My focus will always be on the best care for my horses. Shah, the owner of at least three of the horses, told The Post he had fully trusted Baffert as a trainer and had no reason to suspect that he would harm the horses he loves the horses. Brewster, the attorney, said that Baffert believed the horses had ingested rat poison, traces of which were found in one of them. He's a cheat and an asshole, and I hope Medina Spirit gets taken down and his connections are denied the $1.8 million first-place check. He routinely challenges most sanctions, usually agreeing to accept fines but vigorously fighting suspensions. . Baffert was recently suspended for 90 days by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, California Horse Racing Board, and the New York State Gaming Commission for drug violations in the 2021 Kentucky . The bold statement appeared to put Baffert on the right side of history: By the end of the year, President Donald Trump had signed into law the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, which promised to reform the sport. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Testimonies have begun in the case of horse trainer Bob Baffert against Churchill Downs. The trainer was fined $2,500. 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. To me, whats in the best interest of the sport is not seeing anyone being dogpiled on.. Bafferts attorney argued in court that the trainers May suspension by the New York Racing Assn. [citation needed], According to his supporters, Baffert's style and personality, combined with his success, have made him a target for controversy. Horse trainer Bob Baffert, left, leaves federal court in Brooklyn on July 12. Nothing is held back.. On June 1, Baedeker had asked the agencys top lawyer and investigator how close they were to filing the Scopolamine complaints., On July 9, a month after Justifys Belmont triumph, the agencys chief counsel, Robert Brodnik, wrote to the CHRB investigator that they would like to officially file by Monday.. [As for whats going on now,] I dont like it but Im dealing with it. But by August, the plan had changed. It went exactly according to the lawyers plan. Medina Spirit departed Churchill Downs in a van before dawn on Monday, bound for Baltimore (a horse van, not Jeff Spicoli's VW bus ). 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. He saddled Paynter in the Belmont Stakes later that year, but that colt, like his stablemate Bodemeister, finished second. But after learning that Justify and another Baffert horse had tested positive for the same drug, Arthur announced in an e-mail to CHRB officials: The scopolamine cases will be handled differently than usual. Arthur said in a recent interview that he was referring to the logistics of what was clearly going to be a high-profile case that needed to be handled carefully.. It didnt take Baffert long to dominate Rillito Park and Prescott Downs in Arizona. Real Quiet won the race that year, and Baffert also finished third with Indian Charlie. He will rub people the wrong way by speaking his mind, sometimes he needs to hit the mute button. 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. Most were for excessive use of phenylbutazone, a commonly used anti-inflammatory known as bute. To the newspaper, she. Bob Baffert blamed "cancel culture" after his horse, Medina Spirit, who won the Kentucky Derby, failed its post-race drug test. The Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Trainer in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2015, Baffert has won 18 Breeders' Cup races, including four editions of the Classic with . Arthur said the TOC was behind the effort to oust him because of his criticism of Lasix. Once the golden boy of horse racing, Bob Baffert now the face of its disgrace. On May 5, Justify won the Kentucky Derby, upping the stakes of the investigation. Following the publication of the report, Baffert tweeted: Im gratified that CHRB completed its investigation & found there was no wrongdoing. It then changed the classification of scopolamine so that its detection in a horse would trigger only a fine and not disqualification and loss of the races purse. 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. Hes always wanted to be a rock star and some people dont think racing should have one.. All they show is contamination, and they have really put the trainers heads on the chopping blocks. You could trust him and that never changed.. The new classification simply makes more sense pharmacologically, Arthur wrote. In fact, at some point Id like to get back together with Bob, Shah said. Its bizarre, Baedeker said, because you have a deputy attorney general criticizing the board for following the law to the letter.. "This is emblematic of what is happening to our country. The CHRB officially opened an investigation. Officials worked secretly to clear Bob Bafferts Justify amid 2018 Triple Crown run, records show. Baffert grew up on a cattle and chicken farm in Nogales, Ariz., near the Mexico border. The attorney generals office referred all questions to the CHRB. Horse owner and racing reform advocate Barry Irwin has stated, "He's Mr. 