At the time, she was 42-years-old. He also dismissed complaints that doping was rampant in the sport. In the past three years, there were 188 deaths involving either racing or training in California. They had a son in 2004 whom they named "Bode" (/bodi/ BOH-dee), after skier Bode Miller. Its more the friendship that I miss. On May 5, Justify won the Kentucky Derby, upping the stakes of the investigation. The way this case was handled was not a favor for Bob Baffert, Arthur said. to move forward. Petersen did not respond to an interview request. Hes always wanted to be a rock star and some people dont think racing should have one.. The colt went on to win the Preakness Stakes, giving the trainer his third shot at winning the Triple Crown. The public backlash, including a letter written by a gay. Bob Baffert: Judge denies his request to lift two-year Churchill Downs Yeah, sure, hes a wiseass and irreverent. The colt skipped the Belmont Stakes but became the champion three-year-old colt that year. 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. Instead of promptly filing a public complaint against Baffert, the CHRB kept the positive result secret while Arthur conducted a lengthy investigation. 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. Thats the only time I ever had to deal with somebody who tried to go to federal court to stop a state administrative action., Finally, in 2005, after the matter had returned to state court, the CHRB dismissed the suspension after an administrative law judge concluded Baffert had nothing to gain and a great deal to lose by the use of a banned substance on this horse., Baffert further solidified his influence in the ensuing years. 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: Hall of Fame trainer suspended from participating in - CNN Theres one thing that I will say positive about Bob is that he is a horseman. "[29][30] On September 10, 2021 Baffert was charged by NYRA for conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing. Hospital food is a punchline. Baffert, one of the most legendary trainers in American horse racing, has faced criticism and suspensions after his 2021 Kentucky Derby champion, Medina . Hes won seven, more than anyone else in the 147-year history of the race. In 2012, Baffert saddled Bodemeister, named for the trainer's youngest son, Bode, to second-place finishes in the Derby and Preakness. Officials worked secretly to clear Bob Bafferts Justify amid 2018 Triple Crown run, records show. But in the most recent election in June, he finished seventh of eight, the only incumbent beaten. Gary Fenton, chairman of the TOC, declined to be interviewed. The bottom line, he said, is if youre a horse in Bob Bafferts barn, youre there to work.. [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. 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. 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. Gagliano, the Jockey Club president, denied that the group had any knowledge of whom 5 Stones investigated, outside of the eventual indictments. Every investigation over the past 20 years has reached the same conclusion: no rules or regulations have been violated nor has there been any improper activity on Bobs part., Brewster also said that the vast majority of Bafferts drug-related violations, as tracked by ARCI, shouldnt be counted because they were too old or related to overages of otherwise-allowed drugs in a horse, which he dismissed as like coming to work with too much Advil in your system., Robertson said in an e-mail that [n]o one has done more for horse racing and is better for the sport than Bob Baffert, and he listed various awards the trainer has received, including being inducted into four separate Hall of Fames. Usually, regulatory agencies do not have the guts to do whats fair and right, Arthur testified during a CHRB hearing in October, and this board made that decision appropriately., He conceded that the lack of transparency was unusual. This whole thing is ridiculous, Baffert texted back, according to messages obtained by The Post via public records request. 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 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. The month after that, Grays bill to limit Arthurs term was passed out of a committee. And he pushes the envelope to the extent that they give their lives for his bank account.. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Testimonies have begun in the case of horse trainer Bob Baffert against Churchill Downs. In that period, 36% of all cardiac related horse deaths in California were animals trained by Baffert. Arthur B. Hancock III, a prominent thoroughbred owner, has for three decades been a leading proponent for eradicating drugs from the sport. Last October Gamine was disqualified from third to last in the Kentucky Oaks after betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory, was discovered in the horses system. Judge nullifies horse trainer Bob Baffert's NY suspension His white hair, tinted glasses and accessibility make him a natural to promote the sport. 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. And Madeline Auerbach, who later became a CHRB commissioner, had partnered with Baffert in thoroughbred breeding. 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 . "What a way to come back," said Baffert, whose punishment by the Kentucky Horse . He claimed that the horse death data provided by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) was not possible.. [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. 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. 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. Decorated racehorse trainer who won multiple Kentucky Derbies, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The CHRB ruled it was caused by feed contamination, citing six other horses across four barns who also tested positive. By then, Justify had won the Triple Crown, one of the rarest achievements in sports. You could trust him and that never changed.. What I can tell you definitely is this case was handled differently, and it was handled differently because of Rick Arthur, said Ruiss attorney, Darrell Vienna. Hollywood Park closed in 2013, and the saga of the dead horses there faded quickly from the headlines. But in 2019, he was banned from Santa Anita Park and affiliated tracks after four of his horses died there in six months. If they didnt adopt those rules, the rules that prevail are the ones they adopted.. The bold statement appeared to put Baffert on the right side of history: By the end of the year, President Donald Trump had signed into law the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, which promised to reform the sport. Baffert said the horse was off the drug for 18 days before the race. Baffert has paid out over $20,000 in fines, but compared against over $321 million in career earnings. 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. [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. Baffert sued in federal court, claiming the two months off could cost him $11 million in purses. By then, Arthur already had a years-long, tangled history with Baffert. When I won with [Triple Crown winners] American Pharoah and Justify, it was a relief. Does the drug that could strip Medina Spirit of a Kentucky Derby win enhance performance? Hes the person few in the business want to talk about, but everyone wants to hear about. The positive test only emerged when the New York Times reported it more than a year later. Baffert has had more than 30 drug violations in his 44-year career, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. The TOC, of which Baffert is still a board member, did not respond to requests for comment. Bob Baffert | National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame 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. He built up his training business a step at a time and acquired some prominent owners. The New York Racing Assn. Medina Spirit: Bob Baffert again playing victim in drug controversy Baffert, however, wouldnt change the outcome. Churchill Downs Draws a Hard Line With Bob Baffert