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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. [42][44] A friend of Baffert's and an inductee into the American Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame, Adair died on Preakness Day, May 16, 2015, at 71. The timing of the legislation was coincidental, he added: I understand where youre going and why, but there were no connections, from my perspective., Brewster, attorney for Medina Spirits owner, also said that Bafferts issue with Arthur was about Lasix and that the timing was irrelevant.. Baffert also trained the 2018 Triple Crown Winner, Justify and the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic. However, Medina Spirit tested positive for the steroid betamethasone. The substance was indeed Jimson weed. was unconstitutional after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a postrace drug test. Baffert is the biggest name in horse racing, even bigger than the animals he conditions. 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. 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.. 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. . What we knew about horses you could put in a thimble. In 2021, the post-race test of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit showed 21pg/mL of betamethasone. When a horse dies in California, CHRB records often list medications the horse had been prescribed, based on its medical history. The winner's share of the $600 purse was $330. If you lose 75% of the time, youre considered really, really good. Baffert sued in federal court, claiming the two months off could cost him $11 million in purses. When Did threshold change and what were they before?, No amount of betamethasone is permitted in Kentucky races now, Borden wrote. He saddled Paynter in the Belmont Stakes later that year, but that colt, like his stablemate Bodemeister, finished second. In July 2020, Merneith tested positive for dextromethorphan, a drug commonly used in cough medicine. 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. It seems the biggest problem trainer Bob Baffert had during the running of the $300,000 San Felipe Stakes on Saturday was keeping his face covering over his nose. 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. Bob survived a heart attack in late March 2012 while in Dubai for a world-class race at Meydan. Bob Baffert has taken up more of my time than I ever should have had to deal with, Arthur said, before again coming to the defense of Bafferts treatment of his horses: He certainly puts the pedal to the metal, but he doesnt close his eyes. 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. [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. April 29, 2022 9:00 AM. It went exactly according to the lawyers plan. 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. (A CHRB spokesman declined to comment, citing pending litigation. The 69-year-old Hall of Fame trainer is suing Churchill Downs Inc . But Bafferts critics say his conduct after penning the article calls into question his seriousness about reform. 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. Bob Baffert says Derby horse Medina Spirit was 'cancelled.' Here's what Baffert, however, wouldnt change the outcome. But hes Bob, he has to speak his mind.. In 2013 the group hosted a Lasix-focused event at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills at which one owner reportedly said running a race without the drug was like waterboarding your horse in their own blood.. Its bizarre, Baedeker said, because you have a deputy attorney general criticizing the board for following the law to the letter.. Baffert said the horse ingested hay after a groom, who was taking cough medicine, had urinated in the horses stall. [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. 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. "This is emblematic of what is happening to our country. The attorney generals office referred all questions to the CHRB. 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. Theres one thing that I will say positive about Bob is that he is a horseman. It subsequently said any horses running for a suspended trainer (Baffert) would not be eligible for Kentucky Derby or Oaks qualifying points. 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. I guess I'm more of an "old school" Republican. According to data provided by the California Horse Racing Board and supplemented by The Times research, the trainer has had 75 horses die since 2000 either racing, training, or by illness or non-exercise accidents. In the 1980s, Baffert moved to California and worked at Los Alamitos Race Course, where he switched to training Thoroughbreds full-time in 1991. Those who have known Baffert the longest, including a core group of owners, recognize his flaws but generally remain steadfast in their support of him. Baffert did not have another medication violation for eight years. Baffert made the. And Madeline Auerbach, who later became a CHRB commissioner, had partnered with Baffert in thoroughbred breeding. 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. Bob Baffert | National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The testing levels have become ridiculous, Baffert told a conference of racehorse veterinarians during his keynote speech in 2000, according to a trade publication. Baffert is America's pre-eminent active trainer. 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. One of his grooms, Clemintino Abrego Garcia, testified that Baffert called him three or four times attempting to get him to admit that he had eaten baked goods near the horse. By then, Arthur already had a years-long, tangled history with Baffert. 