bob baffert political affiliation bob baffert political affiliation

Baffert, like many trainers, was using a thyroid drug that was cited in the CHRB investigation. And promote he does, chatting with people he met one minute ago as if they were long-lost friends. The public backlash, including a letter written by a gay. 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. But hes Bob, he has to speak his mind.. But the star trainers sudden support belied the fact that Baffert has for years been entangled with the very problems he blamed for his sports potential demise: drugs, dead horses and a feckless regulatory system. After the test result was revealed, Mick Ruis, the trainer and owner of the Santa Anita Derbys runner-up, sued the CHRB, claiming Justifys win should have been erased. In 2012, Baffert saddled Bodemeister, named for the trainer's youngest son, Bode, to second-place finishes in the Derby and Preakness. The legal records, which draw from dozens of emails, memorandums and other materials that have not previously been made public, show how officials delayed action, contradicted their own plans and rewrote existing rules to Bafferts advantage. The drug was again betamethasone, and Baffert again expressed shock and vowed to clear his name. Baffert has trained horses that won fifteen American Classic Races, fifteen Breeders' Cup races, four Dubai World Cups and the inaugural Pegasus World Cup. April 29, 2022 9:00 AM. Horse racing needs to cut off the head of the snake, Ruis said. When asked about that plan, attorney Brewster said that in fact 5 Stones did investigate Baffert at the direction of the Jockey Club. Most were for excessive use of phenylbutazone, a commonly used anti-inflammatory known as bute. Baffert did not have another medication violation for eight years. The board agreed not to disqualify Justify. 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. That investigation led to the indictments that Baffert said spurred him to embrace more oversight, so the cheaters would be quickly caught and punished.. I guess I'm more of an "old school" Republican. A CHRB spokesman said the agency could not comment or make any employees available for an interview, citing the pending litigation. "We live in a different world now. Bob Baffert Family, Parents It was later discovered that horses from separate barns had also tested positive. 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. 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. But Bafferts critics say his conduct after penning the article calls into question his seriousness about reform. 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. After Baffert was notified a week following this years Kentucky Derby that the colts blood and urine sample contained 21 picograms, a trillionth of a gram, of betamethasone, he held a hastily called news conference outside his barn at Churchill Downs saying he had no idea how it could have gotten into the horses system. [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. The colt skipped the Belmont Stakes but became the champion three-year-old colt that year. I believe there is some precedent in criminal law when a law is changed from a felony to a misdemeanor how they should be prosecuted even before the new law becomes effective, wrote Arthur, whose job before medical equine director was as a racetrack veterinarian. 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. PUBLISHED 9:20 AM ET Jul. 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. . Baffert said the horse ingested hay after a groom, who was taking cough medicine, had urinated in the horses stall. Baffert grew up on a cattle and chicken farm in Nogales, Ariz., near the Mexico border. The CHRB ruled it was caused by feed contamination, citing six other horses across four barns who also tested positive. It wasnt long before Baffert was making pocket change riding the horses in match races. The Post separately obtained start data dating back to 2000 from the Daily Racing Form to put the deaths into context. By the April 1 ruling, Baffert had already transferred four 3-year-old colts to other trainers. 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. 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. Arthur suggested the board retroactively apply it to the Justify case. 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.. But Clark Brewster, the attorney representing Medina Spirits owner, Amr Zedan, then contacted The Post and described Baffert as being unfairly maligned. The 69-year-old Hall of Fame trainer is suing Churchill Downs Inc. in federal court to end his suspension. The Kentucky Derby winner is staying ahead of . 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. Betamethasone is mostly injected into the joints of horses to ease inflammation and, if the inflammation is reduced, any associated pain subsides. Hes Mr. Teflon.. 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 . The lawyer wrote there is evidence suggesting that this matter was handled differently.. 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. 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. His most serious infraction was also his first. That didnt feel appropriate to those of who wanted to see science prevail, Cardoza said. 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. Baffert also trained the 2018 Triple Crown Winner, Justify and the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic. In that period, 36% of all cardiac related horse deaths in California were animals trained by Baffert. Either way, the state-appointed official probing Bafferts role in the deaths at Hollywood Park did so as his job was being threatened by the efforts of a Baffert-affiliated coalition. 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. A New York federal judge on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 nullified the suspension of horse trainer Bob Baffert, finding that the New York Racing Association acted unconstitutionally by failing to let him adequately respond to claims made against him after Kentucky . The horse is scheduled to run Saturday in the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita. 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. The month after Gray introduced his legislation, Bafferts seventh sudden death made the deaths at Hollywood Park a national news story. 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. The previous August, Bob Baffert Racing Stables had donated $1,000 to the TOCs political action committee, California records show. Two Triple Crown winners and a signature shock of white hair will do that for a man. Teflon."