. 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. Following the publication of the report, Baffert tweeted: Im gratified that CHRB completed its investigation & found there was no wrongdoing. Arthur B. Hancock III, a prominent thoroughbred owner, has for three decades been a leading proponent for eradicating drugs from the sport. Baffert's horses have won a record six Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes, and three Kentucky Oaks. 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. We live and work in a fishbowl, with rumors and accusations flowing constantly, Baffert said. 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. The 74 total deaths since 2000 put Baffert third among trainers. Bob Baffert has supporters and detractors in how he deals with jockeys Yeah, but thats what drives him. 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. At one point, the regulators effort included searching for exonerating evidence in a literal haystack. Gray said at the time that the bill also would increase the institutional knowledge of Californias central horse drug-testing lab. 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. 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. Former client Kaleem Shah said, "He will rub people the wrong way by speaking his mind, sometimes he needs to hit the mute button. 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. 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. The California Horse Racing Board cleared Baffert of any wrongdoing, but with reservation, calling such a cluster of deaths a less than 1-in-1,000 occurrence. to move forward. Petersen did not respond to an interview request. [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. When asked about that plan, attorney Brewster said that in fact 5 Stones did investigate Baffert at the direction of the Jockey Club. 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. The 69-year-old Hall of Fame trainer is suing Churchill Downs Inc. in federal court to end his suspension. 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. Does the drug that could strip Medina Spirit of a Kentucky Derby win enhance performance? In that period, 36% of all cardiac related horse deaths in California were animals trained by Baffert. But Californias adoption of ARCI guidelines is not a given. 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 winner's share of the $600 purse was $330. Yakteen rose to Bafferts defense and it ended with a scuffle that slightly injured a security guard. Trainer Bob Baffert stands outside his barn at Churchill Downs on May 2, 2016, in Louisville, Ky. Medina . Nine died in 2000, all but one from breakdowns. 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. Baffert's horses have won a record six Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes, and three Kentucky Oaks . The board followed their recommendation. Some would argue, though, that if it makes a horse less uncomfortable, it improves their performance. The Kentucky Derby winner is staying ahead of . Bob Baffert says Derby horse Medina Spirit was 'cancelled.' Here's what In 1997 he won his first Kentucky Derby with Silver Charm. His primary attorney is Craig Robertson, who represents him in all regulatory matters, but he has recused himself from any action against Churchill Downs because his law firm does business with the company, creating a conflict of interest. Horse-racing deaths, like much of the sport, are shrouded by a disjointed bureaucracy. He has never apologized to the public for trashing the game. Hospital food is a punchline. [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. He finished third in the Derby that year with Congaree. Another day passed before it was discovered the colt was administered a topical ointment for a rash that contained betamethasone. In correspondence with the agencys lawyer, Baedeker wrote that because our staff failed to act in a timely manner, the horses, trainer, owner and others could be harmed unjustly if they didnt use the more lenient classification. Closing everything and moving forward is in Bobs best interest and the best interest of horse racing. Baffert says he plans to seek legal recourse wherever necessary. When Did threshold change and what were they before?, No amount of betamethasone is permitted in Kentucky races now, Borden wrote. The new classification simply makes more sense pharmacologically, Arthur wrote. [10][12] However, his violations for use of prohibited medications has sparked controversy. 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. Last October Gamine was disqualified from third to last in the Kentucky Oaks after betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory, was discovered in the horses system. When I won with [Triple Crown winners] American Pharoah and Justify, it was a relief. His attorney, let me just say, worked very, very hard, recalled former California Deputy Attorney General Jerald L. Mosley, who represented the state in attempting to uphold the suspension. Baffert has had two fatalities in the last three years, a low number for a barn of his size. 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. The drug was again betamethasone, and Baffert again expressed shock and vowed to clear his name. Baffert said the horse ingested hay after a groom, who was taking cough medicine, had urinated in the horses stall. 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. was. Baffert often speaks of his life as if its a Shakespearean play, humankinds tragedies mingling with his own existential crises. Has his success made people hate him more? To me, whats in the best interest of the sport is not seeing anyone being dogpiled on.. Teflon."[11]. 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. 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. Hal Earnhardt, an Arizona car dealer and Bafferts oldest client, introduced him to Pegram, who made his money in fast-food franchising. The way this case was handled was not a favor for Bob Baffert, Arthur said. If it surprised me it would be that I expected more, Roberts said. His white hair, tinted glasses and accessibility make him a natural to promote the sport. Arthur is the CHRBs primary advisor on drug testing, according to state code; the role of determining penalties in individual cases falls to its stewards and commissioners. He married his second wife, Jill, a former television reporter based in Louisville, in 2002. The public backlash, including a letter written by a gay. There were at least 39 trainers with more fatalities to their name than Baffert during that period. According to Arthurs report, he found that Baffert was dispensing Thyro-L, or thyroxine, a prescription thyroid hormone, to all horses in his care. Two months after Arthur cleared Baffert, the legislation to limit his term died. 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. 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. 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. It will all be settled by lawyers and judges and that takes time. 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. Grays office told the committee that removing Dr. Arthur from his position, while intentional, is not the sole purpose of the bill, records show. This included Baffert's home track at Santa Anita, although Baffert horse Shaaz won the sixth race on April 2. Finding a new director every two to four years would cost $300,000 each time, a committee that analyzed the bill found. Bob Baffert | National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame ), Arthur has defended his handling of the Justify positive. Early life and career [ edit] 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. Baffert parlayed a hobby as a 5-foot-9 jockey into a job as a quarter-horse conditioner into a career as a thoroughbred trainer before jumping onto the highest pedestal of horse racing and becoming the most recognizable name in the sport. "So now even our Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, is a junky," Trump's statement read. Bob Baffert suspended from home of Kentucky Derby after Medina - CNN