Amr Zedan, the owner of Arkansas Derby winner Muth, has filed a lawsuit against Churchill Downs Inc. seeking a temporary injunction that would allow his horse to run in this year’s Kentucky Derby despite a ban on the horse’s trainer, Bob Baffert, according to a press release issued by Zedan’s public-relations firm and a copy of the lawsuit. The lawsuit, which was filed in Kentucky Circuit Court, is seeking an injunction that would “prevent CDI and its agents, representatives, and any other person in active concert or participation with it from denying horses trained by Bob Baffert or denying Bob Baffert himself stall occupancy at or entry into racetracks owned or races held by CDI, including the 2024 Kentucky Derby,” according to the suit. The judge in the case, Jennifer Bryant Wilcox, has scheduled a hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction for Monday. Motions for preliminary injunction are granted by judges when they rule that the plaintiff has a substantial likelihood of prevailing in the case. Baffert was banned through the 2023 Derby by Churchill Downs shortly after Medina Spirit, a horse owned by Zedan, tested positive for a regulated medication following the colt’s win in the 2021 Derby. The ban was extended last year by Churchill Downs through the 2024 Derby. CDI issued a statement then that justified the extension by saying “a trainer who is unwilling to accept responsibility for multiple drug test failures in our highest-profile races cannot be trusted to avoid future misconduct.” Several weeks prior to the ban being extended, Baffert had said in a televised interview that he “probably wouldn’t have done anything different [in the Medina Spirit incident] because everything that we were doing was legal.”  Baffert and Zedan have already lost a civil lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban when a U.S. District Court judge in Kentucky in 2023 threw out the suit in a summary judgment after ruling that Baffert could not demonstrate that he was “deprived of a property interest” in the case. The ruling also upheld CDI’s right to exclude, a right held in general by private businesses. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2024: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more The current lawsuit alleges that the extension of the ban “has no basis in law or in fact,” and it cast blame on the “personal animus” toward Baffert by CDI’s chief executive, Bill Carstanjen. The suit also says that CDI had no basis for extending the ban because the 2021 agreements signed by all trainers with Derby entrants expired when Baffert’s horses left the grounds after the Derby that year. In addition, the lawsuit argues that racetracks “no longer have authority over horse racing integrity and safety issues” due to the advent of the jurisdiction of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which took over a number of regulatory issues from states as of mid-summer last year. “CDI’s spurious, illegal extension of the suspension does not withstand scrutiny and imperils a host of interested stakeholders,” the lawsuit alleged. “Its CEO, Carstanjen, is indulging his ego at the expense of everyone else. HISA is being disregarded right out of the gate. Fans and bettors are losing the chance to see the best, fastest Thoroughbreds compete at the Derby.” Muth won the Arkansas Derby last weekend by two lengths, in his first start in three months. The winner of the Arkansas Derby would normally receive 100 qualifying points toward starting in the Kentucky Derby, but as part of its ban against Baffert, CDI is prohibiting any horse in Baffert’s care from earning any qualifying points. Muth was purchased as a 2-year-old by Zedan for $2 million in early 2023 while Baffert was still under the first ban. He has won four of his six starts for earnings of $1.5 million. If the horse was allowed to start in the Derby, he would likely be a strong second or third choice. Churchill Downs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  In January, Baffert and Zedan issued a statement saying that they were dropping an appeal of a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission decision to suspend Baffert and disqualify Medina Spirit from the 2021 Derby. Baffert had already served a 90-day suspension for the positive in 2022. “Zedan Racing’s owner, Amr Zedan, and I have decided that it is best to positively focus on the present and future that our great sport offers,” Baffert said in a social-media post. “We thank the KHRC and Churchill Downs for listening and considering our point of view and we are grateful for the changes and the clarity that HISA brings to our sport.” Zedan is being represented in the suit by a team led by John Quinn, an attorney based in Los Angeles with the firm Quinn Emanual Urquhart and Sullivan. He was previously represented in the Churchill Downs lawsuit by Clark Brewster, a prominent racing attorney. This story will be updated. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.