In February, Kentucky racing officials decided against suspending Baffert, with Borden telling the Louisville Courier-Journal a lesser punishment was all in the course of being fair. And in April, Arkansas officials reversed the 15-day suspension for lidocaine positives that the trainer blamed on an assistants pain patch. A CHRB investigator, searching for Jimson weed, had found a leafy substance at Santa Anita Park, the records show, and following the Derby, Arthur and the CHRBs lawyer agreed to have it tested. In a written decision, the stewards stated the CHRB has already ruled on this matter in its August 2018 closed hearing and had followed the law., However, the stewards suggested they would not have made the same decision as the CHRB: It is the Stewards opinion that had this Board of Stewards heard the Justify and Hoppertunity complaints prior to August 23, 2018 both horses would have been disqualified., Ruiss lawyers have since argued in court for the settlement to be rescinded because the stewards refused to make a decision on the merits., I remain convinced that justice has not yet been served, Vienna told The Post, and that hopefully the courts will resolve the matter., The rise and fall of Jorge Navarro, the alleged doping king of horse racing. ), Among the TOCs central crusades was countering the movement against Lasix. "Bobby" Adair. The attorney generals office referred all questions to the CHRB. Baffert has paid out over $20,000 in fines, but compared against over $321 million in career earnings. Its not often that a sport turns against its biggest star, but Churchill Downs has taken that stand. Anybody who walks with that swagger, people are going to love him or hate him, Pegram said. 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. Baffert won his first race as a thoroughbred trainer Jan. 28, 1979, saddling Flipper Star to a victory at Rillito in Arizona. When Arthur delivered his report in November 2013, the bill to remove him from office was still pending. A 4/C violation meant minor punishment that wouldnt typically involve disqualifying the horse or redistributing winnings. He made the jump to Los Alamitos, where he was running against such legends as Wayne Lukas. Being a horse trainer is tough enough because its such an up-and-down, emotional roller coaster, Baffert said. [19][20] On May 11, Baffert stated Medina Spirit had dermatitis, for which an ointment containing betamethasone was used. The 5-year-old mare was the seventh seemingly healthy horse from that barn to drop dead in 16 months. In the court of public opinion, hes a big loser, said Barry Irwin, owner of racing group Team Valor and an outspoken critic of race-day medication and Baffert. For every Baffert defender, you can find someone on the other side. It basically said something under his control is associated with these fatalities, Arthur said, but regulators couldnt act without evidence of a rules violation. [2] His first winner was Flipper Star at Rillito Park on January 28, 1979. 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 69-year-old Hall of Fame trainer is suing Churchill Downs Inc. in federal court to end his suspension. 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. When asked about that plan, attorney Brewster said that in fact 5 Stones did investigate Baffert at the direction of the Jockey Club. followed up and ruled Baffert would not be allowed to run in New York. (Pegram and Auerbach did not respond to interview requests. Political Cartoons. At the time, she was 42-years-old. In the 1980s, Baffert moved to California and worked at Los Alamitos Race Course, where he switched to training Thoroughbreds full-time in 1991. Does his love of the camera sometimes bite him? asked longtime owner and friend Mike Pegram. Again, we can most likely agree to most anything in Kentucky except a suspension.. To me, whats in the best interest of the sport is not seeing anyone being dogpiled on.. The Post separately obtained start data dating back to 2000 from the Daily Racing Form to put the deaths into context. 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. This time, he aided the CHRBs search for Jimson weed. But in this case, Arthur urged a lighter penalty based on his suggestion the CHRB downgrade the drug. A CHRB spokesman said the agency could not comment or make any employees available for an interview, citing the pending litigation. 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. 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. The testing levels have become ridiculous, Baffert told a conference of racehorse veterinarians during his keynote speech in 2000, according to a trade publication. Baffert, however, wouldnt change the outcome. Baffert is known for holding court on such ideas at Clockers Corner, a popular hangout for horsemen at Santa Anita Park. Baffert grew up on a cattle and chicken farm in Nogales, Ariz., near the Mexico border. It was then that Baffert, one of the most accessible trainers in horse racing, stopped talking until this week. He also can be found at the Olympics, having just finished the Tokyo and Beijing double, marking his 11th Olympics. Darrell Vienna, Ruiss attorney, said he would not have agreed to those stipulations but was not allowed to intervene. Baffert did not have a horse hit the board again in any of the Triple Crown races until 2009, when he trained Pioneerof The Nile to a second-place finish in the Derby. This America's different." pic . 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. See, I bet you didnt know I was a jockey? Baffert said. And he pushes the envelope to the extent that they give their lives for his bank account.. He's a cheat and an asshole, and I hope Medina Spirit gets taken down and his connections are denied the $1.8 million first-place check. "We live in a different world now. Horse racing needs to cut off the head of the snake, Ruis said. Baedeker this week acknowledged that they handled the process more slowly than usual. Betamethasone is mostly injected into the joints of horses to ease inflammation and, if the inflammation is reduced, any associated pain subsides. And Noodles died May 22 of a non-exercise induced respiratory issue. 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. 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. "[10], However, over 30 horses Baffert trained have failed drug tests. The 74 total deaths since 2000 put Baffert third among trainers. [8][37] That case was eventually dismissed as the regulators concluded the facts supported an instance of feed contamination. Baedeker said this week he changed his mind on not filing a complaint, which would have put the matter before CHRBs Board of Stewards, because he didnt want to pass the buck. 10, 2022. Garcia left California horse racing the next year, according to CHRB records; he could not be reached for comment by The Post. 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. Currently, his major coverage area is horse racing, where he can be found at big races at Santa Anita, the Triple Crown series and Breeders Cup. It was an easy suspension to serve as Baffert was in school and not doing much training. In 2015, the Daily Herald ran a profile on Jill Baffert, explaining that she was a former journalist and waitress from Centerville. The horse is scheduled to run Saturday in the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita. 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. The consolation is knowing the truth will come out as the process plays out. 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. 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. Horse trainer Bob Baffert, left, leaves federal court in Brooklyn on July 12. And promote he does, chatting with people he met one minute ago as if they were long-lost friends. But Bafferts critics say his conduct after penning the article calls into question his seriousness about reform. In 2021, the post-race test of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit showed 21pg/mL of betamethasone. He also won the race in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 when run as a Grade I event. The colt lost the Belmont Stakes after breaking poorly from the starting gate. Hes the person few in the business want to talk about, but everyone wants to hear about. In 1997, he trained Silver Charm to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, finishing second in the Belmont. Racing officials ruled that the positive test was a result of contamination and the wins of Charlatan and Gamine were restored. Arthur and CHRB investigators inspected Bafferts barn, reviewed veterinary records and interviewed Baffert, who was flanked by an attorney. Share on Facebook TWEET This They had discussions with David Tinsley, the former DEA supervisor who runs 5 Stones, the people said, but the thoroughbred owners involved scrapped the plan. 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 much higher than the Jockey Clubs widely cited national rates, which never exceed two deaths per 1,000 starts. All they show is contamination, and they have really put the trainers heads on the chopping blocks. Theres one thing that I will say positive about Bob is that he is a horseman. Many in the racing world wondered how many times can the dog eat your homework? 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. In fact, at some point Id like to get back together with Bob, Shah said.