Grays office told the committee that removing Dr. Arthur from his position, while intentional, is not the sole purpose of the bill, records show. 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. Were going to get through it.. He paused, then added: Ive learned who my friends are.. 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. When I won with [Triple Crown winners] American Pharoah and Justify, it was a relief. He claimed that the horse death data provided by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) was not possible.. 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 TOC, of which Baffert is still a board member, did not respond to requests for comment. 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. And he does know generally when to stop on a horse.. Hes always wanted to be a rock star and some people dont think racing should have one.. 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. But that number may drop to six if the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission disqualifies this years winner, Medina Spirit, for a medication violation, the trainers fifth since May 2020. . To the newspaper, she. Baffert, one of the most legendary trainers in American horse racing, has faced criticism and suspensions after his 2021 Kentucky Derby champion, Medina . By then, Bafferts encounters with regulators dated back decades, to 1977, when he served a yearlong suspension for racing a horse on morphine. He has won the Kentucky Oaks three times: first in 1999 with Silverbulletday, who was later selected for the Hall of Fame, then with Plum Pretty in 2011 and with Abel Tasman in 2017. 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. Jerry Hollendorfer has the most deaths with 122. 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. California keeps track of horse deaths by trainer, but there are errors and limits to the data. Its all because of his success.. Racing officials ruled that the positive test was a result of contamination and the wins of Charlatan and Gamine were restored. This America's different." pic . In each instance, the death is investigated. He appeared in an episode of the TV show Take Home Chef. The trainer was fined $2,500. The CHRB ruled it was caused by feed contamination, citing six other horses across four barns who also tested positive. Nine died in 2000, all but one from breakdowns. I told him there would be nothing from CHRB before the KY Derby, unlikely before the Preakness and possibly not until after the Belmont, Arthur wrote. All of the explanations for the positive drug tests are plausible, but collectively they raise questions. Only once has a Kentucky Derby winner been disqualified for a medication violation. In the settlement, which records show did not include monetary damages, CHRB agreed to file a complaint against Justify. Baffert was suspended by the NYRA on May 17 -- a big deal as it barred the legendary horse trainer from entering into the prestigious June 5 Belmont Stakes race. Bob Baffert Family, Parents In New York, chefs are redefining it. Shah said the two parted over disagreements that should have been resolved, without being specific. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Baffert wrote that reforming racing was not just necessary to the sports survival but the only moral path forward. 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. And Ive warned them that this was not going to stay a secret at the time, he testified of the CHRB, but that was their decision, not mine. (Baedeker, who retired last year, told The Post they couldnt legally disclose the test results because CHRB did not file a complaint.). The suspension was scheduled to run March 8 through June 5. Baffert trained Lookin At Lucky, co-owned by Mike Pegram, to win the Preakness Stakes in 2010. Does the drug that could strip Medina Spirit of a Kentucky Derby win enhance performance? Baffert made the. [As for whats going on now,] I dont like it but Im dealing with it. When asked about that plan, attorney Brewster said that in fact 5 Stones did investigate Baffert at the direction of the Jockey Club. Then, when American Pharoah won the 2015 Belmont Stakes, the win was the fourth attempt at a Triple Crown for Baffert, who at age 62 became the second-oldest trainer to win a Triple Crown.[6]. CHRB regulations state that its foreign substances guidelines are based on ARCI recommendations as modified by the state board. 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. Medina Spirit had a legal medication in him, ONeill said. In 2000, for instance, another of his horses, Nautical Look, tested positive for morphine, landing Baffert a two-month suspension. 10, 2022. The winner's share of the $600 purse was $330. 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. Arthur and CHRB investigators inspected Bafferts barn, reviewed veterinary records and interviewed Baffert, who was flanked by an attorney. 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. (At least one death of a Baffert horse identified by The Post was not included in the agencys data.) 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. Baffert failed in multiple attempts in Kentucky to overturn the track's ban or the start of his suspension, which began April 4. Baffert has had more than 30 drug violations in his 44-year career, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. John Cherwa is a special contributor to the Los Angeles Times. . Trainer Bob Baffert celebrates after his horse, Authentic, won the Kentucky Derby in September 2020. Baffert is America's pre-eminent active trainer. And promote he does, chatting with people he met one minute ago as if they were long-lost friends. Baffert also trained the 2018 Triple Crown Winner, Justify and the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic. According to protocols, the medication is supposed to have a 14-day withdrawal period. 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.. 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. I dont see somebody who is doping horses, Martin said after reviewing Bafferts drug-related history. Baffert won his first race as a thoroughbred trainer Jan. 28, 1979, saddling Flipper Star to a victory at Rillito in Arizona. [2] Baffert and his family reside in California. And Bafferts veterinarians were prescribing it at his request without conducting laboratory tests to see whether the horses needed the drug, according to Arthurs later report. 