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The hearing for a preliminary injunction began in federal court on Thursday afternoon, continuing a nearly two-year-long legal battle between Baffert and the racetrack following his suspension back in 2021. It didnt take Baffert long to dominate Rillito Park and Prescott Downs in Arizona. Between November 2011 and March 2013, however, Baffert had seven of his horses die of sudden death, not on the race track. He was born on January 13, 1953, in Nogales, AZ. In fact, at some point Id like to get back together with Bob, Shah said. You could trust him and that never changed.. The bill was introduced by California Assemblyman Adam Gray, a former aide to Cardoza who had been in office for less than three months. And he pushes the envelope to the extent that they give their lives for his bank account.. Baffert dedicated American Pharoah's win to Bobby. Two Triple Crown winners and a signature shock of white hair will do that for a man. (The trainer and jockey usually get 10 percent each.) All they show is contamination, and they have really put the trainers heads on the chopping blocks. 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. The veterinarian chalked up Bafferts response to ignorance. The 90 day ban against Baffert was set to be honored in all 38 racing states. 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. Bob Baffert has moved his way up the ladder to the extent that he has the most influential, the wealthiest owners in the industry, that he takes on the highest-quality horses possible because he wins races. He declined to answer further questions. There have been so many false narratives that have come up and the hearing process isnt even done yet. Baffert has trained horses that won fifteen American Classic Races, fifteen Breeders' Cup races, four Dubai World Cups and the inaugural Pegasus World Cup. A 4/C violation meant minor punishment that wouldnt typically involve disqualifying the horse or redistributing winnings. But in 2018, Arthur was still on the job when another Baffert-trained horse tested regulators willingness to challenge him. State investigators found that his staff was mixing a potentially dangerous prescription drug into the feed of every horse in his care. CHRB brass agreed to follow Arthurs suggestion. 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. Shah said the two parted over disagreements that should have been resolved, without being specific. If you lose 75% of the time, youre considered really, really good. Instead of promptly filing a public complaint against Baffert, the CHRB kept the positive result secret while Arthur conducted a lengthy investigation. We live and work in a fishbowl, with rumors and accusations flowing constantly, Baffert said. In 2015, he trained American Pharoah, the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.. When a horse dies in California, CHRB records often list medications the horse had been prescribed, based on its medical history. But until now, those violations, some of which Baffert has succeeded in getting overturned or reduced, have resulted in roughly $20,000 in fines against $321 million in career earnings. [8] His first suspension was in 1977 for misuse of morphene, but thereafter he had no violations for the next eight years. The month after Gray introduced his legislation, Bafferts seventh sudden death made the deaths at Hollywood Park a national news story. This article was published more than1 year ago. Trainer Bob Baffert's ban from racing in New York is over - Associated Press Baffert barred from participating in Preakness Stakes by Maryland commission By Jacob Calvin Meyer - The. 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. Baffert claims the defendants have "unlawfully deprived and will continue to deprive Baffert of his right to due process of law guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment and of his right to. 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. [24], On May 17, 2021, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) banned Baffert from entering Medina Spirit or any of his other horses in the 2021 Belmont Stakes or any other race at Belmont Park. Some of my friends swear that I'm actually a conservative Democrat. He tried his hand at substitute teaching before he started training horses full time. Baffert is the biggest name in horse racing, even bigger than the animals he conditions. "This is emblematic of what is happening to our country. Hes good.. But after learning that Justify and another Baffert horse had tested positive for the same drug, Arthur announced in an e-mail to CHRB officials: The scopolamine cases will be handled differently than usual. Arthur said in a recent interview that he was referring to the logistics of what was clearly going to be a high-profile case that needed to be handled carefully.. Nothing is held back.. Baffert grew up on a cattle and chicken farm in Nogales, Ariz., near the Mexico border. 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. Gray declined to be interviewed for this story, instead issuing a statement declaring that the personal vendettas of others, perceived or otherwise, play no roll [sic] in the legislation I carry. His spokesman added that campaign contributions do not affect Grays policy proposals. Baffert has paid out over $20,000 in fines, but compared against over $321 million in career earnings. The dark side of Bob Baffert's reign. His most serious infraction was also his first. Bob had the personality and he was honest. 