A federal judge in New York on Friday dismissed attempts by Bob Baffert to block an effort by the New York Racing Association to ban the trainer, ruling that NYRA’s decision to hold a hearing contemplating a ban resolved the trainers’ concerns about his due-process rights. The ruling by Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York closes a case that stretches back to mid-May, when NYRA first issued a ban of Baffert. She later ruled that Baffert was entitled to a pre-suspension hearing by NYRA, but Baffert then challenged NYRA’s plans to do so in follow-up filings. In the ruling to dismiss, Amon said that the hearing planned by NYRA “qualifies as a ‘civil enforcement proceeding’ ” supported by case law and that NYRA had sufficient grounds to hold the hearing because the association conducted an investigation prior to presenting formal charges to Baffert. Amon also said that Baffert can pursue a separate judicial review objecting to any suspension issued by NYRA after the hearing is complete. “Whether NYRA is a biased agency and whether suspension is a ‘fait accompli’ will certainly be clearer after the hearing has run its course and NYRA has decided to suspend Baffert,” Amon wrote, addressing two of Baffert’s complaints. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures Baffert is scheduled to appear before the hearing officer appointed by NYRA on Monday. The hearing is expected to last several days. NYRA issued the initial ban shortly after Baffert acknowledged that Medina Spirit, a horse he trained, tested positive for a prohibited amount of a regulated corticosteroid after winning the Kentucky Derby. The case has not yet been adjudicated. Baffert and his attorneys have said that the positive arose from the use of an ointment containing betamethasone to treat a skin condition, rather than through the injection of a joint, the most common use of betamethasone in horses. NYRA has contended that Baffert’s recent history of violations for regulated medications and his statements after the Kentucky Derby represented a threat to the integrity of the sport. Baffert has been banned from participating in the Kentucky Derby through the 2023 running by Churchill Downs. “NYRA is gratified by Judge Amon’s decision to dismiss Mr. Baffert’s suit in its entirety,” said Patrick McKenna, a spokesman for NYRA. “As we have said throughout this process, NYRA’s focus in this matter is protecting the integrity of the sport of Thoroughbred racing in New York.” Earlier in the week, the hearing officer appointed by NYRA, O. Peter Sherwood, a retired New York State Supreme Court Justice, rejected calls by Baffert’s lawyers to recuse himself from the hearing.