We saw the recent reduction in purses again TO54K, down from

61,000. For example, for maiden special

weights, they just ran a meet at a place called Turfway Park

where the maiden special weights were $70,000.

Are we, are we just plugging holes in the Titanic here at

this point, John, or is there a solution out in California?

You know, for every solution you can give me, I can give you a

reason why it won't work. It all comes down to the simple

fact they have no supplemental gaming money.

As a matter of fact, there's no, you know, again, California

doesn't have sports betting. So I I just am having a hard

time seeing a bright future or or a continuation of California

racing beyond three to five years.

The property is too valuable and you know, if you're an owner,

OK, first of all, let's talk about what's what does it cost

to train a horse at San Anita Del Mar with your top trainers?

It's about 140 a day. What does it cost to train in

Northern California, let's say for Golden Gate or the fares?

It's about $80.00 a day, I'm told, but I don't know for a

fact, like the turf ways and the yellow sharks of the world.

It's it's in the, it's in the 80 to $90.00 a day.

Is that is that true? That sounds right to me, yes.

Yeah, so why would you run? What if you're a horse owner?

Why would you be in Southern California paying $140.00 a day

to run for almost half the size of the purse that you could run

at Turfway? And heaven forbid, you know, you

could find your way over to to Keeneland or or Churchill or

Kentucky Downs and run for two to three times.

It's the amount of money paying trainer fees that are

substantially less and plus you don't have the the big work

workers comp money that you have to pay out in California that

that you do in Kentucky. Well, there you go.

He's John Shervy. He's with the LA Times

latimes.com/sports. He's at JCHERWA on Twitter.

I retweeted him this morning, so if you want to go find him, you

can do it that way. Tons of articles about both

Santa Anita, the situation there and of course about the Bafford

lawsuit. John, I am sure we will speak

soon and let's get sappy for a second.

Man, I can't wait to see you in about a month.

How about that? That sounds great.

I am looking forward to it too. Awesome.

All right. Well, he's John.

Sure appreciate you, John. We'll talk to you soon.

OK, Luke, take care. All right, there you go.

Let's take.