Arthur and CHRB investigators inspected Bafferts barn, reviewed veterinary records and interviewed Baffert, who was flanked by an attorney. Former Democratic congressman Dennis Cardoza, also on the board, was co-owner with Pegram of Shakin It Up, a successful thoroughbred trained by Baffert. He's saddled. From there, he moved to racing at recognized tracks, scoring his first victory at age 17 in 1970. 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. [21][22] Sports Illustrated suggested that the positive drug test was a sign that Baffert's "leaking credibility" had reached "the saturation point. Hes won seven, more than anyone else in the 147-year history of the race. Baffert failed in multiple attempts in Kentucky to overturn the track's ban or the start of his suspension, which began April 4. Tinsley declined to comment. 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. 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. Arthur also presented exercise histories for the horses that showed they worked harder than average. 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. And promote he does, chatting with people he met one minute ago as if they were long-lost friends. Bob Baffert Family, Net Worth, Parents, Wife, Sons, Education And EXPLAINER: Why is Bob Baffert not in the Kentucky Derby? - Spectrum News 1 The veterinarian chalked up Bafferts response to ignorance. 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. Teflon."[11]. But in 2019, he was banned from Santa Anita Park and affiliated tracks after four of his horses died there in six months. 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. When he was 10, his father purchased some Quarter Horses and he practiced racing them on a dirt track. Hearings begin for Bob Baffert's case against Churchill Downs ban But Bafferts critics say his conduct after penning the article calls into question his seriousness about reform. 10, 2022. Baffert won the Derby a third time in 2002 with War Emblem. In 2015, Baffert trained the 2014 champion two-year-old colt American Pharoah to win the Triple Crown, the first to do so in 37 years. ), Arthur has defended his handling of the Justify positive. Early life and career [ edit] This horse was going to run at the Triple Crown, Arthur said. [9] Point Given was nominated in 2009, but elected and inducted in 2010. "So now even our Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, is a junky," Trump's statement read. Its bizarre, Baedeker said, because you have a deputy attorney general criticizing the board for following the law to the letter.. 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. On June 9, Justify won the Belmont and the Triple Crown. 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. Citrus Feed Companys Larry Bell has long supplied Baffert with feed and has previously testified in Bafferts defense, according to CHRB records. 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. [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. Bob Baffert has supporters and detractors in how he deals with jockeys Baffert's horses have won a record six Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes, and three Kentucky Oaks. It wasnt long before Baffert was making pocket change riding the horses in match races. The positive test only emerged when the New York Times reported it more than a year later. All of the explanations for the positive drug tests are plausible, but collectively they raise questions. 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. (At least one death of a Baffert horse identified by The Post was not included in the agencys data.) It was an easy suspension to serve as Baffert was in school and not doing much training. Betamethasone is mostly injected into the joints of horses to ease inflammation and, if the inflammation is reduced, any associated pain subsides. CHRB regulations state that its foreign substances guidelines are based on ARCI recommendations as modified by the state board. It hurts racing., In the same speech, Baffert agitated for the continued use of Lasix, which is popular with trainers but increasingly criticized as a potential performance-enhancer and masking agent for other drugs. 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. Horse-racing deaths, like much of the sport, are shrouded by a disjointed bureaucracy. Ive heard the rumors on Bobby since we got in the business after winning some Cal Cup races. PUBLISHED 9:20 AM ET Jul. What we knew about horses you could put in a thimble. Baffert's attorney argued in court that the trainer's May suspension by the New York Racing Assn. Baffert says he plans to seek legal recourse wherever necessary. 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. Celebrities Who Are Republicans/Conservatives - HubPages 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. [7] Baffert became a 7-time winner of the Kentucky Derby in 2021 with Medina Spirit. Unlike a normal day at the races, Bafferts fate will not be decided by a photo-finish camera or the actions of a jockey aboard a 1,000-pound animal. Hes the person few in the business want to talk about, but everyone wants to hear about. 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. . Bob survived a heart attack in late March 2012 while in Dubai for a world-class race at Meydan. California counts all fatalities of horses in a trainers care, including breakdowns during training, not just racing deaths. The dark side of Bob Baffert's reign. 