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. But the sports new governing authority will not take over until mid-2022. The colt went on to win the Preakness Stakes, giving the trainer his third shot at winning the Triple Crown. The positive test only emerged when the New York Times reported it more than a year later. Once again, the Hall of Fame. The rise and fall of Jorge Navarro, the alleged doping king of horse racing. Bob Baffert wakes up most every day with one thing in mind, winning another Kentucky Derby. Real Quiet won the race that year, and Baffert also finished third with Indian Charlie. In fact, Bafferts horses, at 8.3 deaths per 1,000 starts, have died at a significantly higher rate than Hollendorfers, at 6.25. According to Arthurs report, he found that Baffert was dispensing Thyro-L, or thyroxine, a prescription thyroid hormone, to all horses in his care. Bafferts lawyer called as a defense witness Arthur, who testified that his handling of the case was the fault of Californias cumbersome regulatory process. He declared, I considered this a horse poisoning, not a horse drugging., After the hearing, Santa Anitas Board of Stewards, a three-person panel that rules on drug cases, dismissed the complaints. Horse racing needs to cut off the head of the snake, Ruis said. 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. In 2015, the Daily Herald ran a profile on Jill Baffert, explaining that she was a former journalist and waitress from Centerville. 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. He has not been in alliance with us, said Hancock, mentioning Bafferts many positive tests and then listing top trainers who have had one or zero positives in their career. Gary Fenton, chairman of the TOC, declined to be interviewed. Its all because of his success.. Drop dead while galloping, read a California Horse Racing Board vets account of the first horses death in November 2011. Baffert went to federal court and had the suspension overturned, but NYRA has called a scheduling conference on the trainer for Oct. 11. Following the 2015 Belmont win, Baffert outlined several charities that he and his wife Jill supported. Were going to get through it.. [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. It was later discovered that horses from separate barns had also tested positive. It hurts racing., In the same speech, Baffert agitated for the continued use of Lasix, which is popular with trainers but increasingly criticized as a potential performance-enhancer and masking agent for other drugs. Its not often that a sport turns against its biggest star, but Churchill Downs has taken that stand. The CHRB officially opened an investigation. John Cherwa is a special contributor to the Los Angeles Times. But the scuttled test result remained secret until the New York Times reported it in 2019. The first two infractions occurred in May 2020, when the horses Charlatan and Gamine tested positive in Arkansas for lidocaine, a numbing agent. The California Horse Racing Boards inner workings during the episode have remained mostly shrouded by official 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.. Tinsley declined to comment. In 1977, as a part-time trainer, he was suspended for a year when one of his horses tested positive for morphine. Baffert won the Derby a third time in 2002 with War Emblem. The drug was again betamethasone, and Baffert again expressed shock and vowed to clear his name. 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. Hal Earnhardt, an Arizona car dealer and Bafferts oldest client, introduced him to Pegram, who made his money in fast-food franchising. And in the 13 months following his essay in The Post, Bafferts horses tested positive for prohibited or excessive substances five times in three states. 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. Garcia left California horse racing the next year, according to CHRB records; he could not be reached for comment by The Post. It wasn't long after the running of the 123rd Kentucky Derby, where a grey . A week after that, Baffert learned of the positive test. 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. I think much of the GOP political party is moving too far to the right. The 77-year-old billionaire made headlines last year when he made a $10,000 contribution to opponents of Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance. Officials worked secretly to clear Bob Bafferts Justify amid 2018 Triple Crown run, records show. Between 1997 and 1999, he won the Eclipse Award as outstanding trainer three years running and was voted the 1997 Big Sport of Turfdom Award. It sounds like hes deflecting, Gagliano said of Baffert. How carefully the dosage was followed was not determined, Arthur wrote. In winning the 141st Kentucky Derby, bringing his total number of victories in the race to four; Baffert also ran the third-place finisher, the previously undefeated colt Dortmund. "We live in a different world now. Baffert made the. Ruis horse, Bolt dOro, finished second. But its a lot more difficult when going against a private company, such as Churchill Downs, which can invoke its own penalties. It went exactly according to the lawyers plan. American Pharoah next won the 140th Preakness Stakes, making six victories in that race for Baffert, who also finished fourth with Dortmund. Cardoza, who now works for a law firm, denied in an interview last month that the TOC was involved: Not at all. But he then said, TOCs involvement in that bill had nothing to do with Bob Baffert., Instead, Cardoza said, the drive to oust Arthur was over his opposition to Lasix. Arthur, the equine medical director, took issue with Petersens legal finding that the CHRBs handling of the case could be declared arbitrary or capricious. Two months after Arthur cleared Baffert, the legislation to limit his term died. 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. 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. Racing does not have a historical database for violations, with most of the information kept on the state level. Shortly after Petersen sent the analysis of the states chances, the CHRB agreed to settle Ruiss lawsuit. 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. But they dont usually die in a cluster from a single barn for no clear reason. Robert A. Baffert is an American Racehorse Trainer who trained the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. On Monday, Bell confirmed he helped with the search, adding Jimson weed has plagued California for years.. 