A federal district court judge sitting in New York ruled on Wednesday that the New York Racing Association’s ban of the trainer Bob Baffert should be stayed because of violations of the trainer’s rights to due process. Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued the ruling one day prior to the opening of NYRA’s prestigious Saratoga Race Course meet in upstate New York. The ruling will allow Baffert to start horses at the meet, barring any official suspensions he is issued in any jurisdiction. In the ruling, Amon wrote that Baffert was “entitled” to a hearing before the suspension was issued, “having an undisputed property interest in his licensed right to race horses in New York.” NYRA issued what its officials called a “temporary suspension” of Baffert on May 17, citing the trainer’s acknowledgment that his horse Medina Spirit had tested positive for the regulated anti-inflammatory medication betamethasone after winning this year’s Kentucky Derby. NYRA chief executive David O’Rourke said in a statement released Wednesday, after the ruling was issued, that the association “is reviewing the court’s decision today to determine our legal options and next steps.” “What is clear, however, is that Mr. Baffert’s actions and behavior can either elevate or damage the sport,” O’Rourke said. “We expect Mr. Baffert to exert appropriate control over his operation.” Craig Robertson, Baffert’s attorney in the case, said that the ruling was a “step in the right direction,” and he predicted that discussions would take place soon between the parties. “At some point we’re going to have to discuss with NYRA a path forward,” Robertson said. “These parties need to sit down and figure out a way to work together in the best interests of racing.” To date, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has not issued a ruling in the case, nor scheduled a hearing. In the ruling, Amon brushed aside NYRA’s contentions that it had the summary right to exclude persons from its premises as a private company, writing that the association’s franchise from the state and quasi-governmental status limited the rights it could exercise without complying with due-process procedures. Amon cited earlier cases with similar conclusions, including several in which NYRA had acknowledged its close relationship with the state. “The laws and contracts that presently govern NYRA demonstrate that, as every other court to consider the issue has held, NYRA’s suspension of Baffert constitutes state action,” Amon wrote. “As NYRA has conceded in other cases, New York has so far insinuated itself into a position of interdependence with NYRA that NYRA’s actions are fairly attributable to the state.” Baffert has also been banned by Churchill Downs through the track’s 2023 spring meet, which will prevent Baffert from participating in the Kentucky Derby for the next two years. Legally, Churchill holds broader exclusion rights than NYRA, based on voluminous case law on the topic. Notably, Baffert has yet to contest the Churchill ban. While Baffert does not regularly stable in New York, the trainer has frequently targeted stakes races at Saratoga for some of his top-class runners. Robertson had argued before the court that several clients are contemplating removing horses from Baffert’s care due to the NYRA ban, in addition to the handful of horses that have already been transferred from his barn to New York trainers. Amon wrote that the decision to issue the stay was in part based on the prestige of the Saratoga meet, noting that it is a “one-time opportunity.” Amon also took a dim view of NYRA’s contention that allowing Baffert to race at Saratoga without a pre-suspension hearing would have jeopardized the integrity of its racing product, as NYRA had argued. In addition to the rules and regulations that apply to all licensed individuals racing at New York tracks, she wrote that “NYRA’s assertion of these interests is also to some extent undermined by the fact that apparently it has permitted other trainers with similar or more serious histories of medication violations to continue racing at NYRA racetracks.” However, Amon also wrote that NYRA may have had the ultimate authority to exclude Baffert, as long as the association took the steps to afford him his due-process rights. Attorneys for NYRA told Amon during the hearing this week that they planned to issue a decision on the length and terms of the ban after a meeting on Aug. 11, but it is unclear if there is a path forward to issue a ban on Baffert now that the injunction is in place. “In sum, it is not likely that Baffert will be able to prevail on his claim that NYRA had no legal authority to take the action that it did,” Amon wrote. That language appeared to open up the possibility that NYRA could schedule a hearing with Baffert and then issue a new ban. However, Robertson said that his interpretation of Amon’s ruling precluded NYRA from making such a decision. Patrick McKenna, a spokesman for NYRA, said on Thursday that “NYRA is actively evaluating all options made available through the court’s opinion.”