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 records show Arthurs early decisions led to the CHRB veering off its usual course in its handling of the Justify case, beginning with his email to a testing coordinator that read, The scopolamine cases will be handled differently than usual., By the CHRBs own guidelines, the way forward was clear: If a second sample came back positive, the CHRB would file a complaint. Another day passed before it was discovered the colt was administered a topical ointment for a rash that contained betamethasone. They had discussions with David Tinsley, the former DEA supervisor who runs 5 Stones, the people said, but the thoroughbred owners involved scrapped the plan. 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. 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 . After finishing last season strong, CJ Abrams is ready for more. In 1997 he won his first Kentucky Derby with Silver Charm. The dark side of Bob Baffert's reign - Washington Post Arthur B. Hancock III, a prominent thoroughbred owner, has for three decades been a leading proponent for eradicating drugs from the sport. The California Horse Racing Boards inner workings during the episode have remained mostly shrouded by official secrecy. May 10, 2021. 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. 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.. "We live in a different world now. I told him I thought there was a good indication that these were feed contamination.. Closing everything and moving forward is in Bobs best interest and the best interest of horse racing. He claimed that the horse death data provided by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) was not possible.. Mick Ruis, the owner and trainer of the second-place finisher in the Santa Anita Derby, has sued the CHRB. The colt went on to win the Preakness Stakes, giving the trainer his third shot at winning the Triple Crown. From there, he moved to racing at recognized tracks, scoring his first victory at age 17 in 1970. Racing officials ruled that the positive test was a result of contamination and the wins of Charlatan and Gamine were restored. Early life and career [ edit] [14] It was Baffert's fifth violation in 13 months. The first two infractions occurred in May 2020, when the horses Charlatan and Gamine tested positive in Arkansas for lidocaine, a numbing agent. The 90 day ban against Baffert was set to be honored in all 38 racing states. 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. Arthur also presented exercise histories for the horses that showed they worked harder than average. In the settlement, which records show did not include monetary damages, CHRB agreed to file a complaint against Justify. Sports team owners make huge political donations. Where does their The new classification simply makes more sense pharmacologically, Arthur wrote. In New York, chefs are redefining it. ), Arthur has defended his handling of the Justify positive. Baffert says he plans to seek legal recourse wherever necessary. 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. It wasnt long before Baffert was making pocket change riding the horses in match races. 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. When Arthur delivered his report in November 2013, the bill to remove him from office was still pending. In the next six months, three of his horses tested positive for banned or excessive substances four times in California, Arkansas and Kentucky. Hal Earnhardt, an Arizona car dealer and Bafferts oldest client, introduced him to Pegram, who made his money in fast-food franchising. Carson Valley was killed in a freak accident in 2019 at Del Mar when a loose horse crashed into the Baffert trainee. Citrus Feed Companys Larry Bell has long supplied Baffert with feed and has previously testified in Bafferts defense, according to CHRB records. Hollywood Park closed in 2013, and the saga of the dead horses there faded quickly from the headlines. 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. Some would argue, though, that if it makes a horse less uncomfortable, it improves their performance. By Marty Irby. [19][20] On May 11, Baffert stated Medina Spirit had dermatitis, for which an ointment containing betamethasone was used. This horse was going to run at the Triple Crown, Arthur said. 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. There wasnt any question in my mind, he said recently. But Arthurs report said Hollywood Park used a different sort of poison than that found in the necropsy. On July 15, 2020, Deputy Attorney General Robert Petersen sent his initial case assessment to Brodnik. Bafferts lawyers have made explicit that he will accept fines but not a suspension, and state regulators have continually obliged him. Shah said the two parted over disagreements that should have been resolved, without being specific. But a top veterinary official cleared Baffert, finding that the spate of deaths remains unexplained following a probe that demonstrated the hazards of going after Baffert. 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. 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. A complaint is filed in every case where the split sample confirms the original laboratory finding, read an advisory on the CHRB website. Arkansas racing officials vote not to suspend Bob Baffert - ESPN.com 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 . 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. The veterinarian chalked up Bafferts response to ignorance. 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. All of the drugs were legal, just not in the amounts found on race day. Baffert did not have a horse hit the board again in any of the Triple Crown races until 2009, when he trained Pioneerof The Nile to a second-place finish in the Derby. 