It elicited little notice; racehorses die by the hundreds per year in California alone. The trainer was Baffert. Drop dead while galloping, read a California Horse Racing Board vets account of the first horses death in November 2011. He was fined $1,500. 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. Until this summer, Baffert was the longest-serving member on the board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, having been elected in 2007. 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.. Being a horse trainer is tough enough because its such an up-and-down, emotional roller coaster, Baffert said. But hes a good person, no, a great person. The first two infractions occurred in May 2020, when the horses Charlatan and Gamine tested positive in Arkansas for lidocaine, a numbing agent. I dont see somebody who is doping horses, Martin said after reviewing Bafferts drug-related history. When he was 10, his father purchased some Quarter Horses and he practiced racing them on a dirt track. Per Baffert, barn staff including grooms, were involved in administering the thyroxine in feed.. 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. Baffert was fined $10,000. What we knew about horses you could put in a thimble. Arthur is retiring at the end of June from a job often consumed by the scandals of a single trainer. A A Former President Donald Trump released a statement Sunday about the disputed winner of the Kentucky Derby, saying the controversy reflects the current state of the country. On at least 14 occasions, Baffert has been caught racing a horse with more than the allowable amount of bute in its system, according to a review of ARCI data, making it his most common offense. The substance was indeed Jimson weed. A week after that, Baffert learned of the positive test. 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. Medina Spirit died after a training session on 6 December 2021 and an ensuing necropsy on 11 February 2022 was inconclusive. Baffert dedicated American Pharoah's win to Bobby. 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. Instead of promptly filing a public complaint against Baffert, the CHRB kept the positive result secret while Arthur conducted a lengthy investigation. 10, 2022. This pattern has bred frustration among some horsemen. You could trust him and that never changed.. PUBLISHED 9:20 AM ET Jul. He was born on January 13, 1953, in Nogales, AZ. In April, after Arkansas reversed its decision on two Baffert horses and overturned his suspension, trainer Richard Baltas was bad-mouthing Baffert at Clockers Corner, the place where trainers and fans watch horses work in the morning at Santa Anita. The board agreed not to disqualify Justify. 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. 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. Following the 2015 Belmont win, Baffert outlined several charities that he and his wife Jill supported. Baffert sued in federal court, claiming the two months off could cost him $11 million in purses. Baffert's attorney argued in court that the trainer's May suspension by the New York Racing Assn. Horse racing needs to cut off the head of the snake, Ruis said. The 69-year-old Hall of Fame trainer is suing Churchill Downs Inc . He married his second wife, Jill, a former television reporter based in Louisville, in 2002. 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.. CHRB regulations state that its foreign substances guidelines are based on ARCI recommendations as modified by the state board. Baffert failed in multiple attempts in Kentucky to overturn the track's ban or the start of his suspension, which began April 4. The Post reported this month that Arthur had previously studied a spate of sudden horse deaths in Bafferts barn. Its not often that a sport turns against its biggest star, but Churchill Downs has taken that stand. Garcia left California horse racing the next year, according to CHRB records; he could not be reached for comment by The Post. 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 lawyer wrote there is evidence suggesting that this matter was handled differently.. [13] In Kentucky, any amount of betamethasone detected in post-race testing is a violation and could result in a disqualification. 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. He rejoined The Times in 2009 and left his post as deputy sports editor late in 2017. 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. This in turn led to a ban from all California Horse Racing Board facilities beginning April 4 due to a rule removing any trainer under a 60 day or higher ban from all CHRB facilities. was. Kaleem Shah, an owner who split with Baffert in 2016, defended the trainer over the horse deaths. Two months later, the PAC contributed $2,000 to Gray's . Hes always wanted to be a rock star and some people dont think racing should have one.. Arthur said the TOC was behind the effort to oust him because of his criticism of Lasix. It sounds like hes deflecting, Gagliano said of Baffert. Baffert was granted a stay until April 4 to gain time for an appeal. The groom denied it. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Testimonies have begun in the case of horse trainer Bob Baffert against Churchill Downs. Shah said the two parted over disagreements that should have been resolved, without being specific. To the newspaper, she. Bob Bafferts horses have incurred numerous drug violations over the course of his 44 years as a thoroughbred trainer. 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. Baffert is the biggest name in horse racing, even bigger than the animals he conditions. 