[11]. Decorated racehorse trainer who won multiple Kentucky Derbies, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. It didnt take Baffert long to dominate Rillito Park and Prescott Downs in Arizona. But Arthurs report said Hollywood Park used a different sort of poison than that found in the necropsy. Arthur is retiring at the end of June from a job often consumed by the scandals of a single trainer. And he pushes the envelope to the extent that they give their lives for his bank account.. Bob had the personality and he was honest. Board member Michael E. Pegram had for decades hired Baffert to train his top horses, including the winner of the 1998 Kentucky Derby, Real Quiet. He won his first race on that 1970 afternoon but not as a trainer. The CHRB officially opened an investigation. California keeps track of horse deaths by trainer, but there are errors and limits to the data. We had some thoroughbreds with another trainer and Im thinking how can we make money with Bobby running for $4,000 at night when we could be running for $40,000 during the day, Pegram said. 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. 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. The 69-year-old Hall of Fame trainer is suing Churchill Downs Inc . It went exactly according to the lawyers plan. With private eyes and political muscle, horse racings elite pushed to punish dopers, Throughout the months-long process, CHRB officials had indicated they planned on filing a complaint against Baffert, which would have exposed the failed drug test. Earlier data was unreliable, the racing publication said. 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. 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. The. (Pegram and Auerbach did not respond to interview requests. Unlike a normal day at the races, Bafferts fate will not be decided by a photo-finish camera or the actions of a jockey aboard a 1,000-pound animal. Some would argue, though, that if it makes a horse less uncomfortable, it improves their performance. The Post reported this month that Arthur had previously studied a spate of sudden horse deaths in Bafferts barn. FILE - Trainer Bob Baffert walks out to the winner's circle after the Brooklyn Invitational Stakes horse race at Belmont Park, Saturday, June 9, 2018, in Elmont, N.Y. . Baffert often speaks of his life as if its a Shakespearean play, humankinds tragedies mingling with his own existential crises. Bob Bafferts horses have incurred numerous drug violations over the course of his 44 years as a thoroughbred trainer. Horse owner and racing reform advocate Barry Irwin has stated, "He's Mr. Former client Kaleem Shah said, "He will rub people the wrong way by speaking his mind, sometimes he needs to hit the mute button. The new classification simply makes more sense pharmacologically, Arthur wrote. In the 1980s, Baffert moved to California and worked at Los Alamitos Race Course, where he switched to training Thoroughbreds full-time in 1991. 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. The New York Racing Assn. In 2015, he trained American Pharoah, the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.. The rise and fall of Jorge Navarro, the alleged doping king of horse racing. The TOC, of which Baffert is still a board member, did not respond to requests for comment. From there, he moved to racing at recognized tracks, scoring his first victory at age 17 in 1970. 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. This horse was going to run at the Triple Crown, Arthur said. Asked whether he was surprised by the finding that Bafferts barn was the deadliest in California, Roberts laughed. 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. 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. 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. (Arthur and those involved with the bill said the actions were unrelated. As he did so, a political group with Baffert on its board was involved in legislation that would result in Arthur losing his job. Without that win, Justify would not have qualified to run in the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown, a month later. His last day as medical equine director is Wednesday. Now 68, Baffert is seeing his livelihood and reputation under attack after a series of medication infractions have made him an outcast to some in the industry and a pariah to many more outside of it. Brodnik presented the board with a two-page memo stating an extensive investigation was conducted and the evidence proves that this was an environmental contamination incident. Baedeker and Arthur recommended the pending matters against Baffert be dismissed, according to the states legal analysis. Bob is trying to put 2020 behind him and move forward in a positive manner, Robertson wrote in an e-mail to Borden. 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. In fact, Bafferts horses, at 8.3 deaths per 1,000 starts, have died at a significantly higher rate than Hollendorfers, at 6.25. In 2015, Baffert trained the 2014 champion two-year-old colt American Pharoah to win the Triple Crown, the first to do so in 37 years. Less than two weeks later, Medina Spirit won the Kentucky Derby. It was then that Baffert, one of the most accessible trainers in horse racing, stopped talking until this week. Doug ONeill, a two-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, was one of the few trainers who would talk about Bafferts recent troubles. Horse-racing deaths, like much of the sport, are shrouded by a disjointed bureaucracy. Between November 2011 and March 2013, however, Baffert had seven of his horses die of sudden death, not on the race track. A recent conversation about the tragedy of horse deaths wended its way back to the defense of his reputation. His American Pharaoh horse won the Triple Crown in 2015. Some of the earlier violations do give you pause. 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. Another person who came to Bafferts defense was his former assistant Tim Yakteen, who now runs his own stable. "[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. Following the publication of the report, Baffert tweeted: Im gratified that CHRB completed its investigation & found there was no wrongdoing. 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. Baffert dedicated American Pharoah's win to Bobby. 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. Until this summer, Baffert was the longest-serving member on the board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, having been elected in 2007. 