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. The Post reported this month that Arthur had previously studied a spate of sudden horse deaths in Bafferts barn. The bill was introduced by California Assemblyman Adam Gray, a former aide to Cardoza who had been in office for less than three months. This whole thing is ridiculous, Baffert texted back, according to messages obtained by The Post via public records request. There are no secrets on the backside.. (The trainer and jockey usually get 10 percent each.) During a hearing, records show, Baffert argued the positive test could have been a result of his stable hands eating poppy seed bagels and muffins around the horse. 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. Darrell Vienna, Ruiss attorney, said he would not have agreed to those stipulations but was not allowed to intervene. In a scheme typical of the high-stakes warring behind the scenes in racing, four thoroughbred owners entered talks in 2015 with a private intelligence agency to dig up drug-related dirt on Baffert, according to multiple people with direct knowledge. 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. Ruis is suing the CHRB for absolving Baffert of a positive for scopolamine, a byproduct of jimsonweed, after Justify tested for the drug after winning the 2018 Santa Anita Derby. 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]. In raw numbers, most of Baffert's medication violations were for exceeding allowed amounts of authorized medications such as phenylbutazone, a pain medication commonly administered to horses. I told him I thought there was a good indication that these were feed contamination.. In February, Kentucky racing officials decided against suspending Baffert, with Borden telling the Louisville Courier-Journal a lesser punishment was all in the course of being fair. And in April, Arkansas officials reversed the 15-day suspension for lidocaine positives that the trainer blamed on an assistants pain patch. Being a horse trainer is tough enough because its such an up-and-down, emotional roller coaster, Baffert said. And in the 13 months following his essay in The Post, Bafferts horses tested positive for prohibited or excessive substances five times in three states. By then, Justify had won the Triple Crown, one of the rarest achievements in sports. [2] Baffert and his family reside in California. In 1997, he trained Silver Charm to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, finishing second in the Belmont. was. The trainer was Baffert. This time, he aided the CHRBs search for Jimson weed. Regardless, the indictments appeared to sway Baffert, whose opinion piece in The Post supported drastic action to fix a broken system. Among the provisions in the federal legislation that Baffert supported is a phaseout of Lasix on race day a reform Baffert had opposed for years. 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. That investigation led to the indictments that Baffert said spurred him to embrace more oversight, so the cheaters would be quickly caught and punished.. Pegram persuaded Baffert to try thoroughbreds. Horse trainer Bob Baffert on Monday argued that Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit had been a victim of "cancel culture" after the horse failed a postrace drug test . In 2007, he joined the 15-member board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), a nonprofit that represents the roughly 9,000 CHRB-licensed owners in the state. LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. High Connection won the $125,000 Los Alamitos Derby by 1 3/4 lengths Saturday, giving trainer Bob Baffert his second victory on the card in his return to competition after serving a 90-day suspension. [10][12] However, his violations for use of prohibited medications has sparked controversy. He got his first big break in 1992 when he won his first Breeder's Cup race with Thirty Slews. And promote he does, chatting with people he met one minute ago as if they were long-lost friends. No horse loving person like Bob or his entire team accepts the reality of a horse death with anything other than sadness and despair, the lawyers said in their statement. Following the 2015 Belmont win, Baffert outlined several charities that he and his wife Jill supported. [8] As of 1January2022[update] the question of whether the horse would join Dancer's Image by being disqualified for a drug violation in the Derby remains pending. But in the most recent election in June, he finished seventh of eight, the only incumbent beaten. Baffert sued in federal court, claiming the two months off could cost him $11 million in purses. But the star trainers sudden support belied the fact that Baffert has for years been entangled with the very problems he blamed for his sports potential demise: drugs, dead horses and a feckless regulatory system. But they dont usually die in a cluster from a single barn for no clear reason. 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. Baffert's horses have won a record six Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes, and three Kentucky Oaks . Robert A. Baffert is an American Racehorse Trainer who trained the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. He was fined $1,500. Wizards show plenty of heart early but cant find an edge late in Chicago. The Baffert who snubbed me on April 29, 2010, that is the real Bob Baffert, not the glib, seemingly affable chap heretofore seen in TV interviews. 