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. It subsequently said any horses running for a suspended trainer (Baffert) would not be eligible for Kentucky Derby or Oaks qualifying points. Ruis horse, Bolt dOro, finished second. This pattern has bred frustration among some horsemen. 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. 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. American Pharoah next won the 140th Preakness Stakes, making six victories in that race for Baffert, who also finished fourth with Dortmund. The owner was Kaleem Shah. 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. "This is emblematic of what is happening to our country. (Pegram and Auerbach did not respond to interview requests. [33], In February 2022, Baffert was suspended 90 days and fined $7,500 by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. 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. Some would argue, though, that if it makes a horse less uncomfortable, it improves their performance. A court, the states lawyer wrote, could find that the CHRB abused its discretion and acted in a manner that was arbitrary, capricious, or entirely lacking in evidentiary support.. 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. Baffert responded: Zero tolerance?, Robertson, Bafferts attorney, then tried to negotiate for Baffert to avoid potential suspensions in both Arkansas and Kentucky. Baffert has been married twice and has five children: four with his first wife, Sherry: Taylor, Canyon, Forest, and Savannah. In 2015, he trained American Pharoah, the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.. 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. "We live in a different world now. The colt lost the Belmont Stakes after breaking poorly from the starting gate. In the 1980s, Baffert moved to California and worked at Los Alamitos Race Course, where he switched to training Thoroughbreds full-time in 1991. "[10], However, over 30 horses Baffert trained have failed drug tests. was. The trainer was Baffert. Longtime client Mike Pegram explained, "Anybody who walks with that swagger, people are going to love him or hate himhe's a wiseass and irreverent." He also won the race in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 when run as a Grade I event. Baffert sued in federal court, claiming the two months off could cost him $11 million in purses. Baffert was granted a stay until April 4 to gain time for an appeal. The positive test only emerged when the New York Times reported it more than a year later. By then, Justify had won the Triple Crown, one of the rarest achievements in sports. Drop dead while galloping, read a California Horse Racing Board vets account of the first horses death in November 2011. 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. "So now even our Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, is a junky," Trump's statement read. [42] He had been paid $200,000 to allow the Burger King to stand behind him in the grandstand during the televised broadcast of the Belmont, after having turned down $150,000 to allow the mascot to appear with him at the Preakness. [39] California's equine medical director found that Baffert's horses were routinely given Thyro-L, or thyroxine, a thyroid hormone, that could cause heart problems during exercise, but concluded the medication, which Baffert said he had been using routinely for the previous five years, did not cause the heart attacks. No sanctions were issued against Baffert.[40][41]. His last day as medical equine director is Wednesday. Baffert faces unprecedented scrutiny after a positive drug test marred a win by his horse Medina Spirit at this years Kentucky Derby. 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. In winning the 141st Kentucky Derby, bringing his total number of victories in the race to four; Baffert also ran the third-place finisher, the previously undefeated colt Dortmund. 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. Two months after Arthur cleared Baffert, the legislation to limit his term died. ), 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. He built up his training business a step at a time and acquired some prominent owners. If the complaint was ruled on quickly enough, it would have made Justify ineligible for the Kentucky Derby. But Californias adoption of ARCI guidelines is not a given. 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. During a hearing, records show, Baffert argued the positive test could have been a result of his stable hands eating poppy seed bagels and muffins around the horse. 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 74 total deaths since 2000 put Baffert third among trainers. "We live in a different world now. 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. Bob is trying to put 2020 behind him and move forward in a positive manner, Robertson wrote in an e-mail to Borden. It was obvious long before Miners Daughter collapsed in a blood-tinged froth in March 2013 that there was something amiss in Barn 61 at Hollywood Park, the Los Angeles-area racetrack. 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. Many in the racing world wondered how many times can the dog eat your homework? Real Quiet won the race that year, and Baffert also finished third with Indian Charlie. [8] As of 1January2022[update] the question of whether the horse would join Dancer's Image by being disqualified for a drug violation in the Derby remains pending. Attorneys for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert argued in a Kentucky court Thursday that a 90-day suspension imposed by the state's racing commission would essentially end his career. [21][22] Sports Illustrated suggested that the positive drug test was a sign that Baffert's "leaking credibility" had reached "the saturation point. Thats much higher than the Jockey Clubs widely cited national rates, which never exceed two deaths per 1,000 starts. [10] Though number of racing starts are used to calculate rates of death for all horses in the care of race trainers, not all horse deaths were animals in race training nor were they necessarily race-related fatalities. He has never apologized to the public for trashing the game. Two months later, the PAC contributed $2,000 to Grays successful election committee. Baffert has trained horses that won fifteen American Classic Races, fifteen Breeders' Cup races, four Dubai World Cups and the inaugural Pegasus World Cup. "[29][30] On September 10, 2021 Baffert was charged by NYRA for conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing. In his analysis, Petersen estimated the states chances of winning at trial to be 50 percent. Until this summer, Baffert was the longest-serving member on the board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, having been elected in 2007. When Arthur delivered his report in November 2013, the bill to remove him from office was still pending. Baffert grew up on a cattle and chicken farm in Nogales, Ariz., near the Mexico border. The 5-year-old mare was the seventh seemingly healthy horse from that barn to drop dead in 16 months. 