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He also can be found at the Olympics, having just finished the Tokyo and Beijing double, marking his 11th Olympics. I think much of the GOP political party is moving too far to the right. Bob is trying to put 2020 behind him and move forward in a positive manner, Robertson wrote in an e-mail to Borden. 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. Once the golden boy of horse racing, Bob Baffert now the face of its disgrace. 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.. Baffert said in his autobiography it was a combination of ignorance and desperation. But Clark Brewster, the attorney representing Medina Spirits owner, Amr Zedan, then contacted The Post and described Baffert as being unfairly maligned. Churchill Downs announced that any points earned in the leadup to the Kentucky Derby by horses associated with a suspended trainer would not be counted a move that seemingly targets Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. 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. If it surprised me it would be that I expected more, Roberts said. 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. Following the publication of the report, Baffert tweeted: Im gratified that CHRB completed its investigation & found there was no wrongdoing. 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. His primary attorney is Craig Robertson, who represents him in all regulatory matters, but he has recused himself from any action against Churchill Downs because his law firm does business with the company, creating a conflict of interest. When Arthur delivered his report in November 2013, the bill to remove him from office was still pending. Several members of the Breeders Cup board have used Baffert as their trainer. John Cherwa is a special contributor to the Los Angeles Times. The CHRB officially opened an investigation. Bob Baffert: Judge denies his request to lift two-year Churchill Downs 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. Thats much higher than the Jockey Clubs widely cited national rates, which never exceed two deaths per 1,000 starts. He routinely challenges most sanctions, usually agreeing to accept fines but vigorously fighting suspensions. Instead of promptly filing a public complaint against Baffert, the CHRB kept the positive result secret while Arthur conducted a lengthy investigation. 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. Some would argue, though, that if it makes a horse less uncomfortable, it improves their performance. Arthur is retiring at the end of June from a job often consumed by the scandals of a single trainer. Baffert has saddled 34 horses in the Derby third-most in history since his first appearance in 1996. There have been so many false narratives that have come up and the hearing process isnt even done yet. 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. 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. It bothers me when hes not considered the Kentucky Derby winner.. 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.. 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]. But Arthurs report said Hollywood Park used a different sort of poison than that found in the necropsy. 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 . [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. [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. He has not been in alliance with us, said Hancock, mentioning Bafferts many positive tests and then listing top trainers who have had one or zero positives in their career. After winning the Santa Anita Derby in April of that year, Bafferts Justify tested positive for scopolamine, a banned substance, which normally would have disqualified the victory and made the horse ineligible to run in that years Kentucky Derby. Racing lacks a central clearinghouse for data on deaths nationally, and regulators in many states do not track deaths by trainer. State investigators found that his staff was mixing a potentially dangerous prescription drug into the feed of every horse in his care. Citrus Feed Companys Larry Bell has long supplied Baffert with feed and has previously testified in Bafferts defense, according to CHRB records. The groom denied it. That didnt feel appropriate to those of who wanted to see science prevail, Cardoza said. We might have gone to the board sooner, but obviously because of the high-profile nature of this thing we were making sure we had everything buttoned up, he said. It was later discovered that horses from separate barns had also tested positive. The Post separately obtained start data dating back to 2000 from the Daily Racing Form to put the deaths into context. On May 5, Justify won the Kentucky Derby, upping the stakes of the investigation. Baffert is America's pre-eminent active trainer. In 2012, Baffert saddled Bodemeister, named for the trainer's youngest son, Bode, to second-place finishes in the Derby and Preakness. Bob Baffert's Life Is Good gallops to win in San Felipe Stakes at Santa 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. 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. All they show is contamination, and they have really put the trainers heads on the chopping blocks. Attorneys argue 90-day suspension would end Bob Baffert's racing career 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. Baffert was fined $10,000. 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. 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. Racing officials ruled that the positive test was a result of contamination and the wins of Charlatan and Gamine were restored. Only once has a Kentucky Derby winner been disqualified for a medication violation. In an email Monday, Bafferts attorney, W. Craig Robertson III, referred to the CHRBs initial decision to dismiss the test and a hearing last year in which officials ruled they had no authority to overturn that decision. Baffert has also had his share of horse fatalities, the other metric to which his critics point. It was then that Baffert, one of the most accessible trainers in horse racing, stopped talking until this week. Sports team owners make huge political donations. Where does their The suspension was scheduled to run March 8 through June 5. The TOC, of which Baffert is still a board member, did not respond to requests for comment. It wasn't long after the running of the 123rd Kentucky Derby, where a grey . 