bob baffert political affiliation

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. 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 appeared in an episode of the TV show Take Home Chef. Hes always wanted to be a rock star and some people dont think racing should have one.. By then, Bafferts encounters with regulators dated back decades, to 1977, when he served a yearlong suspension for racing a horse on morphine. In the past three years, there were 188 deaths involving either racing or training in California. He also can be found at the Olympics, having just finished the Tokyo and Beijing double, marking his 11th Olympics. If it surprised me it would be that I expected more, Roberts said. It elicited little notice; racehorses die by the hundreds per year in California alone. Does his love of the camera sometimes bite him? asked longtime owner and friend Mike Pegram. All of the explanations for the positive drug tests are plausible, but collectively they raise questions. CHRB regulations state that its foreign substances guidelines are based on ARCI recommendations as modified by the state board. Clark Brewster, a nationally known trial attorney who represented adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her defamation suit against President Trump, will be Bafferts attorney in any litigation against Churchill Downs. A 4/C violation meant minor punishment that wouldnt typically involve disqualifying the horse or redistributing winnings. 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. Yakteen rose to Bafferts defense and it ended with a scuffle that slightly injured a security guard. Hospital food is a punchline. Baffert, however, wouldnt change the outcome. He tried his hand at substitute teaching before he started training horses full time. Horse racing needs to cut off the head of the snake, Ruis said. 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. He told reporters that he would fight the issue "tooth and nail. He paused, then added: Ive learned who my friends are.. Hes a very unique personality, a unique sense of humor. Medina Spirit died after a training session on 6 December 2021 and an ensuing necropsy on 11 February 2022 was inconclusive. Following the publication of the report, Baffert tweeted: Im gratified that CHRB completed its investigation & found there was no wrongdoing. [2] Baffert and his family reside in California. For every Baffert defender, you can find someone on the other side. Baffert was inducted into Lone Star Park's Hall of Fame in 2007, and in 2009, he was nominated and inducted to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame, the same year as a filly he trained, Silverbulletday. In the 1980s, Baffert moved to California and worked at Los Alamitos Race Course, where he switched to training Thoroughbreds full-time in 1991. Baffert's horses have won a record six Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes, and three Kentucky Oaks. But by August, the plan had changed. Its all because of his success.. 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. 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. The Post reported this month that Arthur had previously studied a spate of sudden horse deaths in Bafferts barn. Its all right there in black and white; thats all I can say., ARCI President Ed Martin said the rules limiting race-day medications have been tightened not out of concern for performance enhancement but to prevent breakdowns. It seems the biggest problem trainer Bob Baffert had during the running of the $300,000 San Felipe Stakes on Saturday was keeping his face covering over his nose. Baffert is known for holding court on such ideas at Clockers Corner, a popular hangout for horsemen at Santa Anita Park. He has won the Kentucky Derby five times. Grays office told the committee that removing Dr. Arthur from his position, while intentional, is not the sole purpose of the bill, records show. His reasoning was that Baffert also administered thyroxine to horses outside of Hollywood Park, where his horses did not suffer sudden deaths. In New York, chefs are redefining it. Following the 2015 Belmont win, Baffert outlined several charities that he and his wife Jill supported. 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. He saddled Paynter in the Belmont Stakes later that year, but that colt, like his stablemate Bodemeister, finished second. When I won with [Triple Crown winners] American Pharoah and Justify, it was a relief. In fact, Bafferts horses, at 8.3 deaths per 1,000 starts, have died at a significantly higher rate than Hollendorfers, at 6.25. 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. 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. 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. The week after Justify won the Preakness, bringing him to the cusp of the Triple Crown, test results came back showing the plant they had tested was milkweed. 