FILE GUIDE: In this May 1, 2019, file photo, trainer Joe Baffert watches his Kentucky Derby contender Game Winner during a workout at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Baffert won’t be saddling any horses in the Kentucky Derby this weekend. The winner of a record-tying six Derbies will miss the race for the second straight year while serving a two-year suspension given by Churchill Downs Inc. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) – CHARLIE RIEDEL
The Kentucky Derby: A Tradition That Persists
The Kentucky Derby is a tradition that has never been canceled. It was postponed once during World War II and again during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, but it has continued since 1875. This year, at Churchill Downs, 20 horses will compete for the garland of red roses in the 149th edition. However, the race will once again be without the sport’s most well-known and successful trainer for nearly 30 years. Bob Baffert, who trained American Pharoah to the first Triple Crown win in 37 years in 2015 and repeated the feat with Justify in 2018, is currently serving a two-year suspension from Churchill Downs. Despite his absence, Baffert’s reverence for the Derby is evident as he has won it a record-tying six times. Read on to find out why he will be sitting out for a second consecutive year.
WHY IS BAFFERT STILL SUSPENDED FROM THE DERBY?
Churchill Downs Inc. banned him from entering horses at any of their tracks for two years after his 2021 Derby winner, Medina Spirit, failed a post-race drug test. The horse was later disqualified from its victory in a ruling issued last year.
Medina Spirit tested positive for a prohibited medication, which is classified as a Class D drug with a lesser potential to impact performance. However, any level of detection on race day is a violation. Medina Spirit died after a workout in 2021.
Baffert is currently serving a 90-day suspension imposed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission due to medication violations involving his horses. This suspension resulted in him missing the entire 2022 Triple Crown series.
WOULD BAFFERT CONCERN HIS PUNISHMENTS?
Yes, on several fronts.
He made multiple attempts in Kentucky to overturn the track’s ban and his suspension. He was also unsuccessful in suing Churchill Downs Inc. in federal court, with a judge denying his injunction.
Baffert was suspended for a year by the New York Racing Association for repeated medication violations, although none occurred in that state. That suspension expired in January.
The appeal for Medina Spirit’s Derby disqualification is still ongoing.
JUST WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCE OF PUNISHMENTS?
A year ago, Baffert had purse earnings of $9.7 million, which ranked him twelfth among trainers nationally, according to Equibase. That’s despite missing three months due to his suspension.
“They’ve hurt my reputation,” Baffert testified in federal court in February. “My horses should’ve made much more money. I didn’t work for ninety days, and I had to let people go.”
In 2021, his stable earned $14.6 million. So far this season, it has earned $4 million.
Several owners have remained loyal to Baffert, entrusting their expensive horses to him in the hope of winning Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup events. Horses he turned over to other trainers while suspended have returned to his barn.
However, Medina Spirit’s failed drug test and Baffert’s punishments have generated many unflattering headlines for a sport eager to attract a younger audience and demonstrate its care for equine athletes.
WHAT ABOUT BRAND NEW ANTIDOPING GUIDELINES?
Horse racing’s new antidoping guidelines won’t take effect until May 22 — two days after the Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown.
Under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, which was developed by the federal government almost three years ago, antidoping and medication rules will be uniform nationwide. Penalties will be imposed on horses and trainers by HISA’s independent enforcement agency, with the goal of achieving speedier test results, rulings, and appeals.
While it’s difficult to say how Baffert would have fared if the new guidelines had been in place in 2021, it certainly wouldn’t have taken eight months for Kentucky racing officials to decide to disqualify Medina Spirit and suspend the trainer for ninety days.
WILL ANY KIND OF FORMER BAFFERT HORSES WORK IN THE DERBY?
Yes, Reincarnate, a 50-1 shot, is a Derby contender who was previously trained by Baffert. He’ll be saddled by Tim Yakteen, a former Baffert assistant who also has his own entry, Functional Move, the first co-fourth choice at 10-1.
Last year, Yakteen trained two Baffert horses: Taiba and Messier.
A new rule required all suspended trainers to transfer horses to non-suspended trainers by Feb. 28 in order for those horses to be eligible to race at Churchill Downs.
Baffert saddled his first horse in the Derby in 1996. This will be the seventh time he hasn’t had an entry.
IF DOES BAFFERT’ S THREE-WAY CROWN RELEGATION END?
May 20 in Baltimore. They are pointing Medina Spirit to the Preakness that day, making it almost two years since Baffert entered a Triple Crown race. He’ll also have a filly in the Black-Eyed Susan on the undercard. Baffert owns a record-tying seven victories in the Preakness.
The Belmont Stakes, a race Baffert has won three times, is on June 10 in New York.
IS GOING TO HE OBSERVE THE KENTUCKY DERBY?
Of course, like last year, the California-based Baffert plans to watch the race on television with relatives and friends.
WHEN COULD HE GO BACK TO CHURCHILL LOWS?
Baffert’s suspension ends on July 5, the last day of the track’s spring meet.