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. Baffert did not have another medication violation for eight years. According to protocols, the medication is supposed to have a 14-day withdrawal period. Bell told an investigator he then checked other bales and found a branch and pods he thought were Jimson weed in the parking lot. As he did so, a political group with Baffert on its board was involved in legislation that would result in Arthur losing his job. [21][22] Sports Illustrated suggested that the positive drug test was a sign that Baffert's "leaking credibility" had reached "the saturation point. 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. Two months later, the PAC contributed $2,000 to Grays successful election committee. He has won the Kentucky Derby five times. May 10, 2021. Thats much higher than the Jockey Clubs widely cited national rates, which never exceed two deaths per 1,000 starts. The quest to find Jimson weed continued. [As for whats going on now,] I dont like it but Im dealing with it. But the scuttled test result remained secret until the New York Times reported it in 2019. 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 . 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.. It went exactly according to the lawyers plan. 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. In 1997 he won his first Kentucky Derby with Silver Charm. ), Arthur has defended his handling of the Justify positive. 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. 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. Officials worked secretly to clear Bob Bafferts Justify amid 2018 Triple Crown run, records show. Hospital food is a punchline. At first it was believed the substance came from a pain-relief patch that Bafferts longtime assistant Jimmy Barnes was wearing because of back pain. Yes, I'm a registered Republican, although I've voted for Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. But in 2019, he was banned from Santa Anita Park and affiliated tracks after four of his horses died there in six months. "So now even our Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, is a junky," Trump's statement read. Baffert, however, became the first trainer in history to win the Derby and Preakness in back-to-back years. The month after that, Grays bill to limit Arthurs term was passed out of a committee. He declined to answer further questions. Does his love of the camera sometimes bite him? asked longtime owner and friend Mike Pegram. If the complaint was ruled on quickly enough, it would have made Justify ineligible for the Kentucky Derby. Anybody who walks with that swagger, people are going to love him or hate him, Pegram said. In 1997, he trained Silver Charm to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, finishing second in the Belmont. Finding a new director every two to four years would cost $300,000 each time, a committee that analyzed the bill found. [2], Baffert graduated from the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program with a Bachelor of Science degree,[3] got married, and began training quarter horses at a Prescott, Arizona farm. By the April 1 ruling, Baffert had already transferred four 3-year-old colts to other trainers. Baffert went to federal court and had the suspension overturned, but NYRA has called a scheduling conference on the trainer for Oct. 11. Robert A. Baffert is an American Racehorse Trainer who trained the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Several members of the Breeders Cup board have used Baffert as their trainer. 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. 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. Baffert was recently suspended for 90 days by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, California Horse Racing Board, and the New York State Gaming Commission for drug violations in the 2021 Kentucky . "[29][30] On September 10, 2021 Baffert was charged by NYRA for conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing. Share on Facebook TWEET This By Marty Irby. Bob Baffert Family, Parents The dark side of Bob Baffert's reign. Between November 2011 and March 2013, however, Baffert had seven of his horses die of sudden death, not on the race track. In his claustrophobic and cluttered office at Santa Anita Barn 5, Bob Baffert, the hall of fame trainer, was pushing papers and moving stacks, hunting for a faded photo of his 17-year-old self aboard a long-forgotten quarter horse from a small racing circuit in Arizona. He saddled Paynter in the Belmont Stakes later that year, but that colt, like his stablemate Bodemeister, finished second. Trainer Bob Baffert celebrates after his horse, Authentic, won the Kentucky Derby in September 2020. In each instance, the death is investigated. Following the publication of the report, Baffert tweeted: Im gratified that CHRB completed its investigation & found there was no wrongdoing. 