The. On the morning of this years Kentucky Derby, he was going through his list of past Kentucky Derby winners and should-have-been winners, and dismissed Medina Spirit as not the best horse in the race. Things would have been so much simpler if the horse had not won the race. Baffert dedicated American Pharoah's win to Bobby. Rick Baedeker, who was executive director of the CHRB before retiring last year, said the boards decisions were carefully considered to avoid treating Baffert differently than any other trainer. He won his first race on that 1970 afternoon but not as a trainer. He paused, then added: Ive learned who my friends are.. 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. In a hearing in October, the state and attorneys for Baffert and the horses owners stipulated the scopolamine positive was the result of contamination and it would have no performance-enhancing effects. [2] His first winner was Flipper Star at Rillito Park on January 28, 1979. The testing levels have become ridiculous, Baffert told a conference of racehorse veterinarians during his keynote speech in 2000, according to a trade publication. Once again, the Hall of Fame. Once the golden boy of horse racing, Bob Baffert now the face of its disgrace. Tinsley declined to comment. Baffert, like many trainers, was using a thyroid drug that was cited in the CHRB investigation. The consolation is knowing the truth will come out as the process plays out. California keeps track of horse deaths by trainer, but there are errors and limits to the data. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has been suspended from the home of the Kentucky Derby for two years after Medina Spirit's positive post-race drug was confirmed, the company that runs the. Judge nullifies horse trainer Bob Baffert's NY suspension I dont see somebody who is doping horses, Martin said after reviewing Bafferts drug-related history. Bob Baffert Suspended 15 Days for Drug Positives 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 horse's. Baffert, however, became the first trainer in history to win the Derby and Preakness in back-to-back years. Trainer Bob Baffert stands outside his barn at Churchill Downs on May 2, 2016, in Louisville, Ky. Medina . In 2021, the post-race test of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit showed 21pg/mL of betamethasone. 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 cluster of sudden deaths remains unexplained and there was no evidence whatsoever CHRB rules or regulations have been violated or any illicit activity played a part in the deaths, Arthurs report concluded. The owners ultimately abandoned the plan after Bafferts horse, American Pharoah, won the Triple Crown that year, fearing their effort could damage the sport, one of those people said. Fellow trainer D. Wayne Lukas attributed Baffert's success to his "extraordinary eye for a good horse" and his management ability in finding the right opportunities for his charges.[5]. Horse trainer Bob Baffert, left, leaves federal court in Brooklyn on July 12. Theres 10,000 other trainers who understand the absolute insurer rule and dont seem to run afoul of it, Gagliano said, referring to the edict that any substances in the horse are the trainers responsibility. He rejoined The Times in 2009 and left his post as deputy sports editor late in 2017. Horse-racing deaths, like much of the sport, are shrouded by a disjointed bureaucracy. Bob Baffert - Celebnetworth.net The new classification simply makes more sense pharmacologically, Arthur wrote. Baffert's history in the American classic races began in 1996 when he trained a three-year-old colt named Cavonnier, who ran second in the Kentucky Derby. Some would argue, though, that if it makes a horse less uncomfortable, it improves their performance. The winner's share of the $600 purse was $330. 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. This whole thing is ridiculous, Baffert texted back, according to messages obtained by The Post via public records request. Garcia left California horse racing the next year, according to CHRB records; he could not be reached for comment by The Post. The colt skipped the Belmont Stakes but became the champion three-year-old colt that year. Bell told an investigator he then checked other bales and found a branch and pods he thought were Jimson weed in the parking lot. Other trainers seem to navigate just fine.. After Arthur cleared Baffert of wrongdoing, the legislation was abandoned. In 2015, a loose group of prominent thoroughbred owners hatched a plan according to people with direct knowledge of it to sic private eyes, from a firm called 5 Stones that helped bring down Russian dopers, on their sports most famous trainer. Robertson blamed the frequency of Bafferts drug-related violations on how often his horses are tested after winning races and said, Horse racings regulations need to catch up with the sensitivity of modern day testing., Jockey Club President James L. Gagliano dismissed that frequent complaint from Baffert. On July 15, 