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. 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. Baffert has had more than 30 drug violations in his 44-year career, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. PUBLISHED 9:20 AM ET Jul. 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. 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 horse's. Political Cartoons. Ruis horse, Bolt dOro, finished second. [15], At a news conference on May 9, Baffert initially said that Medina Spirit was never administered betamethasone. ), Arthur has defended his handling of the Justify positive. There are no secrets on the backside.. 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 . 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. You could trust him and that never changed.. Bob survived a heart attack in late March 2012 while in Dubai for a world-class race at Meydan. I went under the radar. He was fined $1,500. And the Breeders Cup, which will be held Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar, has indicated it will soon make a decision on Bafferts eligibility to run in those championship races. The veterinarian chalked up Bafferts response to ignorance. He declined to answer further questions. Arthur is retiring at the end of June from a job often consumed by the scandals of a single trainer. [10][12] However, his violations for use of prohibited medications has sparked controversy. He makes it clear that he believes in same-day medication and he believes in his whips, said Roberts, who has long pushed to remove whipping horses from racing. Its not uncommon to find trainers who dont understand medications and how different medications work, Arthur said. There are highs and lows and a lot of disappointment. Biography Bob Baffert is best known as a horse rider. 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. CNN Hall of Fame horse trainer Bob Baffert will miss the Kentucky Derby for a second straight year after a federal judge denied his request to have a two-year ban by Churchill Downs Inc.. The bill was introduced by California Assemblyman Adam Gray, a former aide to Cardoza who had been in office for less than three months. [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. It will all be settled by lawyers and judges and that takes time. His white hair, tinted glasses and accessibility make him a natural to promote the sport. 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. 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. 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. Another day passed before it was discovered the colt was administered a topical ointment for a rash that contained betamethasone. 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. [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. Yes, I'm a registered Republican, although I've voted for Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. No horse loving person like Bob or his entire team accepts the reality of a horse death with anything other than sadness and despair, the lawyers said in their statement. In more than four decades in the sport, Baffert has faced significant regulatory scrutiny because of a high death rate only once, after seven of his horses collapsed in a short period of time at the same California track. Racing lacks a central clearinghouse for data on deaths nationally, and regulators in many states do not track deaths by trainer. [38] This reminded the public that since 2000, at least 74 other horses had died while in Baffert's stables. Baffert sued in federal court, claiming the two months off could cost him $11 million in purses. Baffert said in his autobiography it was a combination of ignorance and desperation. Doug ONeill, a two-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, was one of the few trainers who would talk about Bafferts recent troubles. 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.. [8][37] That case was eventually dismissed as the regulators concluded the facts supported an instance of feed contamination. 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 . Anybody who walks with that swagger, people are going to love him or hate him, Pegram said. 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. ), 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. 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. Medina Spirit: Bob Baffert again playing victim in drug controversy [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. 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. None of them are considered performance-enhancing in the traditional sense, such as amphetamines or speedballs. But the sports new governing authority will not take over until mid-2022. Baffert grew up on a ranch in Nogales, Arizona, where his family raised cattle and chickens. The dark side of Bob Baffert's reign - Washington Post The Post separately obtained start data dating back to 2000 from the Daily Racing Form to put the deaths into context. His most serious infraction was also his first. Regulators taped calls without consent with Baffert - Los Angeles Times Baffert faces unprecedented scrutiny after a positive drug test marred a win by his horse Medina Spirit at this years Kentucky Derby. Bafferts lawyers have made explicit that he will accept fines but not a suspension, and state regulators have continually obliged him. Baffert made the. [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. He was born on January 13, 1953, in Nogales, AZ. In each instance, the death is investigated. California counts all fatalities of horses in a trainers care, including breakdowns during training, not just racing deaths. was. 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. Hes a very unique personality, a unique sense of humor. 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. Like Baffert, Hollendorfer is in the thoroughbred Hall of Fame. Bafferts record of testing failures threatens public confidence in thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby, said Bill Carstanjen, chief executive of Churchill Downs Inc. Given these repeated failures over the last year, including the increasingly extraordinary explanations, we firmly believe that asserting our rights to impose these measures is our duty and responsibility.. Baedeker said that before they made their recommendation to the board, they consulted with the states Office of the Attorney General, for which Petersen works, and received concurrence . Bob Baffert's Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know The public backlash, including a letter written by a gay. Grays office told the committee that removing Dr. Arthur from his position, while intentional, is not the sole purpose of the bill, records show. 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. Baffert was fined $10,000. Hollendorfers lawyer, Drew Couto, has claimed his client is being unfairly blamed for a high-profile spike of deaths at the track. [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. 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. For every Baffert defender, you can find someone on the other side. Baffert said the horse ingested hay after a groom, who was taking cough medicine, had urinated in the horses stall. The last stand of Bob Baffert, horse racing's top trainer - Los Angeles Wizards show plenty of heart early but cant find an edge late in Chicago. 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.. Bob Baffert has supporters and detractors in how he deals with jockeys The trainer was Baffert. How carefully the dosage was followed was not determined, Arthur wrote. CHRB regulations state that its foreign substances guidelines are based on ARCI recommendations as modified by the state board. A three-member hearing panel has made the decision to suspend Hall of Fame horse trainer Bob Baffert for one year, effective immediately, the New York Racing Association announced Thursday. 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. But Arthurs report said Hollywood Park used a different sort of poison than that found in the necropsy. Baffert said the horse was off the drug for 18 days before the race. May 10, 2021. [2] Baffert and his family reside in California. See, I bet you didnt know I was a jockey? Baffert said. 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 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. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Testimonies have begun in the case of horse trainer Bob Baffert against Churchill Downs. 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.