His last day as medical equine director is Wednesday. He married his second wife, Jill, a former television reporter based in Louisville, in 2002. 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, however, became the first trainer in history to win the Derby and Preakness in back-to-back years. The dark side of Bob Baffert's reign - Washington Post He appeared in an episode of the TV show Take Home Chef. Carson Valley was killed in a freak accident in 2019 at Del Mar when a loose horse crashed into the Baffert trainee. [8][37] That case was eventually dismissed as the regulators concluded the facts supported an instance of feed contamination. The public backlash, including a letter written by a gay. The 74 total deaths since 2000 put Baffert third among trainers. Justify tested positive for scopolamine, an anti-nausea medication said to have potential performance-enhancing effects in horses, after winning the Santa Anita Derby in April 2018. to move forward. Petersen did not respond to an interview request. Officials worked secretly to clear Bob Bafferts Justify amid 2018 Triple Crown run, records show. A court, the states lawyer wrote, could find that the CHRB abused its discretion and acted in a manner that was arbitrary, capricious, or entirely lacking in evidentiary support.. 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. Theres one thing that I will say positive about Bob is that he is a horseman. A recent conversation about the tragedy of horse deaths wended its way back to the defense of his reputation. 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. 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. Former client Kaleem Shah said, "He will rub people the wrong way by speaking his mind, sometimes he needs to hit the mute button. The consolation is knowing the truth will come out as the process plays out. Less than two weeks later, Medina Spirit won the Kentucky Derby. 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. Baffert told investigators he used the drug for about five years to build up his horses, which Arthur noted was unusual because it was typically used to slim them down. 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. Arthur suggested the board retroactively apply it to the Justify case. Baffert parlayed a hobby as a 5-foot-9 jockey into a job as a quarter-horse conditioner into a career as a thoroughbred trainer before jumping onto the highest pedestal of horse racing and becoming the most recognizable name in the sport. Pegram persuaded Baffert to try thoroughbreds. Robert A. Baffert is an American Racehorse Trainer who trained the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. 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 dedicated American Pharoah's win to Bobby. And he pushes the envelope to the extent that they give their lives for his bank account.. In that period, 36% of all cardiac related horse deaths in California were animals trained by Baffert. Bob is trying to put 2020 behind him and move forward in a positive manner, Robertson wrote in an e-mail to Borden. When Arthur delivered his report in November 2013, the bill to remove him from office was still pending. In 1997, he trained Silver Charm to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, finishing second in the Belmont. Maryland Racing Commission Officially Suspends Bob Baffert, 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 colt went on to win the Preakness Stakes, giving the trainer his third shot at winning the Triple Crown. Mick Ruis, who trained against Baffert for a couple years but now just manages his own racing business, once admired Baffert and his success, but no longer. 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. He got his first big break in 1992 when he won his first Breeder's Cup race with Thirty Slews. Baffert says he plans to seek legal recourse wherever necessary. 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. Bob Bafferts horses have incurred numerous drug violations over the course of his 44 years as a thoroughbred trainer. None of them are considered performance-enhancing in the traditional sense, such as amphetamines or speedballs. Baffert sued in federal court, claiming the two months off could cost him $11 million in purses. 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. John Cherwa is a special contributor to the Los Angeles Times. The majority of the deaths in Bafferts care are attributed to breakdowns, though others have died suddenly without explanation and some of the horses suffered illness including his most recent death, Noodles, in May where pneumonia was the suspected cause. The hearing for a preliminary injunction began in federal court on Thursday afternoon, continuing a nearly two-year-long legal battle between Baffert and the racetrack following his suspension back in 2021. It takes only a minute or so to walk from the racetrack at Santa Anita Park to the barns in back. But Arthurs report said Hollywood Park used a different sort of poison than that found in the necropsy. "We live in a different world now. [24], On May 17, 2021, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) banned Baffert from entering Medina Spirit or any of his other horses in the 2021 Belmont Stakes or any other race at Belmont Park. When he was 10, his father purchased some Quarter Horses and he practiced racing them on a dirt track. [8] His first suspension was in 1977 for misuse of morphene, but thereafter he had no violations for the next eight years. 