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. Baedeker this week acknowledged that they handled the process more slowly than usual. This America's different." pic . Even then, he would not talk about the specifics of the cases against him. But in 2018, Arthur was still on the job when another Baffert-trained horse tested regulators willingness to challenge him. [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. I felt that we wouldve been dumping this in their lap, that we wouldve been putting them in an unfair position, and that we needed to go ahead and do the difficult thing, quite frankly, which is take responsibility for the decision, Baedeker said. Baedeker and Arthur said in interviews that no matter how it was handled it would have been impossible to resolve the case that quickly. followed up and ruled Baffert would not be allowed to run in New York. "We live in a different world now. Arthur indicated in his report that thyroxine was suspected to cause heart problems for horses during exercise, and at least four of the sudden deaths involved confirmed or suspected cardiac failure. I thought wed get fourth. The public backlash, including a letter written by a gay. 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." Nonetheless, in that case, Arkansas suspended Baffert for 15 days. 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. While he allowed that the case was handled differently because of the Triple Crown ramifications, the special treatment had nothing to do with the horses trainer. Baffert has had two fatalities in the last three years, a low number for a barn of his size. 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. Its not often that a sport turns against its biggest star, but Churchill Downs has taken that stand. Doug ONeill, a two-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, was one of the few trainers who would talk about Bafferts recent troubles. Political Cartoons. Real Quiet won the Preakness as well, but, like Silver Charm, the horse was denied a Triple Crown win and finished second in the Belmont Stakes by a nose. The previous August, Bob Baffert Racing Stables had donated $1,000 to the TOCs political action committee, California records show. In 1977, as a part-time trainer, he was suspended for a year when one of his horses tested positive for morphine. When asked about that plan, attorney Brewster said that in fact 5 Stones did investigate Baffert at the direction of the Jockey Club. 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. The Baffert who snubbed me on April 29, 2010, that is the real Bob Baffert, not the glib, seemingly affable chap heretofore seen in TV interviews. Early life and career [ edit] A CHRB investigator, searching for Jimson weed, had found a leafy substance at Santa Anita Park, the records show, and following the Derby, Arthur and the CHRBs lawyer agreed to have it tested. Citrus Feed Companys Larry Bell has long supplied Baffert with feed and has previously testified in Bafferts defense, according to CHRB records. Some of the horses that have died have been my horses, and on each and every instance, I have spoken to Bob and Ive been more than satisfied with the explanation, Shah said. He views himself as an ambassador for the sport. 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 . Bafferts record of testing failures threatens public confidence in thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby, said Bill Carstanjen, chief executive of Churchill Downs Inc. Given these repeated failures over the last year, including the increasingly extraordinary explanations, we firmly believe that asserting our rights to impose these measures is our duty and responsibility.. In the settlement, which records show did not include monetary damages, CHRB agreed to file a complaint against Justify. The TOC, of which Baffert is still a board member, did not respond to requests for comment. Why would people want to be betting on horses when there are allegations and there are real positives and hes getting off on technicalities.. After Uncle Sam, a 4-year-old colt, died during a workout at the track the following January, a vet wrote: This is the 3rd for this owner/trainer in about as many months collapsed and died.. "This is emblematic of what is happening to our country. Baedeker said that before they made their recommendation to the board, they consulted with the states Office of the Attorney General, for which Petersen works, and received concurrence . [citation needed], According to his supporters, Baffert's style and personality, combined with his success, have made him a target for controversy. Biography Bob Baffert is best known as a horse rider. Arthur said the TOC was behind the effort to oust him because of his criticism of Lasix. April 29, 2022 9:00 AM. Nothing is held back.. Other trainers seem to navigate just fine.. In the case of Bafferts recent horse deaths, the records list a typical blend of drugs that have been allowed under certain thresholds, most frequently the anti-inflammatory phenylbutazone (or bute to horsemen) and furosemide (also known as Lasix), which is said to decrease bleeding from a horses lungs. No horse loving person like Bob or his entire team accepts the reality of a horse death with anything other than sadness and despair, the lawyers said in their statement. In a scheme typical of the high-stakes warring behind the scenes in racing, four thoroughbred owners entered talks in 2015 with a private intelligence agency to dig up drug-related dirt on Baffert, according to multiple people with direct knowledge. He was born on January 13, 1953, in Nogales, AZ. It subsequently said any horses running for a suspended trainer (Baffert) would not be eligible for Kentucky Derby or Oaks qualifying points. Baffert has had more than 30 drug violations in his 44-year career, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. At least 74 horses have died in Bafferts care in his home state of California since 2000, more than all but two of hundreds of trainers in the state, according to a Post analysis of data and public records. This horse was going to run at the Triple Crown, Arthur said. Its more the friendship that I miss. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) A federal judge denied Bob Baffert's request to lift his two-year suspension by Churchill Downs Inc., ruling Friday that the Hall of Fame trainer did not prove its. 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. . You wouldnt know it now.. [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. None of them are considered performance-enhancing in the traditional sense, such as amphetamines or speedballs. Baffert said the horse was off the drug for 18 days before the race. Baffert went to federal court and had the suspension overturned, but NYRA has called a scheduling conference on the trainer for Oct. 11. 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. It was later discovered that horses from separate barns had also tested positive. Regardless, the indictments appeared to sway Baffert, whose opinion piece in The Post supported drastic action to fix a broken system. Among the provisions in the federal legislation that Baffert supported is a phaseout of Lasix on race day a reform Baffert had opposed for years. The bill was introduced by California Assemblyman Adam Gray, a former aide to Cardoza who had been in office for less than three months. The Post separately obtained start data dating back to 2000 from the Daily Racing Form to put the deaths into context. In 2015, a loose group of prominent thoroughbred owners hatched a plan according to people with direct knowledge of it to sic private eyes, from a firm called 5 Stones that helped bring down Russian dopers, on their sports most famous trainer. Baffert won his first race as a thoroughbred trainer Jan. 28, 1979, saddling Flipper Star to a victory at Rillito in Arizona. Those who have known Baffert the longest, including a core group of owners, recognize his flaws but generally remain steadfast in their support of him. In an email Monday, Bafferts attorney, W. Craig Robertson III, referred to the CHRBs initial decision to dismiss the test and a hearing last year in which officials ruled they had no authority to overturn that decision. 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 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. And Noodles died May 22 of a non-exercise induced respiratory issue. The owner was Kaleem Shah. Bob Baffert wakes up most every day with one thing in mind, winning another Kentucky Derby. [34] However, the Kentucky Court of Appeals rejected Baffert's appeal on April 1. 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.. Baffert failed in multiple attempts in Kentucky to overturn the track's ban or the start of his suspension, which began April 4. Bob is trying to put 2020 behind him and move forward in a positive manner, Robertson wrote in an e-mail to Borden. By Marty Irby. The 74 total deaths since 2000 put Baffert third among trainers. Baffert grew up on a cattle and chicken farm in Nogales, Ariz., near the Mexico border. Two months after Arthur cleared Baffert, the legislation to limit his term died. Baffert, like many trainers, was using a thyroid drug that was cited in the CHRB investigation. View . 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. The CHRB ruled it was caused by feed contamination, citing six other horses across four barns who also tested positive. Some of my friends swear that I'm actually a conservative Democrat. Bob Baffert has supporters and detractors in how he deals with jockeys By John Cherwa Special Contributor Nov. 2, 2016 4:28 PM PT Bob Baffert, still fresh and snappy after hours of morning. The 77-year-old billionaire made headlines last year when he made a $10,000 contribution to opponents of Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance. Trainer Bob Baffert stands outside his barn at Churchill Downs on May 2, 2016, in Louisville, Ky. Medina . On July 15, 2020, Deputy Attorney General Robert Petersen sent his initial case assessment to Brodnik. According to protocols, the medication is supposed to have a 14-day withdrawal period. 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. Horse trainer Bob Baffert on Monday argued that Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit had been a victim of "cancel culture" after the horse failed a postrace drug test . Hes Mr. Teflon.. 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. A CHRB spokesman said the agency could not comment or make any employees available for an interview, citing the pending litigation. Arthur also presented exercise histories for the horses that showed they worked harder than average. 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. to move forward. Petersen did not respond to an interview request. Instead of promptly filing a public complaint against Baffert, the CHRB kept the positive result secret while Arthur conducted a lengthy investigation. Bob had the personality and he was honest. Two months later, the PAC contributed $2,000 to Grays successful election committee. Pegram persuaded Baffert to try thoroughbreds. Closing everything and moving forward is in Bobs best interest and the best interest of horse racing. Baffert said the horse ingested hay after a groom, who was taking cough medicine, had urinated in the horses stall. May 10, 2021. 