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 that period, 36% of all cardiac related horse deaths in California were animals trained by Baffert. Arthur and CHRB investigators inspected Bafferts barn, reviewed veterinary records and interviewed Baffert, who was flanked by an attorney. California keeps track of horse deaths by trainer, but there are errors and limits to the data. 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. One of the biggest assholes and cheats of all time, horse-racing Gray said at the time that the bill also would increase the institutional knowledge of Californias central horse drug-testing lab. Decorated racehorse trainer who won multiple Kentucky Derbies, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. In each instance, the death is investigated. Being a horse trainer is tough enough because its such an up-and-down, emotional roller coaster, Baffert said. 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. The last stand of Bob Baffert, horse racing's top trainer - Los Angeles "We live in a different world now. The trainer was Baffert. 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. 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. Baffert often speaks of his life as if its a Shakespearean play, humankinds tragedies mingling with his own existential crises. Its all because of his success.. 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. 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. 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. Baffert's disgrace could help turn racing to better future | Lexington He acknowledged there was no way to determine if that bale was part of the delivery to Baffert, according to the records, but the CHRB investigator nonetheless submitted the sample for testing. 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. Bob Bafferts horses have incurred numerous drug violations over the course of his 44 years as a thoroughbred trainer. His most serious infraction was also his first. [9] Point Given was nominated in 2009, but elected and inducted in 2010. Trainer Bob Baffert stands outside his barn at Churchill Downs on May 2, 2016, in Louisville, Ky. Medina . Baffert is the biggest name in horse racing, even bigger than the animals he conditions. . Cardoza, who now works for a law firm, denied in an interview last month that the TOC was involved: Not at all. But he then said, TOCs involvement in that bill had nothing to do with Bob Baffert., Instead, Cardoza said, the drive to oust Arthur was over his opposition to Lasix. The dark side of Bob Baffert's reign - Washington Post He told reporters that he would fight the issue "tooth and nail. When I won with [Triple Crown winners] American Pharoah and Justify, it was a relief. Baffert has been married twice and has five children: four with his first wife, Sherry: Taylor, Canyon, Forest, and Savannah. 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. 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. Please answer some questions in this short survey about professional soccer and the 2022 Men's FIFA World Cup. By the April 1 ruling, Baffert had already transferred four 3-year-old colts to other trainers. It basically said something under his control is associated with these fatalities, Arthur said, but regulators couldnt act without evidence of a rules violation. This article was published more than1 year ago. He views himself as an ambassador for the sport. Baffert, however, wouldnt change the outcome. It will all be settled by lawyers and judges and that takes time. Baffert said the horse ingested hay after a groom, who was taking cough medicine, had urinated in the horses stall. When a horse dies in California, CHRB records often list medications the horse had been prescribed, based on its medical history. 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. Once again, the Hall of Fame. Petersen noted that in a previous case the board had exonerated the trainers of three horses who had tested positive for scopolamine, finding the flunked tests were a result of Jimson weed. Medina Spirit died after a training session on 6 December 2021 and an ensuing necropsy on 11 February 2022 was inconclusive. Horse owner and racing reform advocate Barry Irwin has stated, "He's Mr. [13] In Kentucky, any amount of betamethasone detected in post-race testing is a violation and could result in a disqualification. 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. But the sports new governing authority will not take over until mid-2022. Drop dead while galloping, read a California Horse Racing Board vets account of the first horses death in November 2011. Bob Baffert has supporters and detractors in how he deals with jockeys Arthur indicated in his report that thyroxine was suspected to cause heart problems for horses during exercise, and at least four of the sudden deaths involved confirmed or suspected cardiac failure. Has his success made people hate him more? PUBLISHED 9:20 AM ET Jul. It was an easy suspension to serve as Baffert was in school and not doing much training. He declined to answer further questions. Officials worked to clear Bob Baffert's Justify after Triple Crown run There are no secrets on the backside.. The colt lost the Belmont Stakes after breaking poorly from the starting gate. There is nothing new here, he wrote. Hes won seven, more than anyone else in the 147-year history of the race. [8] His first suspension was in 1977 for misuse of morphene, but thereafter he had no violations for the next eight years. Baffert said the horse was off the drug for 18 days before the race. Currently, his major coverage area is horse racing, where he can be found at big races at Santa Anita, the Triple Crown series and Breeders Cup. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Churchill Downs goes after suspended trainer Bob Baffert with new policy. [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. He got his first big break in 1992 when he won his first Breeder's Cup race with Thirty Slews. 