After spending recent days attending and staying atop the biggest current trial in the country—a trial of a former president—attorney Clark Brewster arrived at Churchill Downs the morning of May 2, popped his head in the office of trainer Steve Asmussen to say hello, and then headed to the stall of his first Kentucky Derby (G1) starter: Track Phantom.
Away from racing, Brewster has advised many high-profile clients and in the weeks before the Derby his focus has been on Stormy Daniels, who is at the center of the trial in New York of former President Donald Trump in a case involving an affair and hush money. While for some owners racing provides a diversion—a chance to slow down from their busy lives in business, finance or the like—for the high-energy Brewster it's a chance to ramp up his life even more.
While getting to the Derby is new for Brewster, who has been in racing since 1989 and won his first race in 1990 in a $5,000 claiming race at Remington Park with a horse named Practicing, the attorney based in Tulsa, Okla., enjoys every win along the way. Some of that success has come on horses he's owned, on his own or in partnerships, that have included grade 2 winner Dramedy.
"There's so many disappointments and so many heartbreaks in this industry. But when it all comes together, and you have a great one, it's exhilarating. There's nothing else like it," Brewster said. "I've tried some cases that are pretty interesting—really kind of sensational cases—for the last number of years, a lot of years. And I remember that the first race I ever won—it was a $5,000 claimer—I was so excited. It was like getting a multi-million-dollar jury decision. It was absolutely the same level.
"The thing about this business is that no matter how long you've been in it, what you've been through—and I've been through a lot of ups and downs—when you win, it's as thrilling as the first one. I mean every time, every time."
Asmussen has won many of the top races in the world, but he chuckles when thinking about the circles Brewster sometimes runs.
"I've been to dinner with him and had him field calls, and it's things you don't even think about. 'Who did what?'" Asmussen said with a laugh. "In being a famous defense attorney, what's normal to him is not normal to the rest of us. His cases outside of racing are beyond fascinating."
Racing and breeding has been a decades-long passion for Brewster, who has a number of mares in Oklahoma and some in Kentucky. He started out mostly campaigning horses on his own, but has taken on partners in recent years, including Lee Levinson's L and N Racing in the past five or six years. Asmussen met the Levinsons—who also call Tulsa home—through Brewster. The Racing Hall of Fame trainer saddled L and N Racing's Lookin At Lee to a second-place finish in the 2017 Derby—one of three times Asmussen has finished second in the classic.
Track Phantom, who also counts Jerry Caroom and breeder Breeze Easy as partners, was purchased by L and N Racing for $500,000 at the 2022 Keeneland Yearling Sale where he was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency. Mike Hall's Breeze Easy bred the son of Quality Road —Miss Sunset, by Into Mischief , in Kentucky. Miss Sunset, a grade 2 winner, has produced two winners from as many starters.
While it's a relatively small part of his overall practice, Brewster also has handled some high-profile cases within the industry, most prominently representing trainer Bob Baffert (and owner Amr Zedan) after Medina Spirit was disqualified from victory in the 2021 Kentucky Derby (G1) after he failed a post-race test. In Kentucky Brewster vigorously represented Baffert in the regulatory appeal in Kentucky of the stewards' decision to disqualify Medina Spirit.
While such cases account for about 5%-10% of his overall practice, it's clear that Brewster puts 100% of his heart to those efforts. He believes his experience as an owner helps him in defending industry clients, typically in regulatory cases that sometimes are appealed to the courts.
"Unless you're really enmeshed in this industry, and understand all the nuances and have all the substantive knowledge about what these trainers have to go through, and what these horses have to go through, and then apply that to the regulatory scheme, it's really difficult to be an effective advocate," Brewster said. "So absolutely. It makes a big difference to have somebody representing you on a matter that not only understands the industry well, but also administrative law. And that's a pretty narrow niche for practicing lawyers.
"And that's one of the reasons I take some of these cases, not because we're doing it for the money. It's because I want to do it, I want to help and I want to try to get something done that's fair to everyone."
More than once Brewster has employed a strategy that he might call thorough and state regulators and staff might call drawing things out. Cases that continue for months or years were sometimes cited as problematic as the industry garnered support for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.
Ultimately the Baffert regulatory appeal of the Derby DQ would come up short as the disqualification was upheld. Beyond that, Churchill Downs Inc. has imposed its own suspension of the trainer, which was extended to a third year for 2024. Should Track Phantom deliver a dream run for his connections, Brewster said he's not one to hold a grudge and would be completely comfortable in the Derby winner's circle.
As for enjoying racing, Brewster loves the horses but also cherishes sharing his passion. He's had horses with Asmussen for about a dozen years and they've become friends. He said wife Deborah and his family have enjoyed his love for racing. Deborah used to show cutting horses around the country and they ride together on their cattle ranch. And he's made great friends.
"It's very horse central at our place. Sharing this with others; that's the thing that's made it the best for me," Brewster said. "Steve has become a very close friend. I count some other top trainers in racing as my friends. Steve Asmussen is a horse lover and so am I. The people that take care of these horses day in and day out, their hearts are on their sleeves with regard to the horses.
"I've had a 30-plus year friendship with Lee Levinson, and there's just not a better person on the face of the earth. Having that friendship and that relationship and owning this horse together has made it much better."
He would love nothing more than to join those friends and family in the Derby winner's circle Saturday evening.