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. The colt lost the Belmont Stakes after breaking poorly from the starting gate. Regulators taped calls without consent with Baffert - Los Angeles Times The owner was Kaleem Shah. The consolation is knowing the truth will come out as the process plays out. He told reporters that he would fight the issue "tooth and nail. Bafferts breakthrough thoroughbred was Thirty Slews, who won the Breeders Cup Sprint in 1992. We went there with expectations not very high. 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. Hes good.. There have been so many false narratives that have come up and the hearing process isnt even done yet. 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. Both trainers were fined $500. Hes Mr. Teflon.. In 1977, as a part-time trainer, he was suspended for a year when one of his horses tested positive for morphine. 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. The groom denied it. Until this summer, Baffert was the longest-serving member on the board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, having been elected in 2007. "What a way to come back," said Baffert, whose punishment by the Kentucky Horse . 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. And promote he does, chatting with people he met one minute ago as if they were long-lost friends. 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. After Uncle Sam, a 4-year-old colt, died during a workout at the track the following January, a vet wrote: This is the 3rd for this owner/trainer in about as many months collapsed and died.. He also dismissed complaints that doping was rampant in the sport. Baffert said the horse was off the drug for 18 days before the race. 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. The Kentucky Derby winner is staying ahead of . Once again, the Hall of Fame. And Noodles died May 22 of a non-exercise induced respiratory issue. Baffert's disgrace could help turn racing to better future | Lexington Baffert has paid out over $20,000 in fines, but compared against over $321 million in career earnings. 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. 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.). Medina Spirit died after a training session on 6 December 2021 and an ensuing necropsy on 11 February 2022 was inconclusive. It will all be settled by lawyers and judges and that takes time. Bafferts attorney argued in court that the trainers May suspension by the New York Racing Assn. The New York Racing Assn. There were at least 39 trainers with more fatalities to their name than Baffert during that period. FILE - In this Monday July 12, 2021 file photo, horse trainer Bob Baffert leaves federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York. 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 . Whether youre a lifelong resident of D.C. or you just moved here, weve got you covered. [citation needed], According to his supporters, Baffert's style and personality, combined with his success, have made him a target for controversy. 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Churchill Downs goes after suspended trainer Bob Baffert with new policy. As the trainer battles to protect his legacy, the records offer a new window into how those charged with running horse racings disjointed regulatory system have appeared to treat the powerful trainer with deference. Hes the person few in the business want to talk about, but everyone wants to hear about. 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. [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. By age 20, he had developed a reputation as a trainer and was hired by other trainers to run their stables. Nothing is held back.. Baffert, one of the most legendary trainers in American horse racing, has faced criticism and suspensions after his 2021 Kentucky Derby champion, Medina . The colt skipped the Belmont Stakes but became the champion three-year-old colt that year. A recent conversation about the tragedy of horse deaths wended its way back to the defense of his reputation. The 5-year-old mare was the seventh seemingly healthy horse from that barn to drop dead in 16 months. Bob Baffert - Wikipedia 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 deadliest period came between 2000 and 2005, when 34 of Bafferts horses in California died. [11], Prior to Medina Spirit's death, Baffert had last been under intense scrutiny a decade earlier when seven horses in his stables at Hollywood Park died between November 2, 2011 and March 14, 2013, all from sudden and later unexplained heart attacks. 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. Pegram persuaded Baffert to try thoroughbreds. The Judge made her ruling based on the NYRA having not allowed Baffert a forum to refute their claims and stated that (they the NYRA).."had held no hearing let alone a prompt one. 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. He followed it with six more Derbies, two of which launched Triple Crown runs, with American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018. Trump: Kentucky Derby Controversy 'Emblematic of What Is - Newsmax He still has a responsibility as the face of the game but I dont think hell overcome [this] because his personality wont allow him to do it.. The trainer was fined $2,500. followed up and ruled Baffert would not be allowed to run in New York. The last stand of Bob Baffert, horse racing's top trainer - Los Angeles 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. . Hes always wanted to be a rock star and some people dont think racing should have one.. 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. Being a horse trainer is tough enough because its such an up-and-down, emotional roller coaster, Baffert said. The average death rate for racehorses in California, according to an analysis of more than 5,000 deaths since 2000, is 7.2 per 1,000 starts. 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 . 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.