There have been so many false narratives that have come up and the hearing process isnt even done yet. 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]. The attorney generals office referred all questions to the CHRB. Both trainers were fined $500. Baffert was suspended by the NYRA on May 17 -- a big deal as it barred the legendary horse trainer from entering into the prestigious June 5 Belmont Stakes race. But Baffert and his lawyers had since established a reputation for pugnaciousness when regulators attempted to discipline him. Bob Baffert Sues New York Racing Association, You've Got No Basis To None of them are considered performance-enhancing in the traditional sense, such as amphetamines or speedballs. But the overall record indicates that he may not be running as tight a ship as he should.. There were at least 39 trainers with more fatalities to their name than Baffert during that period. [2][4], Baffert established his early reputation with less expensive horses like Silver Charm and Real Quiet, bought for $16,500 and $17,000 respectively. The dark side of Bob Baffert's reign. Its all right there in black and white; thats all I can say., ARCI President Ed Martin said the rules limiting race-day medications have been tightened not out of concern for performance enhancement but to prevent breakdowns. Hes won seven, more than anyone else in the 147-year history of the race. In the 1980s, Baffert moved to California and worked at Los Alamitos Race Course, where he switched to training Thoroughbreds full-time in 1991. At the time, she was 42-years-old. But until now, those violations, some of which Baffert has succeeded in getting overturned or reduced, have resulted in roughly $20,000 in fines against $321 million in career earnings. This was fun. Baffert has also had his share of horse fatalities, the other metric to which his critics point. Baffert was inducted into Lone Star Park's Hall of Fame in 2007, and in 2009, he was nominated and inducted to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame, the same year as a filly he trained, Silverbulletday. Bob had the personality and he was honest. The new classification simply makes more sense pharmacologically, Arthur wrote. Arthur B. Hancock III, a prominent thoroughbred owner, has for three decades been a leading proponent for eradicating drugs from the sport. 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. FILE - In this Monday July 12, 2021 file photo, horse trainer Bob Baffert leaves federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York. The board followed their recommendation. And Ive warned them that this was not going to stay a secret at the time, he testified of the CHRB, but that was their decision, not mine. (Baedeker, who retired last year, told The Post they couldnt legally disclose the test results because CHRB did not file a complaint.). 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. By then, Justify had won the Triple Crown, one of the rarest achievements in sports. "We live in a different world now. . Shah said the two parted over disagreements that should have been resolved, without being specific. The month after that, Grays bill to limit Arthurs term was passed out of a committee. Bafferts lawyer called as a defense witness Arthur, who testified that his handling of the case was the fault of Californias cumbersome regulatory process. He declared, I considered this a horse poisoning, not a horse drugging., After the hearing, Santa Anitas Board of Stewards, a three-person panel that rules on drug cases, dismissed the complaints. 10, 2022. Gagliano, the Jockey Club president, denied that the group had any knowledge of whom 5 Stones investigated, outside of the eventual indictments. 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. Racing lacks a central clearinghouse for data on deaths nationally, and regulators in many states do not track deaths by trainer. Last October Gamine was disqualified from third to last in the Kentucky Oaks after betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory, was discovered in the horses system. He claimed that the horse death data provided by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) was not possible.. He paused, then added: Ive learned who my friends are.. 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. . But when factoring in the number of races run, Bafferts horses have died at the highest rate of the 10 trainers who have had the most horse deaths. Other people may have made a different decision, but to say that there was no basis for that decision is pure bulls---, said Arthur, who announced his retirement this year. [35], The most notable cases prior to Medina Spirit's test was the disqualification of Gamine after a third place finish in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks, also for betamethasone,[36] and Triple Crown winner Justify, who tested positive for scopolamine after winning the 2018 Santa Anita Derby, but the results did not become public until after the horse won the Triple Crown. A 23-page analysis of that case, sent to the CHRB by a California deputy attorney general in July and obtained by The Post, suggests the states lawyers were concerned about the way the agency responded to the failed drug test. [9] Point Given was nominated in 2009, but elected and inducted in 2010. "[16][17] Nonetheless, Churchill Downs suspended Baffert from entering any horses at their racetrack pending the outcome of an investigation. He has often blamed drug positives on trace contamination from substances in a horses barn and has criticized tightening restrictions on the race-day use of bute and other drugs. But hes Bob, he has to speak his mind.. Political Cartoons. Baffert has saddled 34 horses in the Derby third-most in history since his first appearance in 1996. In the settlement, which records show did not include monetary damages, CHRB agreed to file a complaint against Justify. In response to public records requests in Maryland, New Jersey and Kentucky, officials told The Post that they did not maintain digital records of horse deaths by trainer, instead keeping reams of copies of reports. Attorneys for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert argued in a Kentucky court Thursday that a 90-day suspension imposed by the state's racing commission would essentially end his career. The New York Racing Assn. In 2000, for instance, another of his horses, Nautical Look, tested positive for morphine, landing Baffert a two-month suspension. In his teens, he worked as a jockey for $100 a day in informal Quarter Horse races on the outskirts of Nogales. There is nothing new here, he wrote. To the newspaper, she. This horse was going to run at the Triple Crown, Arthur said. [13] In Kentucky, any amount of betamethasone detected in post-race testing is a violation and could result in a disqualification. Baffert said the horse ingested hay after a groom, who was taking cough medicine, had urinated in the horses stall. Why would people want to be betting on horses when there are allegations and there are real positives and hes getting off on technicalities.. [As for whats going on now,] I dont like it but Im dealing with it. Hes a very unique personality, a unique sense of humor. PUBLISHED 9:20 AM ET Jul. 