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. "We live in a different world now. View . ), 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. Two Triple Crown winners and a signature shock of white hair will do that for a man. "[10], However, over 30 horses Baffert trained have failed drug tests. Racing does not have a historical database for violations, with most of the information kept on the state level. Its bizarre, Baedeker said, because you have a deputy attorney general criticizing the board for following the law to the letter.. Bafferts breakthrough thoroughbred was Thirty Slews, who won the Breeders Cup Sprint in 1992. [citation needed], According to his supporters, Baffert's style and personality, combined with his success, have made him a target for controversy. He has often blamed drug positives on trace contamination from substances in a horses barn and has criticized tightening restrictions on the race-day use of bute and other drugs. [33], In February 2022, Baffert was suspended 90 days and fined $7,500 by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Wizards show plenty of heart early but cant find an edge late in Chicago. Baffert revisited the Derby the next year, sending two top colts, Real Quiet and Indian Charlie, to Louisville. Darrell Vienna, Ruiss attorney, said he would not have agreed to those stipulations but was not allowed to intervene. Baffert grew up on a ranch in Nogales, Arizona, where his family raised cattle and chickens. Hes good.. They had a son in 2004 whom they named "Bode" (/bodi/ BOH-dee), after skier Bode Miller. We live and work in a fishbowl, with rumors and accusations flowing constantly, Baffert said. Theres 10,000 other trainers who understand the absolute insurer rule and dont seem to run afoul of it, Gagliano said, referring to the edict that any substances in the horse are the trainers responsibility. 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. 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. . 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. Without that win, Justify would not have qualified to run in the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown, a month later. He will rub people the wrong way by speaking his mind, sometimes he needs to hit the mute button. Baffert trained Lookin At Lucky, co-owned by Mike Pegram, to win the Preakness Stakes in 2010. The public backlash, including a letter written by a gay. Earlier data was unreliable, the racing publication said. Board member Michael E. Pegram had for decades hired Baffert to train his top horses, including the winner of the 1998 Kentucky Derby, Real Quiet. Baffert has saddled 34 horses in the Derby third-most in history since his first appearance in 1996. Shortly after Petersen sent the analysis of the states chances, the CHRB agreed to settle Ruiss lawsuit. In July 2020, Merneith tested positive for dextromethorphan, a drug commonly used in cough medicine. Closing everything and moving forward is in Bobs best interest and the best interest of horse racing. You wouldnt know it now.. Teflon."[11]. Were going to get through it.. However, Medina Spirit tested positive for the steroid betamethasone. [38] This reminded the public that since 2000, at least 74 other horses had died while in Baffert's stables. When Arthur delivered his report in November 2013, the bill to remove him from office was still pending. 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 thought wed get fourth. The CHRB provided The Post with death data dating back to late 1990 showing that at least 87 of Bafferts horses have died in California since then. Baffert is known for holding court on such ideas at Clockers Corner, a popular hangout for horsemen at Santa Anita Park. Baffert has trained horses that won fifteen American Classic Races, fifteen Breeders' Cup races, four Dubai World Cups and the inaugural Pegasus World Cup. He got his first big break in 1992 when he won his first Breeder's Cup race with Thirty Slews. He routinely challenges most sanctions, usually agreeing to accept fines but vigorously fighting suspensions. 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. Other trainers seem to navigate just fine.. With private eyes and political muscle, horse racings elite pushed to punish dopers, Bob Baffert, long horse racings irreverent king, sits on a precarious throne, Bob Baffert, banned from racing horses in New York, sues states racing association. The horse is scheduled to run Saturday in the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita. to move forward. Petersen did not respond to an interview request. FILE - In this Monday July 12, 2021 file photo, horse trainer Bob Baffert leaves federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York. And Noodles died May 22 of a non-exercise induced respiratory issue. When Did threshold change and what were they before?, No amount of betamethasone is permitted in Kentucky races now, Borden wrote. Baffert said in his autobiography it was a combination of ignorance and desperation. He has also won the Preakness Stakes five times and the Belmont Stakes once. But Bafferts critics say his conduct after penning the article calls into question his seriousness about reform. Yeah, sure, hes a wiseass and irreverent. 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. Former client Kaleem Shah said, "He will rub people the wrong way by speaking his mind, sometimes he needs to hit the mute button. On a recent afternoon, Baffert appeared largely unperturbed by the firestorm surrounding him when he answered his door in Arcadia, Calif. This is the first Ive learned of it, Baffert responded when told of The Posts finding that he had the highest rate of horse deaths among other top trainers in the state. Baffert also trained the 2018 Triple Crown Winner, Justify and the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic. Bafferts attorney argued in court that the trainers May suspension by the New York Racing Assn. "Bobby" Adair. There are no secrets on the backside.. In 2021, the post-race test of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit showed 21pg/mL of betamethasone. 