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. Baffert won the Derby a third time in 2002 with War Emblem. Horse racing needs to cut off the head of the snake, Ruis said. Rick Arthur, Californias medical equine director, who the documents show played a central role in the scuttling of the Justify matter, said the only part of the CHRBs handling of the case that disappointed him was the secrecy. There wasnt any question in my mind, he said recently. His attorney, let me just say, worked very, very hard, recalled former California Deputy Attorney General Jerald L. Mosley, who represented the state in attempting to uphold the suspension. He rejoined The Times in 2009 and left his post as deputy sports editor late in 2017. His white hair, tinted glasses and accessibility make him a natural to promote the sport. It subsequently said any horses running for a suspended trainer (Baffert) would not be eligible for Kentucky Derby or Oaks qualifying points. Finding a new director every two to four years would cost $300,000 each time, a committee that analyzed the bill found. The winner's share of the $600 purse was $330. 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. Baffert is a three-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, and has several top prospects for the May 5 race. Arthur suggested the board retroactively apply it to the Justify case. Baffert dedicated American Pharoah's win to Bobby. It sounds like hes deflecting, Gagliano said of Baffert. The 69-year-old Hall of Fame trainer is suing Churchill Downs Inc . Citrus Feed Companys Larry Bell has long supplied Baffert with feed and has previously testified in Bafferts defense, according to CHRB records. In correspondence with the agencys lawyer, Baedeker wrote that because our staff failed to act in a timely manner, the horses, trainer, owner and others could be harmed unjustly if they didnt use the more lenient classification. For every Baffert defender, you can find someone on the other side. Theres a recognition that certain substances are normal in equine care, Martin said, but if that horse still requires that, then maybe you shouldnt run the horse., Martin made a distinction between doping horses with banned substances and running them with too much medication. By the April 1 ruling, Baffert had already transferred four 3-year-old colts to other trainers. Baffert, however, became the first trainer in history to win the Derby and Preakness in back-to-back years. Like Baffert, Hollendorfer is in the thoroughbred Hall of Fame. Baffert's horses have won seven Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes and three Kentucky Oaks. Carson Valley was killed in a freak accident in 2019 at Del Mar when a loose horse crashed into the Baffert trainee. Obviously if we can get the Kentucky case resolved, Arkansas will have the benefit of knowing that result before a final decision is made in that case. Baffert is the biggest name in horse racing, even bigger than the animals he conditions. Mick Ruis, the owner and trainer of the second-place finisher in the Santa Anita Derby, has sued the CHRB. [14] It was Baffert's fifth violation in 13 months. But even in those cases, which were handled according to established rules, the horses were disqualified and their winning purses were forfeited. In his claustrophobic and cluttered office at Santa Anita Barn 5, Bob Baffert, the hall of fame trainer, was pushing papers and moving stacks, hunting for a faded photo of his 17-year-old self aboard a long-forgotten quarter horse from a small racing circuit in Arizona. 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. 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. The quest to find Jimson weed continued. Again, we can most likely agree to most anything in Kentucky except a suspension.. Gray said at the time that the bill also would increase the institutional knowledge of Californias central horse drug-testing lab. In a written decision, the stewards stated the CHRB has already ruled on this matter in its August 2018 closed hearing and had followed the law., However, the stewards suggested they would not have made the same decision as the CHRB: It is the Stewards opinion that had this Board of Stewards heard the Justify and Hoppertunity complaints prior to August 23, 2018 both horses would have been disqualified., Ruiss lawyers have since argued in court for the settlement to be rescinded because the stewards refused to make a decision on the merits., I remain convinced that justice has not yet been served, Vienna told The Post, and that hopefully the courts will resolve the matter., The rise and fall of Jorge Navarro, the alleged doping king of horse racing. After the Times broke the news of the positive drug test, Ruis sued the CHRB in January 2020. The CHRB ruled it was caused by feed contamination, citing six other horses across four barns who also tested positive. His graded stakes wins include nine wins in the Santa Anita Derby, nine in the Haskell Invitational Handicap, and fourteen in the Del Mar Futurity, a race he won seven straight times from 1996 to 2002, when it was a Grade II event. Teflon."