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. His most serious infraction was also his first. The public backlash, including a letter written by a gay. In that period, 36% of all cardiac related horse deaths in California were animals trained by Baffert. He saddled Paynter in the Belmont Stakes later that year, but that colt, like his stablemate Bodemeister, finished second. His reasoning was that Baffert also administered thyroxine to horses outside of Hollywood Park, where his horses did not suffer sudden deaths. "Bobby" Adair. Per Baffert, barn staff including grooms, were involved in administering the thyroxine in feed.. 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. Mr. [15], At a news conference on May 9, Baffert initially said that Medina Spirit was never administered betamethasone. Carson Valley was killed in a freak accident in 2019 at Del Mar when a loose horse crashed into the Baffert trainee. Baffert is the biggest name in horse racing, even bigger than the animals he conditions. We went there with expectations not very high. The month after that, Grays bill to limit Arthurs term was passed out of a committee. State investigators found that his staff was mixing a potentially dangerous prescription drug into the feed of every horse in his care. Its more the friendship that I miss. In July 2020, Merneith tested positive for dextromethorphan, a drug commonly used in cough medicine. You wouldnt know it now.. If it surprised me it would be that I expected more, Roberts said. 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 . Hes Mr. Teflon.. Baffert's horses have won a record six Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes, and three Kentucky Oaks . 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.. Officials worked secretly to clear Bob Bafferts Justify amid 2018 Triple Crown run, records show. 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. Teflon."[11]. Has his success made people hate him more? 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. Closing everything and moving forward is in Bobs best interest and the best interest of horse racing. The veterinarian chalked up Bafferts response to ignorance. [31][32] Additional charges were added on January 3, 2022. Trainer Bob Baffert's ban from racing in New York is over - Associated Press Baffert barred from participating in Preakness Stakes by Maryland commission By Jacob Calvin Meyer - The. It was an easy suspension to serve as Baffert was in school and not doing much training. [2] His first winner was Flipper Star at Rillito Park on January 28, 1979. When The Post shared the data on 72 of the horse deaths with Brewster, he and Bafferts lawyer, W. Craig Robertson III, said that one of the horses listed was never in Bafferts care, though it is marked as his horse in CHRB records, and that another was a stable pony not being raced. As The Post reported in April, the Jockey Club, an industry group of top thoroughbred owners, then hired the same private agency, 5 Stones Intelligence, to probe suspected dopers. Baffert, however, wouldnt change the outcome. 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. 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. Before his Kentucky Derby-winning colt, Medina Spirit, tested positive for betamethasone last month which could erase the victory his horses were cited for drug-related violations 29 times, according to the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI). That investigation led to the indictments that Baffert said spurred him to embrace more oversight, so the cheaters would be quickly caught and punished.. 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. And in the 13 months following his essay in The Post, Bafferts horses tested positive for prohibited or excessive substances five times in three states. From there, he moved to racing at recognized tracks, scoring his first victory at age 17 in 1970. We live and work in a fishbowl, with rumors and accusations flowing constantly, Baffert 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. Its so obvious. Hes the person few in the business want to talk about, but everyone wants to hear about. 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 . In fact, Bafferts horses, at 8.3 deaths per 1,000 starts, have died at a significantly higher rate than Hollendorfers, at 6.25. Bafferts attorney argued in court that the trainers May suspension by the New York Racing Assn. Between November 2011 and March 2013, however, Baffert had seven of his horses die of sudden death, not on the race track. 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. But by August, the plan had changed. Baffert's horses have won seven Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes and three Kentucky Oaks. FILE - In this Monday July 12, 2021 file photo, horse trainer Bob Baffert leaves federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York. At the time, she was 42-years-old. The way this case was handled was out of respect for Justify., On the afternoon of April 18, 2018, Arthur learned that Justify and another Baffert horse, Hoppertunity, had tested positive for scopolamine. The groom denied it. Baffert has had two fatalities in the last three years, a low number for a barn of his size. They had a son in 2004 whom they named "Bode" (/bodi/ BOH-dee), after skier Bode Miller. There is nothing new here, he wrote. LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. High Connection won the $125,000 Los Alamitos Derby by 1 3/4 lengths Saturday, giving trainer Bob Baffert his second victory on the card in his return to competition after serving a 90-day suspension. (Arthur and those involved with the bill said the actions were unrelated.