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. Finding a new director every two to four years would cost $300,000 each time, a committee that analyzed the bill found. And he pushes the envelope to the extent that they give their lives for his bank account.. 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. But Bafferts critics say his conduct after penning the article calls into question his seriousness about reform. 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. The New York Racing Assn. When The Post shared the data on 72 of the horse deaths with Brewster, he and Bafferts lawyer, W. Craig Robertson III, said that one of the horses listed was never in Bafferts care, though it is marked as his horse in CHRB records, and that another was a stable pony not being raced. 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 . 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. Baedeker this week acknowledged that they handled the process more slowly than usual. We live and work in a fishbowl, with rumors and accusations flowing constantly, Baffert said. 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 its a lot more difficult when going against a private company, such as Churchill Downs, which can invoke its own penalties. Hes a very unique personality, a unique sense of humor. The previous August, Bob Baffert Racing Stables had donated $1,000 to the TOCs political action committee, California records show. 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.. In a recent interview, Arthur described his findings as damning for Baffert, in particular analysis in his report showing that, over a six-year period, Bafferts horses were nine times more likely to die of sudden death than the average trainers. Closing everything and moving forward is in Bobs best interest and the best interest of horse racing. The rise and fall of Jorge Navarro, the alleged doping king of horse racing. Both trainers were fined $500. At the time, she was 42-years-old. [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. While he allowed that the case was handled differently because of the Triple Crown ramifications, the special treatment had nothing to do with the horses trainer. CHRB regulations state that its foreign substances guidelines are based on ARCI recommendations as modified by the state board. Most were for excessive use of phenylbutazone, a commonly used anti-inflammatory known as bute. Horse-racing deaths, like much of the sport, are shrouded by a disjointed bureaucracy. It didnt take Baffert long to dominate Rillito Park and Prescott Downs in Arizona. 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. 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. Hearing Officer Recommends 2-Year NYRA Ban for Bob Baffert The 77-year-old billionaire made headlines last year when he made a $10,000 contribution to opponents of Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance. In the settlement, which records show did not include monetary damages, CHRB agreed to file a complaint against Justify. 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.. After the Times broke the news of the positive drug test, Ruis sued the CHRB in January 2020. That investigation led to the indictments that Baffert said spurred him to embrace more oversight, so the cheaters would be quickly caught and punished.. Bob Baffert says Medina Spirit a victim of cancel culture | Lexington A CHRB investigator, searching for Jimson weed, had found a leafy substance at Santa Anita Park, the records show, and following the Derby, Arthur and the CHRBs lawyer agreed to have it tested. Two months later, the PAC contributed $2,000 to Grays successful election committee. Hollywood Park closed in 2013, and the saga of the dead horses there faded quickly from the headlines. Its truly painful when you know what the truth is, Baffert told The Times earlier this week in his first interview on the subject since May. No sanctions were issued against Baffert.[40][41]. Baffert failed in multiple attempts in Kentucky to overturn the track's ban or the start of his suspension, which began April 4. . He rejoined The Times in 2009 and left his post as deputy sports editor late in 2017. Brodnik presented the board with a two-page memo stating an extensive investigation was conducted and the evidence proves that this was an environmental contamination incident. Baedeker and Arthur recommended the pending matters against Baffert be dismissed, according to the states legal analysis. The deadliest period came between 2000 and 2005, when 34 of Bafferts horses in California died. [2] His first winner was Flipper Star at Rillito Park on January 28, 1979. In fact, at some point Id like to get back together with Bob, Shah said. Settlement reached over unauthorized Bob Baffert bourbon - The was. Gary Fenton, chairman of the TOC, declined to be interviewed. 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]. [15], At a news conference on May 9, Baffert initially said that Medina Spirit was never administered betamethasone. The legal records, which draw from dozens of emails, memorandums and other materials that have not previously been made public, show how officials delayed action, contradicted their own plans and rewrote existing rules to Bafferts advantage. 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. In 2010, Misremembered, a horse he bred, owned by his wife Jill and their friend George Jacobs, won the Santa Anita Handicap, marking Baffert's first Grade I win as a breeder instead of a trainer. Maryland Racing Commission Officially Suspends Bob Baffert, In 1997, he trained Silver Charm to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, finishing second in the Belmont. 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. Bob Baffert suspended from home of Kentucky Derby after Medina - CNN But in 2018, Arthur was still on the job when another Baffert-trained horse tested regulators willingness to challenge him. 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. Baffert is known for holding court on such ideas at Clockers Corner, a popular hangout for horsemen at Santa Anita Park.