[11]. When Did threshold change and what were they before?, No amount of betamethasone is permitted in Kentucky races now, Borden wrote. Asked whether he was surprised by the finding that Bafferts barn was the deadliest in California, Roberts laughed. Baffert said the horse was off the drug for 18 days before the race. That was one of the most exciting and enjoyable Derbies, Baffert said. Were going to get through it.. 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. . He also won the race in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 when run as a Grade I event. The 74 total deaths since 2000 put Baffert third among trainers. [19][20] On May 11, Baffert stated Medina Spirit had dermatitis, for which an ointment containing betamethasone was used. At the time, she was 42-years-old. [10], Controversy deepened when on December 6, 2021, Medina Spirit died of an apparent heart attack after a workout at Santa Anita Park. Baffert wants a preliminary injunction that would keep Churchill Downs from denying his horses entry into races there and at Turfway Park, in Florence, Ky., and from "prohibiting him from earning. Trainer Bob Baffert stands outside his barn at Churchill Downs on May 2, 2016, in Louisville, Ky. Medina . 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. How carefully the dosage was followed was not determined, Arthur wrote. 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. 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. A recent conversation about the tragedy of horse deaths wended its way back to the defense of his reputation. Baffert made the. [15], At a news conference on May 9, Baffert initially said that Medina Spirit was never administered betamethasone. Garcia left California horse racing the next year, according to CHRB records; he could not be reached for comment by The Post. The rise and fall of Jorge Navarro, the alleged doping king of horse racing. to move forward. Petersen did not respond to an interview request. Bob survived a heart attack in late March 2012 while in Dubai for a world-class race at Meydan. He built up his training business a step at a time and acquired some prominent owners. Two months later, the PAC contributed $2,000 to Grays successful election committee. [34] However, the Kentucky Court of Appeals rejected Baffert's appeal on April 1. Its just disheartening. Whether youre a lifelong resident of D.C. or you just moved here, weve got you covered. 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. I believe there is some precedent in criminal law when a law is changed from a felony to a misdemeanor how they should be prosecuted even before the new law becomes effective, wrote Arthur, whose job before medical equine director was as a racetrack veterinarian. Racing officials ruled that the positive test was a result of contamination and the wins of Charlatan and Gamine were restored. 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.. Monty Roberts, a trainer who has agitated for more humane treatment of racehorses throughout his six-decade career, said that Baffert has long been one of the most important voices holding the sport back from reform. Baffert is known for holding court on such ideas at Clockers Corner, a popular hangout for horsemen at Santa Anita Park. Before his Kentucky Derby-winning colt, Medina Spirit, tested positive for betamethasone last month which could erase the victory his horses were cited for drug-related violations 29 times, according to the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI). [38] This reminded the public that since 2000, at least 74 other horses had died while in Baffert's stables. Hes Mr. Teflon.. After the test result was revealed, Mick Ruis, the trainer and owner of the Santa Anita Derbys runner-up, sued the CHRB, claiming Justifys win should have been erased. There were at least 39 trainers with more fatalities to their name than Baffert during that period. We have a real conundrum to sort out, Arthur wrote in an email to top CHRB officials, explaining he believed a disqualification would be terribly unfair. More than a year earlier, the Association of Racing Commissioners International, which creates model rules for the sports various state bodies, had reclassified scopolamine from a 3/B to a 4/C drug. None of them are considered performance-enhancing in the traditional sense, such as amphetamines or speedballs. The lawyer wrote there is evidence suggesting that this matter was handled differently.. Drop dead while galloping, read a California Horse Racing Board vets account of the first horses death in November 2011. He started at The Times in 1980 and left in 1995 to be sports editor of the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Co. sports coordinator in 2002. Its not uncommon to find trainers who dont understand medications and how different medications work, Arthur said. Decorated racehorse trainer who won multiple Kentucky Derbies, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. Former