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.. Does the drug that could strip Medina Spirit of a Kentucky Derby win enhance performance? The Kentucky Derby winner is staying ahead of . Gray said at the time that the bill also would increase the institutional knowledge of Californias central horse drug-testing lab. Last October Gamine was disqualified from third to last in the Kentucky Oaks after betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory, was discovered in the horses system. But in 2018, Arthur was still on the job when another Baffert-trained horse tested regulators willingness to challenge him. [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. Rick Baedeker, who was executive director of the CHRB before retiring last year, said the boards decisions were carefully considered to avoid treating Baffert differently than any other trainer. In fact, Bafferts horses, at 8.3 deaths per 1,000 starts, have died at a significantly higher rate than Hollendorfers, at 6.25. 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. But Baffert and his lawyers had since established a reputation for pugnaciousness when regulators attempted to discipline him. This article was published more than1 year ago. "[29][30] On September 10, 2021 Baffert was charged by NYRA for conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing. 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. Mick Ruis, the owner and trainer of the second-place finisher in the Santa Anita Derby, has sued the CHRB. Instead of promptly filing a public complaint against Baffert, the CHRB kept the positive result secret while Arthur conducted a lengthy investigation. to move forward. Petersen did not respond to an interview request. ), Among the TOCs central crusades was countering the movement against Lasix. . A 4/C violation meant minor punishment that wouldnt typically involve disqualifying the horse or redistributing winnings. Drop dead while galloping, read a California Horse Racing Board vets account of the first horses death in November 2011. 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. 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. Baffert said the horse was off the drug for 18 days before the race. The month after Gray introduced his legislation, Bafferts seventh sudden death made the deaths at Hollywood Park a national news story. And Madeline Auerbach, who later became a CHRB commissioner, had partnered with Baffert in thoroughbred breeding. was unconstitutional after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a postrace drug test. He has won the Kentucky Oaks three times: first in 1999 with Silverbulletday, who was later selected for the Hall of Fame, then with Plum Pretty in 2011 and with Abel Tasman in 2017. He made the jump to Los Alamitos, where he was running against such legends as Wayne Lukas. But Clark Brewster, the attorney representing Medina Spirits owner, Amr Zedan, then contacted The Post and described Baffert as being unfairly maligned. The. 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 sued in federal court, claiming the two months off could cost him $11 million in purses. [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. But in this case, Arthur urged a lighter penalty based on his suggestion the CHRB downgrade the drug. Hell do anything to win, and hes got all his bases covered politically, Barry Irwin, owner of 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, said of Baffert. Bob Baffert's Life Is Good gallops to win in San Felipe Stakes at Santa When the CHRB also decided to run DNA tests on the horses blood samples, the records show Arthur said the request would be a big deal and asked if they could wait until after the Preakness, which was 10 days away. He claimed the boards cover up cost him damages including the $400,000 difference between the first-place and second-place purses in the Santa Anita Derby. Share on Facebook TWEET This Similarly, cases against two horses who tested positive in Arkansas in 2020 for lidocaine were dismissed as being the result of accidental transfer from an assistant trainer who was using the medication on himself. After the Times broke the news of the positive drug test, Ruis sued the CHRB in January 2020. Yeah, but thats what drives him. The colt went on to win the Preakness Stakes, giving the trainer his third shot at winning the Triple Crown. Earlier data was unreliable, the racing publication said. Between November 2011 and March 2013, however, Baffert had seven of his horses die of sudden death, not on the race track. 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. Baffert revisited the Derby the next year, sending two top colts, Real Quiet and Indian Charlie, to Louisville. He also won the race in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 when run as a Grade I event. Baffert, however, became the first trainer in history to win the Derby and Preakness in back-to-back years. As the Kentucky Derby approached, officials began discussing the possibility of contamination that the positive test had been triggered by something Justify ingested. In fact, at some point Id like to get back together with Bob, Shah said. 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. Hes a very unique personality, a unique sense of humor. 