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. The last stand of Bob Baffert, horse racing's top trainer - Los Angeles Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has successfully appealed his 15-day suspension to the Arkansas Racing Commission, allowing the six-time Kentucky Derby winner to resume preparations to run Medina . Settlement reached over unauthorized Bob Baffert bourbon - The Yakteen rose to Bafferts defense and it ended with a scuffle that slightly injured a security guard. Baffert often speaks of his life as if its a Shakespearean play, humankinds tragedies mingling with his own existential crises. Baffert's disgrace could help turn racing to better future | Lexington Baffert's horses have won seven Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes and three Kentucky Oaks. His white hair, tinted glasses and accessibility make him a natural to promote the sport. And the Breeders Cup, which will be held Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar, has indicated it will soon make a decision on Bafferts eligibility to run in those championship races. Then, when American Pharoah won the 2015 Belmont Stakes, the win was the fourth attempt at a Triple Crown for Baffert, who at age 62 became the second-oldest trainer to win a Triple Crown.[6]. The CHRB officially opened an investigation. By then, Arthur already had a years-long, tangled history with Baffert. Baffert grew up on a cattle and chicken farm in Nogales, Ariz., near the Mexico border. Instead of promptly filing a public complaint against Baffert, the CHRB kept the positive result secret while Arthur conducted a lengthy investigation. [43] At the post-Belmont press conference, Baffert announced he and his wife would be making donations of $50,000 each to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA), and Old Friends Equine, all programs for retired race horses; and to the Permanently Disabled Jockey's Fund in memory of a Quarter Horse Jockey named Robert Z. He got his first big break in 1992 when he won his first Breeder's Cup race with Thirty Slews. A week after that, Baffert learned of the positive test. A complaint is filed in every case where the split sample confirms the original laboratory finding, read an advisory on the CHRB website. Justify faced disqualification from his victory in the Santa Anita Derby that would cost his owners a partnership of wealthy interests their share of the $600,000 first-place purse. Jerry Hollendorfer has the most deaths with 122. American Pharoah next won the 140th Preakness Stakes, making six victories in that race for Baffert, who also finished fourth with Dortmund. . His reasoning was that Baffert also administered thyroxine to horses outside of Hollywood Park, where his horses did not suffer sudden deaths. When Arthur delivered his report in November 2013, the bill to remove him from office was still pending. "[10], However, over 30 horses Baffert trained have failed drug tests. Hes always wanted to be a rock star and some people dont think racing should have one.. He views himself as an ambassador for the sport. [2] Baffert and his family reside in California. The Jockey Club has a database of thoroughbred breakdowns meaning deaths stemming from track injuries but said it is barred from sharing its data because of its contracts with racetracks. In fact, Bafferts horses, at 8.3 deaths per 1,000 starts, have died at a significantly higher rate than Hollendorfers, at 6.25. [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. His last day as medical equine director is Wednesday. The quest to find Jimson weed continued. Kaleem Shah, an owner who split with Baffert in 2016, defended the trainer over the horse deaths. [10] Though number of racing starts are used to calculate rates of death for all horses in the care of race trainers, not all horse deaths were animals in race training nor were they necessarily race-related fatalities. A A Former President Donald Trump released a statement Sunday about the disputed winner of the Kentucky Derby, saying the controversy reflects the current state of the country. Another day passed before it was discovered the colt was administered a topical ointment for a rash that contained betamethasone. The dark side of Bob Baffert's reign - Washington Post Drop dead while galloping, read a California Horse Racing Board vets account of the first horses death in November 2011. In that period, 36% of all cardiac related horse deaths in California were animals trained by Baffert. Either way, the state-appointed official probing Bafferts role in the deaths at Hollywood Park did so as his job was being threatened by the efforts of a Baffert-affiliated coalition. In February 2013, with Bafferts Hollywood Park sudden-death toll at six and Californias equine medical director, Rick Arthur, probing his barns operations, state legislation was introduced that would place term limits on Arthurs position, eventually forcing him out of a $309,000-a-year job. My heart tells me one thing, but my head tells me something else, said veteran racing journalist Ron Flatter, the managing editor of the website Horse Racing Nation. Hes the person few in the business want to talk about, but everyone wants to hear about. The first two infractions occurred in May 2020, when the horses Charlatan and Gamine tested positive in Arkansas for lidocaine, a numbing agent. 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. Bob survived a heart attack in late March 2012 while in Dubai for a world-class race at Meydan. One of the biggest assholes and cheats of all time, horse-racing Bob Baffert says Medina Spirit a victim of cancel culture | Lexington The consolation is knowing the truth will come out as the process plays out. 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. Real Quiet won the Preakness as well, but, like Silver Charm, the horse was denied a Triple Crown win and finished second in the Belmont Stakes by a nose. Brewster alleged, without providing evidence, that the Jockey Club directed 5 Stones to investigate anybody who doesnt train for them and wins a lot of races and might run in racetracks they dont run at., You know what the conclusion was? Brewster said of the alleged private investigation into Baffert. 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. If it surprised me it would be that I expected more, Roberts said. 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. 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. It subsequently said any horses running for a suspended trainer (Baffert) would not be eligible for Kentucky Derby or Oaks qualifying points.
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