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. The Post separately obtained start data dating back to 2000 from the Daily Racing Form to put the deaths into context. But the scuttled test result remained secret until the New York Times reported it in 2019. He has never apologized to the public for trashing the game. [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. On May 5, Justify won the Kentucky Derby, upping the stakes of the investigation. Baffert is America's pre-eminent active trainer. This America's different." pic . CHRB regulations state that its foreign substances guidelines are based on ARCI recommendations as modified by the state board. Again, we can most likely agree to most anything in Kentucky except a suspension.. Once again, the Hall of Fame. 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. Hes won seven, more than anyone else in the 147-year history of the race. Yeah, sure, hes a wiseass and irreverent. Arthur called Bafferts blanket use of thyroxine troublesome and said at the meeting, I havent found an example of a barn that uses it in all their horses like Baffert does. Yet he determined that the drug wasnt to blame for the deaths. A complaint is filed in every case where the split sample confirms the original laboratory finding, read an advisory on the CHRB website. 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. CHRB brass agreed to follow Arthurs suggestion. Baffert responded: Zero tolerance?, Robertson, Bafferts attorney, then tried to negotiate for Baffert to avoid potential suspensions in both Arkansas and Kentucky. Another day passed before it was discovered the colt was administered a topical ointment for a rash that contained betamethasone. Were going to get through it.. Earlier data was unreliable, the racing publication said. The goal, the people familiar said, was to get Baffert to support languishing reforms in the sport. Baffert is the biggest name in horse racing, even bigger than the animals he conditions. This time, he aided the CHRBs search for Jimson weed. The month after Gray introduced his legislation, Bafferts seventh sudden death made the deaths at Hollywood Park a national news story. In 2015, the Daily Herald ran a profile on Jill Baffert, explaining that she was a former journalist and waitress from Centerville. Trainer Bob Baffert celebrates after his horse, Authentic, won the Kentucky Derby in September 2020. Bob Baffert: Hall of Fame trainer suspended from participating in - CNN He built up his training business a step at a time and acquired some prominent owners. That was one of the most exciting and enjoyable Derbies, Baffert said. In 1977, as a part-time trainer, he was suspended for a year when one of his horses tested positive for morphine. Political Cartoons. Baffert revisited the Derby the next year, sending two top colts, Real Quiet and Indian Charlie, to Louisville. With upward of $1 million in yearly revenue drawn from wagering at tracks, the TOCs stated mission included establishing fair and reasonable medication rules and integrity standards., Baffert, the groups resident celebrity, was in business with several of his colleagues. Baffert, however, wouldnt change the outcome. The suspension was scheduled to run March 8 through June 5. There is nothing new here, he wrote. Racing does not have a historical database for violations, with most of the information kept on the state level. [45], Last edited on 11 February 2023, at 14:09, American Pharoah Stakes / FrontRunner Stakes / Norfolk Stakes, Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes / Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap, Los Alamitos Futurity / Hollywood Futurity, Starlet Stakes / Hollywood Starlet Stakes, United States Champion Trainer by earnings, American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse, American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse, "Bob Baffert Has Come a Long Way in Horse Racing", "Baffert nears $300M mark with an all-star stable", "American Pharoah claims first Triple Crown since 1978", "Bob Baffert no stranger to failed drug tests by his horses", "Press Release Racing Museum April 20, 2009", "The last stand of Bob Baffert, horse racing's most successful and embattled trainer", "Medina Spirit's Kentucky Derby win in doubt after postrace drug test", "Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Withdrawal Guidelines Thoroughbred; Standardbred; Quarter Horse, Appaloosa, and Arabian", "Baffert: Meds applied to Derby winner had steroid", "Medina Spirit Tests Positive for Betamethasone", "Baffert says Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive", "Churchill