Gray hair, a wide smile and dark sunglasses that she wears even on the most cloudy days. This is an image of Bob Baffert. In appearance, the 69-year-old looks more like elderly rockers and in terms of popularity, he can match them. At least in a world where Baffert is one of the most recognizable characters.
He says about himself that he is the best. But you only need to look at the results to see that this is true. That horses trained by Baffert won the record-breaking six, seven Preakness Stakes and three Belmont Stakes. That is, a series of three races for English thoroughbreds, which takes place in the United States. It starts on the first Saturday in May and ends five weeks later.
For a horse to obtain the US Triple Crown title, it must win all three races. In over a hundred years of history of this cycle, this has only been done 13 times, of which Baffert twice – in 2015 with a horse and jockey Victor Espinoza and in 2018 with which Mike Smith rode.
The second such case in the 147-year history of the Kentucky Derby
– Messier and Taiba – are also favorites for the Triple Crown. But he himself will not take part in any race. In February, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission released a report confirming the disqualification of Medina Spirit, winner of last year’s Kentucky Derby. It was a Baffert-trained horse that was found to have betamethasone – a banned steroid injected into the joints to reduce pain and swelling.
Baffert and his lawyers quickly denied that Medina Spirit had been injected with a banned substance. They explained that betamethasone was applied topically to treat a skin rash on the horse’s rump.
Few people believed these translations. And the scandal was enormous – the whole America rumbled about it, and it still rumbles, because Medina Spirit is only the second horse in the 147-year history of the Kentucky Derby and the first since 1968 to be disqualified for the presence of banned substances in the body. . The New York Times reported that the horse may have died from a heart attack, but this was ultimately not confirmed as the autopsy report was inconclusive.
Baffert made fun of these numbers
The death of the horse cast a shadow over Baffert’s activities again. Especially that Medina Spirit – as calculated by “The Courier Journal” – was the fifth horse from his stable to have tested positive for doping tests within 12 months. And the 31st in his career. Baffert ridiculed these numbers and called it a “misunderstanding”, noting through his lawyers that he “only violated, not violated Kentucky’s banned drugs law.”
Even so, Baffert will miss its first derby on Saturday since 2013. The owners of the Churchill Downs circuit banned him from entering for two years a year ago, and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission suspended it for 90 days in February. The state of Maryland has done the same, where the Preakness Stakes are held. And now Baffert’s suspension is also called for by the New York Racing Association, the organization responsible for the three largest horse racing circuits in the state. Including for Belmont Park, where a test for real champions takes place. The toughest race – scheduled three weeks after the Preakness Stakes – which complements the Triple Crown.
“I wanted so much to win”
“I couldn’t win the race and I wanted so badly,” wrote Baffert years later in his autobiography “Dirt Road to the Derby”. It was his memory from 1976. Young Bobby, who had grown up as one of seven siblings on a ranch in Arizona, was already a coach by then. And even then he used dirty tricks. He let his horse get a painkiller. “I didn’t know what it was and I barely knew this guy. But I wanted to win so badly,” he recalled in his book.
It turned out that the drug was morphine, but the horse still lost. California regulators then suspended 23-year-old Bobby for a year. He managed to disregard these sanctions, however, because every time they dragged a horse onto the track, he would sneak to the back of the Los Alamitos racetrack in the horse trailer and secretly prepare them for races. In 1979, Baffert finally won. At Rillito Park in Arizona, where its first winner was the quarter Flipper Star.
“There is no better buyer”
Over the years, Baffert has grounded its position also thanks to cheaper horses. He was considered to be a talented trainer, and he also has one. – There is no better buyer – praised Mike Pegram, the franchisee for whom Baffert trained, purchased for a bargain 17 thousand. Real Quiet horse dollars, winner of the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
Baffert has proven many times that the horses he buys at a bargain price are able to successfully compete with those that are worth millions. He also increased their value and made a fortune – during his career he earned over $ 320 million on the track. In addition, he brokered the purchase of horses. Today, his client list includes some of the richest people in the world. Including billionaire George Soros or the secret Chinese Horse Club consortium, which has over 200 members ready to pay millions of dollars for horses selected by Baffert.
“Lance Armstrong Horse Racing”
Baffert sometimes has to pay fines for his misdeeds. Or rather, “punishments”, because for the disqualified Medina Spirit a year ago, he was fined PLN 7.5 thousand. dollars. But it’s not just about money anymore, it’s also about reputation. Bill Carstanjen, general manager of the Churchill Downs circuit in Kentucky, points out that Baffert’s history of doping-test failures and bizarre excuses threaten public confidence in horse racing.
Marty Irby, the director of Animal Wellness Action, a Washington-based animal cruelty group that calls Baffert “the Lance Armstrong of horse racing”, goes one step further. So it puts him on a par with a rider who is down to the last detail.
“Baffert goes too far and does not bear the consequences of his actions. He is a man who has been haunting the sport for years. We therefore commend the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for keeping the suspension. And we believe that Baffert’s exclusion will be a turning point for the entire US horse racing.” – Irby writes in a statement.
What does Baffert himself say? He attributes his success to a work ethic instilled by his parents and an enduring love for horses. He has been repeating this for years. And although he does not avoid the media, in recent weeks he has been contacting the press only through lawyers. And these announce an appeal against the decision of judge O. Peter Sherwood, who acceded to the motion of the New York Racing Association, which is another organization wanting to suspend Baffert.
“We will be appealing until a decision is made by a real, neutral and independent judge,” said Clerk Brewster, one of Baffert’s lawyers who questions Judge Sherwood’s impartiality.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