2020, Deputy Attorney General Robert Petersen sent his initial case assessment to Brodnik. In that period, 36% of all cardiac related horse deaths in California were animals trained by Baffert. On a recent afternoon, Baffert appeared largely unperturbed by the firestorm surrounding him when he answered his door in Arcadia, Calif. This is the first Ive learned of it, Baffert responded when told of The Posts finding that he had the highest rate of horse deaths among other top trainers in the state. Cherwa also contributes general interest stories from Florida. The 74 total deaths since 2000 put Baffert third among trainers. Hes always wanted to be a rock star and some people dont think racing should have one.. Arthur B. Hancock III, a prominent thoroughbred owner, has for three decades been a leading proponent for eradicating drugs from the sport. Medina Spirit died after a training session on 6 December 2021 and an ensuing necropsy on 11 February 2022 was inconclusive. But he said it wasnt clear from the records why the CHRB reversed course on filing a complaint against Baffert. A recent conversation about the tragedy of horse deaths wended its way back to the defense of his reputation. The 77-year-old billionaire made headlines last year when he made a $10,000 contribution to opponents of Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance. Bafferts breakthrough thoroughbred was Thirty Slews, who won the Breeders Cup Sprint in 1992. Arthur is the CHRBs primary advisor on drug testing, according to state code; the role of determining penalties in individual cases falls to its stewards and commissioners. [27][28] On July 14 the suspension was reversed by U. S. Federal District Court Judge Carol Bagley Amon sitting in the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. Has his success made people hate him more? "What a way to come back," said Baffert, whose punishment by the Kentucky Horse . The TOC, of which Baffert is still a board member, did not respond to requests for comment. Baedeker said this week he changed his mind on not filing a complaint, which would have put the matter before CHRBs Board of Stewards, because he didnt want to pass the buck. 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. PUBLISHED 9:20 AM ET Jul. Brodnik presented the board with a two-page memo stating an extensive investigation was conducted and the evidence proves that this was an environmental contamination incident. Baedeker and Arthur recommended the pending matters against Baffert be dismissed, according to the states legal analysis. In winning the 141st Kentucky Derby, bringing his total number of victories in the race to four; Baffert also ran the third-place finisher, the previously undefeated colt Dortmund. In a recent interview, Arthur described his findings as damning for Baffert, in particular analysis in his report showing that, over a six-year period, Bafferts horses were nine times more likely to die of sudden death than the average trainers. In his teens, he worked as a jockey for $100 a day in informal Quarter Horse races on the outskirts of Nogales. Kentucky regulators taped calls without consent with Baffert after Medina Spirit test. Baffert was granted a stay until April 4 to gain time for an appeal. Does his love of the camera sometimes bite him? asked longtime owner and friend Mike Pegram. Hospital food is a punchline. Whether youre a lifelong resident of D.C. or you just moved here, weve got you covered. This included Baffert's home track at Santa Anita, although Baffert horse Shaaz won the sixth race on April 2. I told him there would be nothing from CHRB before the KY Derby, unlikely before the Preakness and possibly not until after the Belmont, Arthur wrote. He appeared in an episode of the TV show Take Home Chef. He views himself as an ambassador for the sport. 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. He declined to answer further questions. Despite the cautious approach of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which five months later still has not acted on the drug positive, or disqualified, Medina Spirit, Churchill Downs suspended the trainer for two years. But Arthurs report said Hollywood Park used a different sort of poison than that found in the necropsy. Unlike a normal day at the races, Bafferts fate will not be decided by a photo-finish camera or the actions of a jockey aboard a 1,000-pound animal. According to protocols, the medication is supposed to have a 14-day withdrawal period. Bob Baffert has moved his way up the ladder to the extent that he has the most influential, the wealthiest owners in the industry, that he takes on the highest-quality horses possible because he wins races. Gray said at the time that the bill also would increase the institutional knowledge of Californias central horse drug-testing lab. How carefully the dosage was followed was not determined, Arthur wrote. In fact, at some point Id like to get back together with Bob, Shah said. Hes good.. Baffert's disgrace could help turn racing to better future | Lexington