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.). 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. Baffert faces unprecedented scrutiny after a positive drug test marred a win by his horse Medina Spirit at this years Kentucky Derby. Being a horse trainer is tough enough because its such an up-and-down, emotional roller coaster, Baffert said. When Arthur delivered his report in November 2013, the bill to remove him from office was still pending. California counts all fatalities of horses in a trainers care, including breakdowns during training, not just racing deaths. All of the explanations for the positive drug tests are plausible, but collectively they raise questions. But in the most recent election in June, he finished seventh of eight, the only incumbent beaten. 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. was. Garcia left California horse racing the next year, according to CHRB records; he could not be reached for comment by The Post. Horse trainer Bob Baffert before the 2020 Breeders Cup at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. Trainer Bob Baffert pets an outriders horse while watching workouts at Churchill Downs in April. He will rub people the wrong way by speaking his mind, sometimes he needs to hit the mute button. In 2000, for instance, another of his horses, Nautical Look, tested positive for morphine, landing Baffert a two-month suspension. Once the golden boy of horse racing, Bob Baffert now the face of its disgrace. "[10], However, over 30 horses Baffert trained have failed drug tests. Ruis is suing the CHRB for absolving Baffert of a positive for scopolamine, a byproduct of jimsonweed, after Justify tested for the drug after winning the 2018 Santa Anita Derby. Its so obvious. Bob survived a heart attack in late March 2012 while in Dubai for a world-class race at Meydan. 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. Monty Roberts, a trainer who has agitated for more humane treatment of racehorses throughout his six-decade career, said that Baffert has long been one of the most important voices holding the sport back from reform. Hes won seven, more than anyone else in the 147-year history of the race. But the overall record indicates that he may not be running as tight a ship as he should.. At the time, she was 42-years-old. He rejoined The Times in 2009 and left his post as deputy sports editor late in 2017. Gagliano, the Jockey Club president, denied that the group had any knowledge of whom 5 Stones investigated, outside of the eventual indictments. 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. Kaleem Shah, an owner who split with Baffert in 2016, defended the trainer over the horse deaths. Baffert was granted a stay until April 4 to gain time for an appeal. It wasn't long after the running of the 123rd Kentucky Derby, where a grey . There were at least 39 trainers with more fatalities to their name than Baffert during that period. Robert A. Baffert is an American Racehorse Trainer who trained the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. 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. This included Baffert's home track at Santa Anita, although Baffert horse Shaaz won the sixth race on April 2. 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. He was born on January 13, 1953, in Nogales, AZ. Baffert grew up on a ranch in Nogales, Arizona, where his family raised cattle and chickens. 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.. Its just disheartening. In response to public records requests in Maryland, New Jersey and Kentucky, officials told The Post that they did not maintain digital records of horse deaths by trainer, instead keeping reams of copies of reports. (The trainer and jockey usually get 10 percent each.) [27][28] On July 14 the suspension was reversed by U. S. Federal District Court Judge Carol Bagley Amon sitting in the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. And Noodles died May 22 of a non-exercise induced respiratory issue. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has been suspended from the home of the Kentucky Derby for two years after Medina Spirit's positive post-race drug was confirmed, the company that runs the. 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. Again, we can most likely agree to most anything in Kentucky except a suspension.. Time after time its not his fault. FILE - In this Monday July 12, 2021 file photo, horse trainer Bob Baffert leaves federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York. If you lose 75% of the time, youre considered really, really good. Its more the friendship that I miss. [As for whats going on now,] I dont like it but Im dealing with it. [citation needed], According to his supporters, Baffert's style and personality, combined with his success, have made him a target for controversy. I dont see somebody who is doping horses, Martin said after reviewing Bafferts drug-related history. Following the 2015 Belmont win, Baffert outlined several charities that he and his wife Jill supported. The previous August, Bob Baffert Racing Stables had donated $1,000 to the TOC's political action committee, California records show. Baffert is known for holding court on such ideas at Clockers Corner, a popular hangout for horsemen at Santa Anita Park. 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. He still has a responsibility as the face of the game but I dont think hell overcome [this] because his personality wont allow him to do it.. But hes a good person, no, a great person. [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. Shortly after Petersen sent the analysis of the states chances, the CHRB agreed to settle Ruiss lawsuit. There are no secrets on the backside.. Baffert went to federal court and had the suspension overturned, but NYRA has called a scheduling conference on the trainer for Oct. 11. 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. 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. 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 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. After Arthur cleared Baffert of wrongdoing, the legislation was abandoned. Baffert is America's pre-eminent active trainer. This was fun. It was an easy suspension to serve as Baffert was in school and not doing much training. Baffert revisited the Derby the next year, sending two top colts, Real Quiet and Indian Charlie, to Louisville. But a top veterinary official cleared Baffert, finding that the spate of deaths remains unexplained following a probe that demonstrated the hazards of going after Baffert.