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 trainer was fined $2,500. Hal Earnhardt, an Arizona car dealer and Bafferts oldest client, introduced him to Pegram, who made his money in fast-food franchising. Arthur suggested the board retroactively apply it to the Justify case. Regardless, the indictments appeared to sway Baffert, whose opinion piece in The Post supported drastic action to fix a broken system. Among the provisions in the federal legislation that Baffert supported is a phaseout of Lasix on race day a reform Baffert had opposed for years. He 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. In the 1980s, Baffert moved to California and worked at Los Alamitos Race Course, where he switched to training Thoroughbreds full-time in 1991. He won the aforementioned first race at a sanctioned track in 1970, but his mother insisted he attend college and he enrolled in the University of Arizonas Race Track Industry Program. I think much of the GOP political party is moving too far to the right. 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. At one point, the regulators effort included searching for exonerating evidence in a literal haystack. But they dont usually die in a cluster from a single barn for no clear reason. 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. But in 2018, Arthur was still on the job when another Baffert-trained horse tested regulators willingness to challenge him. Horse trainer Bob Baffert, left, leaves federal court in Brooklyn on July 12. 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.. His last day as medical equine director is Wednesday. The Jockey Club has a database of thoroughbred breakdowns meaning deaths stemming from track injuries but said it is barred from sharing its data because of its contracts with racetracks. 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. Racing lacks a central clearinghouse for data on deaths nationally, and regulators in many states do not track deaths by trainer. 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. In his teens, he worked as a jockey for $100 a day in informal Quarter Horse races on the outskirts of Nogales. Its not uncommon to find trainers who dont understand medications and how different medications work, Arthur said. This was fun. The winner's share of the $600 purse was $330. Both trainers were fined $500. In the past three years, there were 188 deaths involving either racing or training in California. Four months after that, in May 2014, Arthur issued an advisory that the CHRB was concerned by the apparently indiscriminate use of thyroxine and that the drug must be prescribed for a specific horse for a specific condition. Arthur told The Post that the advisory was a result of the Baffert investigation. Carson Valley was killed in a freak accident in 2019 at Del Mar when a loose horse crashed into the Baffert trainee. 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. [2] Baffert and his family reside in California. The new classification simply makes more sense pharmacologically, Arthur wrote. When a horse dies in California, CHRB records often list medications the horse had been prescribed, based on its medical history. He's saddled. 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. Baffert also has wielded unmatched clout when regulators have discovered banned or excessive substances in his horses. The 77-year-old billionaire made headlines last year when he made a $10,000 contribution to opponents of Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance. His reasoning was that Baffert also administered thyroxine to horses outside of Hollywood Park, where his horses did not suffer sudden deaths. The colt lost the Belmont Stakes after breaking poorly from the starting gate. After finishing last season strong, CJ Abrams is ready for more. A recent conversation about the tragedy of horse deaths wended its way back to the defense of his reputation. The testing levels have become ridiculous, Baffert told a conference of racehorse veterinarians during his keynote speech in 2000, according to a trade publication. Another day passed before it was discovered the colt was administered a topical ointment for a rash that contained betamethasone. California counts all fatalities of horses in a trainers care, including breakdowns during training, not just racing deaths. Betamethasone is mostly injected into the joints of horses to ease inflammation and, if the inflammation is reduced, any associated pain subsides. 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. 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. 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. Rick Arthur, Californias medical equine director, who the documents show played a central role in the scuttling of the Justify matter, said the only part of the CHRBs handling of the case that disappointed him was the secrecy. Kentucky regulators taped calls without consent with Baffert after Medina Spirit test. 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. Hes Mr. Teflon.. 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. Baffert's horses have won seven Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes and three Kentucky Oaks. In 1977, as a part-time trainer, he was suspended for a year when one of his horses tested positive for morphine. The New York Racing Assn. Gary Fenton, chairman of the TOC, declined to be interviewed. But after learning that Justify and another Baffert horse had tested positive for the same drug, Arthur announced in an e-mail to CHRB officials: The scopolamine cases will be handled differently than usual. Arthur said in a recent interview that he was referring to the logistics of what was clearly going to be a high-profile case that needed to be handled carefully.. I guess I'm more of an "old school" Republican. 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.

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