Downs' Statement in Response to Medina Spirit's Post-Race Test Result Allegations", "Trainer: Kentucky Derby winner faces disqualification due to 'cancel culture', "Bob Baffert asserts Medina Spirit's Kentucky Derby win was valid, invokes 'cancel culture', "Bob Baffert says Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was treated with ointment that contained steroid", "Baffert Has Turned Medina Spirit Controversy Into a Circus", "Baffert's Leaking Credibility Reaches Saturation Point", "Churchill Downs Inc. suspends Baffert for 2 years", "Trainer Bob Baffert suspended from entering Medina Spirit, other horses at Belmont Park", "New York Racing Officials Suspend Baffert From Belmont Stakes", "Trainer Bob Baffert sues to get New York suspension lifted", "Horse trainer Bob Baffert sues New York racing officials over suspension", "Baffert sues to overturn New York racing ban", "Judge nullifies horse trainer Bob Baffert's NY suspension", "Baffert charged by New York Racing, scheduled for hearing", "Legendary horse trainer charged again following Kentucky Derby scandal", "NYRA Amends Charges Against Baffert to Include Bute Overages", "The Seattle Times | Local news, sports, business, politics, entertainment, travel, restaurants and opinion for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest", "Bob Baffert fined $1,500, Gamine disqualified from third-place finish in Kentucky Oaks", "Here's what we know following Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit's positive drug test", "Medina Spirit Dies of Apparent Heart Attack at Santa Anita", "Baffert Horses Big Part of Sudden Death Spike", "Report on the investigation and review of the seven sudden deaths on the Hollywood Park main track of horses trained by Bob Baffert and stabled in Barn 61", "Cardiac Failure Fatalities Spike in California, Baffert Barn", "Bafferts Make Whopper Of A Donation To Equine Charities", "Bafferts, Espinoza donate Belmont winnings", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bob_Baffert&oldid=1138770123, This page was last edited on 11 February 2023, at 14:09. Petersen opined it would have been unfair to punish Baffert for what he called an oversight by CHRB staff and said there is no evidence to suggest a nefarious motive by the board. In each instance, the death is investigated. The Post reported this month that Arthur had previously studied a spate of sudden horse deaths in Bafferts barn. [10], Controversy deepened when on December 6, 2021, Medina Spirit died of an apparent heart attack after a workout at Santa Anita Park. Baffert trained Lookin At Lucky, co-owned by Mike Pegram, to win the Preakness Stakes in 2010. He finished third in the Derby that year with Congaree. Baedeker and Arthur said in interviews that no matter how it was handled it would have been impossible to resolve the case that quickly. But by August, the plan had changed. This was fun. "We live in a different world now. 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. Bob Baffert Sues New York Racing Association, You've Got No Basis To Betamethasone is mostly injected into the joints of horses to ease inflammation and, if the inflammation is reduced, any associated pain subsides. Horse trainer Bob Baffert, left, leaves federal court in Brooklyn on July 12. Several members of the Breeders Cup board have used Baffert as their trainer. It sounds like hes deflecting, Gagliano said of Baffert. (A CHRB spokesman declined to comment, citing pending litigation. ), Among the TOCs central crusades was countering the movement against Lasix. In the case of Bafferts recent horse deaths, the records list a typical blend of drugs that have been allowed under certain thresholds, most frequently the anti-inflammatory phenylbutazone (or bute to horsemen) and furosemide (also known as Lasix), which is said to decrease bleeding from a horses lungs. The last stand of Bob Baffert, horse racing's top trainer - Los Angeles Baffert has paid out over $20,000 in fines, but compared against over $321 million in career earnings. 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. 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. 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. Gray declined to be interviewed for this story, instead issuing a statement declaring that the personal vendettas of others, perceived or otherwise, play no roll [sic] in the legislation I carry. His spokesman added that campaign contributions do not affect Grays policy proposals. I felt that we wouldve been dumping this in their lap, that we wouldve been putting them in an unfair position, and that we needed to go ahead and do the difficult thing, quite frankly, which is take responsibility for the decision, Baedeker said. 