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. All of the drugs were legal, just not in the amounts found on race day. "What a way to come back," said Baffert, whose punishment by the Kentucky Horse . 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. Real Quiet won the race that year, and Baffert also finished third with Indian Charlie. (A CHRB spokesman declined to comment, citing pending litigation. According to Arthurs report, he found that Baffert was dispensing Thyro-L, or thyroxine, a prescription thyroid hormone, to all horses in his care. Bob had the personality and he was honest. I told him I thought there was a good indication that these were feed contamination.. Time after time its not his fault. Has his success made people hate him more? But he said it wasnt clear from the records why the CHRB reversed course on filing a complaint against Baffert. Its so obvious. 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. Its just disheartening. Until this summer, Baffert was the longest-serving member on the board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, having been elected in 2007. But in the most recent election in June, he finished seventh of eight, the only incumbent beaten. On Monday, Bell confirmed he helped with the search, adding Jimson weed has plagued California for years.. He was fined $1,500. Gagliano, the Jockey Club president, denied that the group had any knowledge of whom 5 Stones investigated, outside of the eventual indictments. In the next six months, three of his horses tested positive for banned or excessive substances four times in California, Arkansas and Kentucky. No sanctions were issued against Baffert.[40][41]. Baffert made the. American Pharoah next won the 140th Preakness Stakes, making six victories in that race for Baffert, who also finished fourth with Dortmund. Officials worked secretly to clear Bob Bafferts Justify amid 2018 Triple Crown run, records show. 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. This pattern has bred frustration among some horsemen. 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.. Bob Baffert Suspended 15 Days for Drug Positives The way this case was handled was not a favor for Bob Baffert, Arthur said. He followed it with six more Derbies, two of which launched Triple Crown runs, with American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018. 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. However, Medina Spirit tested positive for the steroid betamethasone. Baffert also has wielded unmatched clout when regulators have discovered banned or excessive substances in his horses. In the past three years, there were 188 deaths involving either racing or training in California. The TOC, of which Baffert is still a board member, did not respond to requests for comment. Among them, according to interviews and records obtained by The Post: a push to have the veterinary official removed from office, supported by a trade group with Baffert among its directors. 'It was cancel culture': Kentucky Derby winner's trainer defends failed I went under the radar. [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. And because of that, he has become arrogant as hell. 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 . 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. 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. In winning the 141st Kentucky Derby, bringing his total number of victories in the race to four; Baffert also ran the third-place finisher, the previously undefeated colt Dortmund. 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. In July 2020, Merneith tested positive for dextromethorphan, a drug commonly used in cough medicine. In 2015, he trained American Pharoah, the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.. 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. 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.. 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. "[16][17] Nonetheless, Churchill Downs suspended Baffert from entering any horses at their racetrack pending the outcome of an investigation. Gary Fenton, chairman of the TOC, declined to be interviewed. 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. It will all be settled by lawyers and judges and that takes time. 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. Darrell Vienna, Ruiss attorney, said he would not have agreed to those stipulations but was not allowed to intervene. [42] He had been paid $200,000 to allow the Burger King to stand behind him in the grandstand during the televised broadcast of the Belmont, after having turned down $150,000 to allow the mascot to appear with him at the Preakness. 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. Attorneys argue 90-day suspension would end Bob Baffert's racing career Some of the horses that have died have been my horses, and on each and every instance, I have spoken to Bob and Ive been more than satisfied with the explanation, Shah said. 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 Post reported this month that Arthur had previously studied a spate of sudden horse deaths in Bafferts barn. Baffert also trained the 2018 Triple Crown Winner, Justify and the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic. Baffert has saddled 34 horses in the Derby third-most in history since his first appearance in 1996.