Bob Baffert could end up in Kentucky Derby if new lawsuit is successful

"While I am not a plaintiff in the lawsuit recently brought by Zedan Racing Stables against Churchill Downs, I would like nothing more than for the horses I train to have an opportunity to run at Churchill Downs," Baffert told The Los Angeles Times in a text.

The suit was not subtle in who it viewed as the villain: Bill Carstanjen, CDI chief executive, who it accused as "pursuing a crazed vendetta at the expense of letting fair, healthy competition run its course. Among the losers are CDI itself and its own shareholders, who should be welcoming, not banning, the best and fastest horses that have qualified for this year's race."

Various media outlets have already dubbed this year's Kentucky Derby, the 150th, as either 149 1/2 or having an asterisk because all the best horses will not be running because of the ban of the Baffert horses. The past two years, Baffert moved his best horses to other trainers, most notably Tim Yakteen, one of his former trainers. This year, Baffert and the owners indicated enough was enough and did not move any horses to other trainers.

The argument that it would be a vastly diluted Kentucky Derby lessened when Baffert's best 3-year-old, Nysos, was removed from training. But Muth's impressive performance at Oaklawn would make him no less than the second favorite. Fierceness won the Florida Derby on Saturday by 13 1/2 lengths and will most likely be the favorite on the first Saturday in May.

Among the arguments that Zedan's attorney presented in the suit is that the extension of the ban is 1) Not grounded in any contractual or common law; 2) Defies the authority of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority and 3) Threatens the value of the Kentucky Derby.

"I am a longtime admirer of the Kentucky Derby and specifically headquartered my stables … in Kentucky because it is world renowned for horse breeding," Zedan said in a statement. "Bringing this lawsuit is the last thing I ever wanted or expected.

"But given Bill Carstanjen's vindictive personal vendetta against our stable's trainer Bob Baffert — who happens to be one of the most legendary trainers in the history of our sport — the horse racing industry I revere is being compromised."

Zedan's biggest enemy is actually time. The courts are not known for their speed. But if a judge were to agree that a temporary injunction were necessary, the 150th Kentucky Derby would lose its asterisk as all the best horses would be there even if most of the talk would be about the return of the sport's most famous trainer.