Michael Beychok has been one of the best equestrians in the sport for a while. He is a winner of the National Paralympic Championship, an advocate for jockeys and an openly disabled person for New Orleans Times-Picayune who spent the better part of his life betting on horses. Just not much longer.
Beychok, the leading figure in a class action lawsuit filed by gamblers who say they will cash in on the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby if Medina Spirit (Protonico) doesn’t win, says he’s disillusioned for this sport. that he will stop betting on a regular basis after attending this year’s national championship. His future bets will be limited to the few times he attends the race live.
“I’m just fed up with the drug scam,” he said. “I’m fed up with takeout. I’m fed up that we just can’t seem to be in a position to launch new and better drug testing. I have more shops now to gamble. I lived in Louisiana, a state, until last year where the only thing available was horse racing. Now, there are daily fantasy sports, which I enjoy, and the takeaway is so much better. Soon we will have online sports betting. I am a consumer. I just found better products. ”
Beychok made headlines last year when he filed a lawsuit against Baffert, alleging he would win more than $50,000 in the Derby if the race were won against Mandaloun (Into Mischief). Mandaloun came in second behind Baffert-trained Medina Spirit, who tested positive for the banned drug betamethasone on race day. He wants the court to rule that Baffert must compensate the gamblers involved in the case, who would have paid in cash if Medina Spirit hadn’t won.
“My first motivation was a gambler,” he said. “I was furious when I was told he tested positive for a banned drug on race day. Looking back on what has happened in the past with some of Baffert’s positives in the big races, I just know that nothing will happen. I felt like I had to do something because I didn’t think anyone else would. I decided not to use it anymore. I will do something not only for myself but also for the more than 250 other bettors who joined our class action. We’re tired of being scammed by Bob Baffert. In the big races, his horses keep turning positive”.
Beychok insists this is not about money.
“Any money I get from this lawsuit, I will donate to Thoroughbred child care,” he said. “I don’t put a dime of this money in my pocket. Hopefully I get paid. But what I’m trying to do is make the point that we can’t, in a game of chance, in a game of gambling, let anybody, be it Bob Baffert, Jason Servis, Jorge Navarro , trick us as bettors. “
Baffert’s legal team has fought back and is seeking to have Beychok’s lawsuit dismissed. In a court filing last week, Baffert said Beychok’s accusations were libelous and called his actions a “tin foil conspiracy premise”.
“It’s for public consumption,” Beychok said. “That’s all. I just laughed at it. The judge will look at the law and decide if that applies in this case.”
Beychok says he’s not surprised Baffert is fighting well.
“Bob Baffert is very good at this and he has a very good PR machine,” he said. “He’s good at it because he’s had to do it so many times over the last 15 years when his horses have tested positive. He had to come up with an excuse, a PR campaign. He’s good at these things and so is his lawyer. ”
Beychok said he’d like to see Baffert come up with a little story.
“My hope for this game that I love is that he will do what Lance Armstrong did,” Beychok said. “At some point, he needed to come clean and tell the truth. That may preserve some of his legacy. ”
While preparing to step back, Beychok said he is open to giving horse racing another chance, that is if there are meaningful changes.
“I hope it changes because I love the game and the people in it,” he said. “I hope things change and I can say I’m back. If I feel this is a fair game, I’ll be back. ”