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. Bob Baffert has supporters and detractors in how he deals with jockeys In fact, Bafferts horses, at 8.3 deaths per 1,000 starts, have died at a significantly higher rate than Hollendorfers, at 6.25. Arthur said the TOC was behind the effort to oust him because of his criticism of Lasix. They had a son in 2004 whom they named "Bode" (/bodi/ BOH-dee), after skier Bode Miller. That didnt feel appropriate to those of who wanted to see science prevail, Cardoza said. I think much of the GOP political party is moving too far to the right. He routinely challenges most sanctions, usually agreeing to accept fines but vigorously fighting suspensions. But even in those cases, which were handled according to established rules, the horses were disqualified and their winning purses were forfeited. Officials worked to clear Bob Baffert's Justify after Triple Crown run "This is emblematic of what is happening to our country. Longtime client Mike Pegram explained, "Anybody who walks with that swagger, people are going to love him or hate himhe's a wiseass and irreverent." Baffert also trained the 2018 Triple Crown Winner, Justify and the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic. Santa Anitas 16-day fall season begins Friday with 14 stakes races over three days as trainers and owners take aim at the Breeders Cup at Del Mar. [13] In Kentucky, any amount of betamethasone detected in post-race testing is a violation and could result in a disqualification. 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. 'It was cancel culture': Kentucky Derby winner's trainer defends failed 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. Hospital food is a punchline. 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. He has also won the Preakness Stakes five times and the Belmont Stakes once. The lawyers said that taking into account Bafferts estimate of how many horses he has in his care, a count that differs from the starts data, the number of deaths of horses in Bobs barn is consistent with what would normally be expected from the horse population in general. Starts are regularly used, including by the CHRB, to study the death rates of a trainer. Baffert, one of the most legendary trainers in American horse racing, has faced criticism and suspensions after his 2021 Kentucky Derby champion, Medina . 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. 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.). There have been so many false narratives that have come up and the hearing process isnt even done yet. Baffert, a La Caada Flintridge resident who is currently training his horses at Santa Anita, has not officially been charged with anything related to Medina Spirit. Arkansas racing officials vote not to suspend Bob Baffert - ESPN.com Baffert claims the defendants have "unlawfully deprived and will continue to deprive Baffert of his right to due process of law guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment and of his right to. Settlement reached over unauthorized Bob Baffert bourbon - The Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our equine and human athletes, Baffert wrote, and nothing impacts their health and safety more than the policies and procedures concerning drugs.. Racing officials ruled that the positive test was a result of contamination and the wins of Charlatan and Gamine were restored. Many in the racing world wondered how many times can the dog eat your homework? Clark Brewster, a nationally known trial attorney who represented adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her defamation suit against President Trump, will be Bafferts attorney in any litigation against Churchill Downs. EXPLAINER: Why Is Bob Baffert Not in the Kentucky Derby? 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. Shortly after Petersen sent the analysis of the states chances, the CHRB agreed to settle Ruiss lawsuit. Baffert was granted a stay until April 4 to gain time for an appeal. "[16][17] Nonetheless, Churchill Downs suspended Baffert from entering any horses at their racetrack pending the outcome of an investigation. Between November 2011 and March 2013, however, Baffert had seven of his horses die of sudden death, not on the race track. 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. PUBLISHED 9:20 AM ET Jul. There were at least 39 trainers with more fatalities to their name than Baffert during that period. Does his love of the camera sometimes bite him? asked longtime owner and friend Mike Pegram. 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. California keeps track of horse deaths by trainer, but there are errors and limits to the data. The week after Justify won the Preakness, bringing him to the cusp of the Triple Crown, test results came back showing the plant they had tested was milkweed. In the settlement, which records show did not include monetary damages, CHRB agreed to file a complaint against Justify. In the 1980s, Baffert moved to California and worked at Los Alamitos Race Course, where he switched to training Thoroughbreds full-time in 1991. After the Times broke the news of the positive drug test, Ruis sued the CHRB in January 2020. If you lose 75% of the time, youre considered really, really good. 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. 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. .