I guess I'm more of an "old school" Republican. 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 . Between 1997 and 1999, he won the Eclipse Award as outstanding trainer three years running and was voted the 1997 Big Sport of Turfdom Award. [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. Arthur suggested the board retroactively apply it to the Justify case. The CHRB had not adopted that recommendation. Mr. 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. Baffert's horses have won a record six Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes, and three Kentucky Oaks. It was an easy suspension to serve as Baffert was in school and not doing much training. The attorney generals office referred all questions to the CHRB. Baffert's horses have won a record six Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes, and three Kentucky Oaks . PUBLISHED 9:20 AM ET Jul. In 2015, he trained American Pharoah, the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.. By age 20, he had developed a reputation as a trainer and was hired by other trainers to run their stables. 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. He has never apologized to the public for trashing the game. I went under the radar. There wasnt any question in my mind, he said recently. Baffert said in his autobiography it was a combination of ignorance and desperation. Medina Spirit: Bob Baffert again playing victim in drug controversy 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.. 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. The 74 total deaths since 2000 put Baffert third among trainers. When a horse dies in California, CHRB records often list medications the horse had been prescribed, based on its medical history. "[23] On June 2, 2021, Medina Spirit's split sample also tested positive and Churchill Downs suspended Baffert through the end of the 2023 Spring Meet. Earlier data was unreliable, the racing publication said. A recent conversation about the tragedy of horse deaths wended its way back to the defense of his reputation. The. Attorneys argue 90-day suspension would end Bob Baffert's racing career 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. Bob Baffert wakes up most every day with one thing in mind, winning another Kentucky Derby. The 5-year-old mare was the seventh seemingly healthy horse from that barn to drop dead in 16 months. The colt went on to win the Preakness Stakes, giving the trainer his third shot at winning the Triple Crown. It was later discovered that horses from separate barns had also tested positive. To the newspaper, she. And he pushes the envelope to the extent that they give their lives for his bank account.. 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. 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. 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. He told reporters that he would fight the issue "tooth and nail. Baffert, however, became the first trainer in history to win the Derby and Preakness in back-to-back years. Bob Baffert says Derby horse Medina Spirit was 'cancelled.' Here's what Nine died in 2000, all but one from breakdowns. 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. Were going to get through it.. Biography Bob Baffert is best known as a horse rider. When Arthur delivered his report in November 2013, the bill to remove him from office was still pending. The goal, the people familiar said, was to get Baffert to support languishing reforms in the sport. 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. Garcia left California horse racing the next year, according to CHRB records; he could not be reached for comment by The Post. We went there with expectations not very high. 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. 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]. Baffert's attorney argued in court that the trainer's May suspension by the New York Racing Assn. In 2012, Baffert saddled Bodemeister, named for the trainer's youngest son, Bode, to second-place finishes in the Derby and Preakness. "We live in a different world now. Betamethasone is mostly injected into the joints of horses to ease inflammation and, if the inflammation is reduced, any associated pain subsides. The colt skipped the Belmont Stakes but became the champion three-year-old colt that year. If you lose 75% of the time, youre considered really, really good. 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. By the April 1 ruling, Baffert had already transferred four 3-year-old colts to other trainers. Bob Baffert | National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Ive heard the rumors on Bobby since we got in the business after winning some Cal Cup races. Citrus Feed Companys Larry Bell has long supplied Baffert with feed and has previously testified in Bafferts defense, according to CHRB records. Baffert, however, wouldnt change the outcome. Horse trainer Bob Baffert, left, leaves federal court in Brooklyn on July 12. The month after Gray introduced his legislation, Bafferts seventh sudden death made the deaths at Hollywood Park a national news story. Horse racing needs to cut off the head of the snake, Ruis said. The way this case was handled was not a favor for Bob Baffert, Arthur said. Bob Baffert says Medina Spirit a victim of cancel culture | Lexington 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. [10], Controversy deepened when on December 6, 2021, Medina Spirit died of an apparent heart attack after a workout at Santa Anita Park. Tinsley declined to comment. Bob is trying to put 2020 behind him and move forward in a positive manner, Robertson wrote in an e-mail to Borden. When asked about that plan, attorney Brewster said that in fact 5 Stones did investigate Baffert at the direction of the Jockey Club. 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. "[16][17] Nonetheless, Churchill Downs suspended Baffert from entering any horses at their racetrack pending the outcome of an investigation. 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. Some of my friends swear that I'm actually a conservative Democrat. [21][22] Sports Illustrated suggested that the positive drug test was a sign that Baffert's "leaking credibility" had reached "the saturation point. 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. 