Clay Patrick recused himself as hearing officer in the Medina Spirit disqualification case in order to avoid an appearance of impropriety that he said was precipitated when attorney Clark Brewster purchased a yearling partially owned by Patrick and his farm at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Patrick presided over a six-day hearing in which Brewster and attorney Craig Robertson were tasked, on behalf of owner Amr Zedan and trainer Bob Baffert, to persuade Patrick to recommend overturning the disqualification by stewards of Medina Spirit's win of the 2021 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission would have been free to accept or reject any decision Patrick made. With Patrick's recusal, the case will have to be retried or decided on the existing record by a new hearing officer in the absence of an unforeseen turn of events.
King: Auction Buy Leads to Shake-up in Medina Spirit Appeal
According to hearing transcripts BloodHorse obtained under an open records request, 15 days after the disqualification hearing concluded, Brewster bought Hip 409 for $190,000 on Wednesday, Sept. 14, without checking on its ownership. In all, Brewster said alone or in partnership he bought five yearlings at Keeneland during the first three days and spent about a million dollars.
On Thursday, Sept. 15, one day after Brewster's purchase, Patrick emailed attorneys in the case, writing "an issue has arisen which I need to address with all of you. … Can you all be available for this as early as Friday late afternoon, at 4 pm?"
Discussions of the issue occurred in a hearing Sept. 16 and 20. Transcripts indicate Brewster knew before the sale that Patrick was in the Thoroughbred business along with Patrick's good friend, KHRC Commissioner Michael Dudgeon.
"When we first met, you came right forward and said one of the commissioners is my very close friend," Brewster said to Patrick. "We went into this transaction know(ing) that you were officed at the Public Protection Cabinet, that you have an affiliation in the industry, that you had a friend that was on the racing commission, that you've been involved in the industry. We all knew that ... I knew that you were affiliated with Ramspring Farms."
Ramspring Farm's website says it "is a complete Thoroughbred breeding, foaling, boarding, and sales preparation facility" that's been in business for more than 40 years.
Brewster told Patrick during the Sept. 16 discussion that he realized on Sept. 14, after he made the purchase, that Patrick owned part of the yearling. Patrick confirmed he owned one-third of the yearling personally, Ramspring Farm owned one-third, and Dudgeon owned one-third.
"I thought—when I found this out on Wednesday, I think—Wednesday, I thought about sending an email around," Brewster said, "but then I realized it's so—it's only appearance; only from the standpoint of somebody that doesn't understand the sport or doesn't understand the context of the auction. But—so I just thought, well, let me think it through. And then I was pleased to receive your note yesterday to say you wanted a hearing about this..."
Brewster told Patrick he's been in the horse business for 28 years, that he owns 130 horses, and that he routinely buys at Keeneland. He said no one in the business who is a serious buyer cares about ownership of horses offered at auction. Instead, he said, buyers focus on conformation, breeding, and vetting.
The attorney said his team of advisers, trainer Steve Asmussen and Susan Montanye, "grades them and gets them vetted and that kind of thing" before creating a shortlist of potential purchases. He said he based his decisions on their recommendations, which do not include who owns the offerings. "I probably bid on 50 horses there," Brewster said.
And, said Brewster, "the catalog, Keeneland catalog, does not reflect the owner unless it says 'Agent for' and it lists the owner. In this instance with (Hip) 409, there's no owner listed."
After explaining his purchase of Patrick's horse, which Brewster summed up as "a coincidence," Brewster urged Patrick to remain on the case, arguing that he could remain fair and unbiased.
KHRC attorney Jennifer Wolsing, who asked for time Sept. 16 to consider the issues, asked Patrick on Sept. 20 to recuse. After telling Patrick she was not contending Brewster intentionally roiled the proceeding, Wolsing said the attorney should have been more careful.
"However, this is a situation where Mr. Brewster either knew or should've known about the potential for a financial conflict of interest," Wolsing said. "We're aware that Mr. Patrick is experienced and involved in the horse industry; we know that you're affiliated with Ramspring Farms, which sometimes sells horses. I think that it would have been incumbent on Mr. Brewster to have checked out the ownership before he spent $190,000 that led to a conflict of interest that's here today."
On both days, Patrick said he could be fair but expressed concern from an objective viewpoint.
"I'm comfortable that I could reach a decision and make a decision without being affected by this," Patrick said during the first hearing, "but we have to see; we have to reflect how that would look with the public and the industry and consider that fact as well."
On the second hearing day, after Patrick told the attorneys he was very torn on the matter, he again referred to public perception of the matter.
"I understand completely Ms. Wolsing's argument and wouldn't expect anybody not to bring that up. That's completely founded, I think, because it's the appearance of an impropriety that we strive more than anything to prevent and preclude in these actions," Patrick said. "I unquestionably feel that I can continue in this matter in an impartial way, but I am concerned about the appearance that it would give to the public and to the industry, which certainly doesn't need any more bashing right now."
A discussion followed whereby a formal motion to recuse would be filed and briefed. However, the following day Patrick cut to the chase in an email to counsel.
"Counsel, I don't want to drag this issue out any longer. Therefore, this is to advise that I am recusing as Hearing Officer in the above‐styled action, effective immediately. An Order to this effect will be issued later today," he wrote.
In comments during the Sept. 16 hearing, perhaps Brewster foreshadowed what was about to happen.
"Had I known it (Hip 409) was associated with you, just out of an abundance of caution, I would have passed on the colt," Brewster told Patrick.
Correction: This story has been updated by removing a part of Jennifer Wolsing's quote that referred to a listing of ownership of sale horses on The Jockey Club website as no such listing exists on the site.