Democratic congressman Dennis Cardoza, also on the board, was co-owner with Pegram of Shakin It Up, a successful thoroughbred trained by Baffert. Instead of promptly filing a public complaint against Baffert, the CHRB kept the positive result secret while Arthur conducted a lengthy investigation. The TOC, of which Baffert is still a board member, did not respond to requests for comment. He has also won the Preakness Stakes five times and the Belmont Stakes once. Baffert won his first race as a thoroughbred trainer Jan. 28, 1979, saddling Flipper Star to a victory at Rillito in Arizona. And Bafferts veterinarians were prescribing it at his request without conducting laboratory tests to see whether the horses needed the drug, according to Arthurs later report. Has his success made people hate him more? The owner was Kaleem Shah. The testing levels have become ridiculous, Baffert told a conference of racehorse veterinarians during his keynote speech in 2000, according to a trade publication. The scheme involved digging up drug-related dirt on Baffert and then telling him that the evidence could disappear tomorrow if he were to endorse the federal reforms of the sport, one of the people said. But the overall record indicates that he may not be running as tight a ship as he should.. [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. The 77-year-old billionaire made headlines last year when he made a $10,000 contribution to opponents of Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance. Baffert revisited the Derby the next year, sending two top colts, Real Quiet and Indian Charlie, to Louisville. Federal prosecutors had just indicted more than two dozen trainers, veterinarians and others on charges related to doping horses, a seismic event in a sport already reeling from a well-publicized spate of horse deaths and perpetually dwindling revenue. [21][22] Sports Illustrated suggested that the positive drug test was a sign that Baffert's "leaking credibility" had reached "the saturation point. By age 20, he had developed a reputation as a trainer and was hired by other trainers to run their stables. 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. The goal, the people familiar said, was to get Baffert to support languishing reforms in the sport. Thats much higher than the Jockey Clubs widely cited national rates, which never exceed two deaths per 1,000 starts. A New York federal judge on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 nullified the suspension of horse trainer Bob Baffert, finding that the New York Racing Association acted unconstitutionally by failing to let him adequately respond to claims made against him after Kentucky . Trainer Bob Baffert celebrates after his horse, Authentic, won the Kentucky Derby in September 2020. And he pushes the envelope to the extent that they give their lives for his bank account.. Once again, the Hall of Fame. Does his love of the camera sometimes bite him? asked longtime owner and friend Mike Pegram. Baffert has saddled 34 horses in the Derby third-most in history since his first appearance in 1996. The month after Gray introduced his legislation, Bafferts seventh sudden death made the deaths at Hollywood Park a national news story. 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. Nonetheless, in that case, Arkansas suspended Baffert for 15 days. This America's different." pic . In 1977, as a part-time trainer, he was suspended for a year when one of his horses tested positive for morphine. 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. Baedeker said that before they made their recommendation to the board, they consulted with the states Office of the Attorney General, for which Petersen works, and received concurrence . Four months after that, in May 2014, Arthur issued an advisory that the CHRB was concerned by the apparently indiscriminate use of thyroxine and that the drug must be prescribed for a specific horse for a specific condition. Arthur told The Post that the advisory was a result of the Baffert investigation. In 2021, the post-race test of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit showed 21pg/mL of betamethasone. "We live in a different world now. Baffert responded: Zero tolerance?, Robertson, Bafferts attorney, then tried to negotiate for Baffert to avoid potential suspensions in both Arkansas and Kentucky. 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. 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. The Kentucky Derby winner is staying ahead of . Time after time its not his fault. After finishing last season strong, CJ Abrams is ready for more. April 29, 2022 9:00 AM. The deadliest period came between 2000 and 2005, when 34 of Bafferts horses in California died. You wouldnt know it now.. I guess I'm more of an "old school" Republican. After Baffert was notified a week following this years Kentucky Derby that the colts blood and urine sample contained 21 picograms, a trillionth of a gram, of betamethasone, he held a hastily called news conference outside his barn at Churchill Downs saying he had no idea how it could have gotten into the horses system.
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