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. Less than two weeks later, Medina Spirit won the Kentucky Derby. The. This was fun. Darrell Vienna, Ruiss attorney, said he would not have agreed to those stipulations but was not allowed to intervene. This time, he aided the CHRBs search for Jimson weed. The testing levels have become ridiculous, Baffert told a conference of racehorse veterinarians during his keynote speech in 2000, according to a trade publication. (The trainer and jockey usually get 10 percent each.) In 1997, he trained Silver Charm to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, finishing second in the Belmont. In fact, at some point Id like to get back together with Bob, Shah said. 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. 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. Baffert has trained horses that won fifteen American Classic Races, fifteen Breeders' Cup races, four Dubai World Cups and the inaugural Pegasus World Cup. Bafferts attorney argued in court that the trainers May suspension by the New York Racing Assn. Racing lacks a central clearinghouse for data on deaths nationally, and regulators in many states do not track deaths by trainer. 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. FILE - In this Monday July 12, 2021 file photo, horse trainer Bob Baffert leaves federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York. The month after Gray introduced his legislation, Bafferts seventh sudden death made the deaths at Hollywood Park a national news story. Does the drug that could strip Medina Spirit of a Kentucky Derby win enhance performance? On a recent afternoon, Baffert appeared largely unperturbed by the firestorm surrounding him when he answered his door in Arcadia, Calif. This is the first Ive learned of it, Baffert responded when told of The Posts finding that he had the highest rate of horse deaths among other top trainers in the state. After finishing last season strong, CJ Abrams is ready for more. 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). CHRB brass agreed to follow Arthurs suggestion. Baffert told investigators he used the drug for about five years to build up his horses, which Arthur noted was unusual because it was typically used to slim them down. The positive test only emerged when the New York Times reported it more than a year later. Baffert was granted a stay until April 4 to gain time for an appeal. And because of that, he has become arrogant as hell. [43] At the post-Belmont press conference, Baffert announced he and his wife would be making donations of $50,000 each to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA), and Old Friends Equine, all programs for retired race horses; and to the Permanently Disabled Jockey's Fund in memory of a Quarter Horse Jockey named Robert Z. The month after that, Grays bill to limit Arthurs term was passed out of a committee. The California Horse Racing Boards inner workings during the episode have remained mostly shrouded by official secrecy. In 2010, Misremembered, a horse he bred, owned by his wife Jill and their friend George Jacobs, won the Santa Anita Handicap, marking Baffert's first Grade I win as a breeder instead of a trainer. When a horse dies in California, CHRB records often list medications the horse had been prescribed, based on its medical history. Justify tested positive for scopolamine, an anti-nausea medication said to have potential performance-enhancing effects in horses, after winning the Santa Anita Derby in April 2018. 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. Most were for excessive use of phenylbutazone, a commonly used anti-inflammatory known as bute. Thats much higher than the Jockey Clubs widely cited national rates, which never exceed two deaths per 1,000 starts. 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. Yeah, sure, hes a wiseass and irreverent. If you lose 75% of the time, youre considered really, really good. On June 2, with the Belmont Stakes a week away, the owner of a feed operation showed up at the CHRB office carrying plant samples he said he found more than a month earlier, the records show. But he said it wasnt clear from the records why the CHRB reversed course on filing a complaint against Baffert. Two Triple Crown winners and a signature shock of white hair will do that for a man. On Monday, Bell confirmed he helped with the search, adding Jimson weed has plagued California for years.. 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. But Clark Brewster, the attorney representing Medina Spirits owner, Amr Zedan, then contacted The Post and described Baffert as being unfairly maligned. He has never apologized to the public for trashing the game. But hes a good person, no, a great person. After winning the Santa Anita Derby in April of that year, Bafferts Justify tested positive for scopolamine, a banned substance, which normally would have disqualified the victory and made the horse ineligible to run in that years Kentucky Derby. The board followed their recommendation. He will rub people the wrong way by speaking his mind, sometimes he needs to hit the mute button. 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. 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. 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.

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