), Among the TOCs central crusades was countering the movement against Lasix. [25][26] On June 14, 2021, Baffert sued the NYRA alleging the association had no authority to suspend his license and that suspension "without prior notice" was a violation of the law. He has won the Kentucky Derby five times. He has not been in alliance with us, said Hancock, mentioning Bafferts many positive tests and then listing top trainers who have had one or zero positives in their career. Baffert has had more than 30 drug violations in his 44-year career, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. But by August, the plan had changed. Baffert revisited the Derby the next year, sending two top colts, Real Quiet and Indian Charlie, to Louisville. Bafferts record of testing failures threatens public confidence in thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby, said Bill Carstanjen, chief executive of Churchill Downs Inc. Given these repeated failures over the last year, including the increasingly extraordinary explanations, we firmly believe that asserting our rights to impose these measures is our duty and responsibility.. Board member Michael E. Pegram had for decades hired Baffert to train his top horses, including the winner of the 1998 Kentucky Derby, Real Quiet. And he pushes the envelope to the extent that they give their lives for his bank account.. Some of my friends swear that I'm actually a conservative Democrat. This article was published more than1 year ago, LOS ANGELES In March 2020, horse racings most recognizable figure, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, declared that his sport was in crisis.. Baffert said the horse ingested hay after a groom, who was taking cough medicine, had urinated in the horses stall. He will rub people the wrong way by speaking his mind, sometimes he needs to hit the mute button. It bothers me when hes not considered the Kentucky Derby winner.. Bob Baffert wakes up most every day with one thing in mind, winning another Kentucky Derby. Baffert did not win another classic race until 2001, when he won the Preakness and Belmont Stakes with eventual Hall of Fame member Point Given. Finding a new director every two to four years would cost $300,000 each time, a committee that analyzed the bill found. Medina Spirit died after a training session on 6 December 2021 and an ensuing necropsy on 11 February 2022 was inconclusive. In 1997, he trained Silver Charm to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, finishing second in the Belmont. In 2015, he trained American Pharoah, the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.. In September, Baffert learned via a text message from Barbara Borden, chief steward for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, that his horse Gamine had tested positive for the anti-inflammatory betamethasone at the Kentucky Oaks. Less than two weeks later, Medina Spirit won the Kentucky Derby. Great Read: Bob Baffert has come a long way in horse racing, Santa Anita opens Friday as prelude to Breeders Cup at Del Mar, Surging Crespi receives another strong performance from sophomore Diego Velazquez, High school baseball and softball: Fridays scores, With Marcus Morris sidelined, Clippers look to stabilize lineup and rotations, With their playoff lives at stake, Darvin Ham challenges Lakers effort and urgency. The way this case was handled was out of respect for Justify., On the afternoon of April 18, 2018, Arthur learned that Justify and another Baffert horse, Hoppertunity, had tested positive for scopolamine. Baffert, however, wouldnt change the outcome. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Baffert wrote that reforming racing was not just necessary to the sports survival but the only moral path forward. Baffert also trained the 2018 Triple Crown Winner, Justify and the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic. Robert A. Baffert (born January 13, 1953) is an American racehorse trainer who trained the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. All of the explanations for the positive drug tests are plausible, but collectively they raise questions. A three-member hearing panel has made the decision to suspend Hall of Fame horse trainer Bob Baffert for one year, effective immediately, the New York Racing Association announced Thursday. Now 68, Baffert is seeing his livelihood and reputation under attack after a series of medication infractions have made him an outcast to some in the industry and a pariah to many more outside of it. The CHRB had not adopted that recommendation. [31][32] Additional charges were added on January 3, 2022. Horse trainer Bob Baffert before the 2020 Breeders Cup at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. Trainer Bob Baffert pets an outriders horse while watching workouts at Churchill Downs in April. The 74 total deaths since 2000 put Baffert third among trainers. Has his success made people hate him more? The Kentucky Derby winner is staying ahead of . There have been so many false narratives that have come up and the hearing process isnt even done yet. Carson Valley was killed in a freak accident in 2019 at Del Mar when a loose horse crashed into the Baffert trainee. He won the aforementioned first race at a sanctioned track in 1970, but his mother insisted he attend college and he enrolled in the University of Arizonas Race Track Industry Program. Horse trainer Bob Baffert, left, leaves federal court in Brooklyn