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. The deadliest period came between 2000 and 2005, when 34 of Bafferts horses in California died. Theres one thing that I will say positive about Bob is that he is a horseman. But Arthurs report said Hollywood Park used a different sort of poison than that found in the necropsy. Sports team owners make huge political donations. Where does their Some of the earlier violations do give you pause. 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. In fact, Bafferts horses, at 8.3 deaths per 1,000 starts, have died at a significantly higher rate than Hollendorfers, at 6.25. Once the golden boy of horse racing, Bob Baffert now the face of its disgrace. Baffert, like many trainers, was using a thyroid drug that was cited in the CHRB investigation. Bob Baffert: Judge denies his request to lift two-year Churchill Downs LOS ANGELES In 2018, as star trainer Bob Baffert led his thoroughbred Justify to the Triple Crown, California regulators embarked on a secret effort to exonerate Baffert after the horses positive test for a banned substance, according to confidential records obtained by The Washington Post that fully detail the saga for the first time. The bottom line, he said, is if youre a horse in Bob Bafferts barn, youre there to work.. The winner's share of the $600 purse was $330. Thats much higher than the Jockey Clubs widely cited national rates, which never exceed two deaths per 1,000 starts. Real Quiet won the race that year, and Baffert also finished third with Indian Charlie. The previous August, Bob Baffert Racing Stables had donated $1,000 to the TOC's political action committee, California records show. Scopolamine, Baedeker wrote, can be injected but very often is the result of feed or straw that has been contaminated with Jimson weed., Arthur had previously suggested he didnt consider Jimson weed contamination to be a serious threat, writing in a 2016 memo that the likelihood under our current procedures of getting a positive from environmental contamination is rather low. In an interview this week, Arthur said he meant that such incidences were infrequent but said that in California, if you have a scopolamine positive, its going to be associated with Jimson weed thats just the reality of it., On April 26, records show, Arthur emailed CHRB officials that he had talked to Bob and informed him the proceedings would not immediately interfere with Justifys Triple Crown schedule. Bob Baffert blamed "cancel culture" after his horse, Medina Spirit, who won the Kentucky Derby, failed its post-race drug test. Baffert, one of the most legendary trainers in American horse racing, has faced criticism and suspensions after his 2021 Kentucky Derby champion, Medina . Bob Baffert Family, Parents Hes a very unique personality, a unique sense of humor. (Pegram and Auerbach did not respond to interview requests. Robert A. Baffert is an American Racehorse Trainer who trained the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Bob Baffert Suspended 15 Days for Drug Positives View . 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 elicited little notice; racehorses die by the hundreds per year in California alone. The positive test only emerged when the New York Times reported it more than a year later. 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. 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. In the next six months, three of his horses tested positive for banned or excessive substances four times in California, Arkansas and Kentucky. Both trainers were fined $500. But Clark Brewster, the attorney representing Medina Spirits owner, Amr Zedan, then contacted The Post and described Baffert as being unfairly maligned. Baffert's history in the American classic races began in 1996 when he trained a three-year-old colt named Cavonnier, who ran second in the Kentucky Derby. [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. 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. Bob Baffert has supporters and detractors in how he deals with jockeys Arkansas racing officials vote not to suspend Bob Baffert - ESPN.com If the complaint was ruled on quickly enough, it would have made Justify ineligible for the Kentucky Derby. Yakteen rose to Bafferts defense and it ended with a scuffle that slightly injured a security guard. If they didnt adopt those rules, the rules that prevail are the ones they adopted.. 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. 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. A complaint is filed in every case where the split sample confirms the original laboratory finding, read an advisory on the CHRB website. I think much of the GOP political party is moving too far to the right. The veterinarian chalked up Bafferts response to ignorance. In fact, at some point Id like to get back together with Bob, Shah said. His American Pharaoh horse won the Triple Crown in 2015. Baffert trained Lookin At Lucky, co-owned by Mike Pegram, to win the Preakness Stakes in 2010. Baffert did not have another medication violation for eight years. The last stand of Bob Baffert, horse racing's top trainer - Los Angeles 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. It takes only a minute or so to walk from the racetrack at Santa Anita Park to the barns in back. Baffert told investigators he used the drug for about five years to build up his horses, which Arthur noted was unusual because it was typically used to slim them down. 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. Last October Gamine was disqualified from third to last in the Kentucky Oaks after betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory, was discovered in the horses system. Hes always wanted to be a rock star and some people dont think racing should have one.. It sounds like hes deflecting, Gagliano said of Baffert. According to Arthurs report, he found that Baffert was dispensing Thyro-L, or thyroxine, a prescription thyroid hormone, to all horses in his care. 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 first two infractions occurred in May 2020, when the horses Charlatan and Gamine tested positive in Arkansas for lidocaine, a numbing agent. to move forward. Petersen did not respond to an interview request. [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. 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. Share on Facebook TWEET This 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.
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