on July 12. The winner's share of the $600 purse was $330. Baffert, however, became the first trainer in history to win the Derby and Preakness in back-to-back years. But that number may drop to six if the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission disqualifies this years winner, Medina Spirit, for a medication violation, the trainers fifth since May 2020. . The 69-year-old Hall of Fame trainer is suing Churchill Downs Inc. in federal court to end his suspension. At least 74 horses have died in Bafferts care in his home state of California since 2000, more than all but two of hundreds of trainers in the state, according to a Post analysis of data and public records. The goal, the people familiar said, was to get Baffert to support languishing reforms in the sport. Several members of the Breeders Cup board have used Baffert as their trainer. ), Arthur has defended his handling of the Justify positive. In his analysis, Petersen estimated the states chances of winning at trial to be 50 percent. In fact, Bafferts horses, at 8.3 deaths per 1,000 starts, have died at a significantly higher rate than Hollendorfers, at 6.25. [19][20] On May 11, Baffert stated Medina Spirit had dermatitis, for which an ointment containing betamethasone was used. Baffert's horses have won seven Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes and three Kentucky Oaks. It was obvious long before Miners Daughter collapsed in a blood-tinged froth in March 2013 that there was something amiss in Barn 61 at Hollywood Park, the Los Angeles-area racetrack. Shah said the two parted over disagreements that should have been resolved, without being specific. That didnt feel appropriate to those of who wanted to see science prevail, Cardoza said. Trainer Bob Baffert's ban from racing in New York is over - Associated Press Baffert barred from participating in Preakness Stakes by Maryland commission By Jacob Calvin Meyer - The. Mick Ruis, the owner and trainer of the second-place finisher in the Santa Anita Derby, has sued the CHRB. The public backlash, including a letter written by a gay. It wasnt long before Baffert was making pocket change riding the horses in match races. In the court of public opinion, hes a big loser, said Barry Irwin, owner of racing group Team Valor and an outspoken critic of race-day medication and Baffert. Until this summer, Baffert was the longest-serving member on the board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, having been elected in 2007. Baffert has trained horses that won fifteen American Classic Races, fifteen Breeders' Cup races, four Dubai World Cups and the inaugural Pegasus World Cup. What I can tell you definitely is this case was handled differently, and it was handled differently because of Rick Arthur, said Ruiss attorney, Darrell Vienna. "So now even our Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, is a junky," Trump's statement read. was. Earlier data was unreliable, the racing publication said. Arthur and CHRB investigators inspected Bafferts barn, reviewed veterinary records and interviewed Baffert, who was flanked by an attorney. Hes a very unique personality, a unique sense of humor. Two months after Arthur cleared Baffert, the legislation to limit his term died. He makes it clear that he believes in same-day medication and he believes in his whips, said Roberts, who has long pushed to remove whipping horses from racing. But he said it wasnt clear from the records why the CHRB reversed course on filing a complaint against Baffert. Arthur suggested the board retroactively apply it to the Justify case. Bob Baffert has supporters and detractors in how he deals with jockeys By John Cherwa Special Contributor Nov. 2, 2016 4:28 PM PT Bob Baffert, still fresh and snappy after hours of morning. (Pegram and Auerbach did not respond to interview requests. [7] Baffert became a 7-time winner of the Kentucky Derby in 2021 with Medina Spirit. This America's different." pic . On June 2, with the Belmont Stakes a week away, the owner of a feed operation showed up at the CHRB office carrying plant samples he said he found more than a month earlier, the records show. The bottom line, he said, is if youre a horse in Bob Bafferts barn, youre there to work.. By age 20, he had developed a reputation as a trainer and was hired by other trainers to run their stables. FILE - Trainer Bob Baffert walks out to the winner's circle after the Brooklyn Invitational Stakes horse race at Belmont Park, Saturday, June 9, 2018, in Elmont, N.Y. . If you lose 75% of the time, youre considered really, really good. The colt skipped the Belmont Stakes but became the champion three-year-old colt that year. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) A federal judge denied Bob Baffert's request to lift his two-year suspension by Churchill Downs Inc., ruling Friday that the Hall of Fame trainer did not prove its. After the Times broke the news of the positive drug test, Ruis sued the CHRB in January 2020. [9] Point Given was nominated in 2009, but elected and inducted in 2010. [8] His first suspension was in 1977 for misuse of morphene, but thereafter he had no violations for the next eight years. In 1997 he won his first Kentucky Derby with Silver Charm. He followed it with six more Derbies, two of which launched Triple Crown runs, with American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018. In fact, at some point Id like to get back together with Bob, Shah said. He was fined $1,500. Four months later, during a confidential executive session, Arthur and CHRB Director Rick Baedeker recommended that the commissioners not move forward with the disqualification of Justify, arguing that the scopolamine positive was probably the result of contamination from jimson weed. This in turn led to a ban from all California Horse Racing Board facilities beginning April 4 due to a rule removing any trainer under a 60 day or higher ban from all CHRB facilities. This horse was going to run at the Triple Crown, Arthur said. But in the most recent election in June, he finished seventh of eight, the only incumbent beaten. Ive heard the rumors on Bobby since we got in the business after winning some Cal Cup races. When he was 10, his father purchased some Quarter Horses and he practiced racing them on a dirt track. His white hair, tinted glasses and accessibility make him a natural to promote the sport. He was 10 when his father, Bill, bought a couple of quarter horses, plowed some land for a track and Bob started riding them before school each morning. And promote he does, chatting with people he met one minute ago as if they were long-lost friends. A 4/C violation meant minor punishment that wouldnt typically involve disqualifying the horse or redistributing winnings. And Madeline Auerbach, who later became a CHRB commissioner, had partnered with Baffert in thoroughbred breeding. We had some thoroughbreds with another trainer and Im thinking how can we make money with Bobby running for $4,000 at night when we could be running for $40,000 during the day, Pegram said. His primary attorney is Craig Robertson, who represents him in all regulatory matters, but he has recused himself from any action against Churchill Downs because his law firm does business with the company, creating a conflict of interest. The trainer was Baffert. The 90 day ban against Baffert was set to be honored in all 38 racing states. If they didnt adopt those rules, the rules that prevail are the ones they adopted.. "We live in a different world now. It went exactly according to the lawyers plan. Yeah, sure, hes a wiseass and irreverent. Currently, his major coverage area is horse racing, where he can be found at big races at Santa Anita, the Triple Crown series and Breeders Cup. He appeared in an episode of the TV show Take Home Chef. [33], In February 2022, Baffert was suspended 90 days and fined $7,500 by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Baffert sued in federal court, claiming the two months off could cost him $11 million in purses. Baffert, like many trainers, was using a thyroid drug that was cited in the CHRB investigation. It sounds like hes deflecting, Gagliano said of Baffert. Thats the only time I ever had to deal with somebody who tried to go to federal court to stop a state administrative action., Finally, in 2005, after the matter had returned to state court, the CHRB dismissed the suspension after an administrative law judge concluded Baffert had nothing to gain and a great deal to lose by the use of a banned substance on this horse., Baffert further solidified his influence in the ensuing years. He has never apologized to the public for trashing the game. On at least 14 occasions, Baffert has been caught racing a horse with more than the allowable amount of bute in its system, according to a review of ARCI data, making it his most common offense. In more than four decades in the sport, Baffert has faced significant regulatory scrutiny because of a high death rate only once, after seven of his horses collapsed in a short period of time at the same California track. (At least one death of a Baffert horse identified by The Post was not included in the agencys data.) In New York, chefs are redefining it. But hes a good person, no, a great person. LOS ANGELES In 2018, as star trainer Bob Baffert led his thoroughbred Justify to the Triple Crown, California regulators embarked on a secret effort to exonerate Baffert after the horses positive test for a banned substance, according to confidential records obtained by The Washington Post that fully detail the saga for the first time. Asked whether he was surprised by the finding that Bafferts barn was the deadliest in California, Roberts laughed. Why would people want to be betting on horses when there are allegations and there are real positives and hes getting off on technicalities.. Wizards show plenty of heart early but cant find an edge late in Chicago. Baffert has also had his share of horse fatalities, the other metric to which his critics point. . "[16][17] Nonetheless, Churchill Downs suspended Baffert from entering any horses at their racetrack pending the outcome of an investigation. Nonetheless, in that case, Arkansas suspended Baffert for 15 days. The testing levels have become ridiculous, Baffert told a conference of racehorse veterinarians during his keynote speech in 2000, according to a trade publication. Decorated racehorse trainer who won multiple Kentucky Derbies, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. Grays office told the committee that removing Dr. Arthur from his position, while intentional, is not the sole purpose of the bill, records show. With private eyes and political muscle, horse racings elite pushed to punish dopers, Throughout the months-long process, CHRB officials had indicated they planned on filing a complaint against Baffert, which would have exposed the failed drug test.