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. All of the drugs were legal, just not in the amounts found on race day. Nine died in 2000, all but one from breakdowns. The lawyers said that taking into account Bafferts estimate of how many horses he has in his care, a count that differs from the starts data, the number of deaths of horses in Bobs barn is consistent with what would normally be expected from the horse population in general. Starts are regularly used, including by the CHRB, to study the death rates of a trainer. In his analysis, Petersen estimated the states chances of winning at trial to be 50 percent. Baffert revisited the Derby the next year, sending two top colts, Real Quiet and Indian Charlie, to Louisville. 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. As the Kentucky Derby approached, officials began discussing the possibility of contamination that the positive test had been triggered by something Justify ingested. Less than two weeks later, Medina Spirit won the Kentucky Derby. This horse was going to run at the Triple Crown, Arthur said. But the overall record indicates that he may not be running as tight a ship as he should.. Theres 10,000 other trainers who understand the absolute insurer rule and dont seem to run afoul of it, Gagliano said, referring to the edict that any substances in the horse are the trainers responsibility. As he did so, a political group with Baffert on its board was involved in legislation that would result in Arthur losing his job. [9] Point Given was nominated in 2009, but elected and inducted in 2010. A A Former President Donald Trump released a statement Sunday about the disputed winner of the Kentucky Derby, saying the controversy reflects the current state of the country. In a recent interview, Arthur described his findings as damning for Baffert, in particular analysis in his report showing that, over a six-year period, Bafferts horses were nine times more likely to die of sudden death than the average trainers. [2] His first winner was Flipper Star at Rillito Park on January 28, 1979. He appeared in an episode of the TV show Take Home Chef. 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. Medina Spirit had a legal medication in him, ONeill said. He will rub people the wrong way by speaking his mind, sometimes he needs to hit the mute button. He also dismissed complaints that doping was rampant in the sport. But in this case, Arthur urged a lighter penalty based on his suggestion the CHRB downgrade the drug. 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. 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. Theres one thing that I will say positive about Bob is that he is a horseman. Yes, I'm a registered Republican, although I've voted for Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Baffert failed in multiple attempts in Kentucky to overturn the track's ban or the start of his suspension, which began April 4. But even in those cases, which were handled according to established rules, the horses were disqualified and their winning purses were forfeited. 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. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our equine and human athletes, Baffert wrote, and nothing impacts their health and safety more than the policies and procedures concerning drugs.. Baffert's horses have won a record six Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes, and three Kentucky Oaks . 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. But by August, the plan had changed. Both trainers were fined $500. As The Post reported in April, the Jockey Club, an industry group of top thoroughbred owners, then hired the same private agency, 5 Stones Intelligence, to probe suspected dopers. 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. [18] Baffert responded by saying the situation "was like a cancel culture kind of a thing," a remark which earned him noticeable criticism from the press. Without that win, Justify would not have qualified to run in the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown, a month later. 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. 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. I went under the radar. 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 . A complaint is filed in every case where the split sample confirms the original laboratory finding, read an advisory on the CHRB website. In the 1980s, Baffert moved to California and worked at Los Alamitos Race Course, where he switched to training Thoroughbreds full-time in 1991. "[29][30] On September 10, 2021 Baffert was charged by NYRA for conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing. 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. [2] Baffert and his family reside in California. It wasnt long before Baffert was making pocket change riding the horses in match races. This was fun. This America's different." pic . 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. In a written decision, the stewards stated the CHRB has already ruled on this matter in its August 2018 closed hearing and had followed the law., However, the stewards suggested they would not have made the same decision as the CHRB: It is the Stewards opinion that had this Board of Stewards heard the Justify and Hoppertunity complaints prior to August 23, 2018 both horses would have been disqualified., Ruiss lawyers have since argued in court for the settlement to be rescinded because the stewards refused to make a decision on the merits., I remain convinced that justice has not yet been served, Vienna told The Post, and that hopefully the courts will resolve the matter., The rise and fall of Jorge Navarro, the alleged doping king of horse racing. 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. 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. 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. 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 horses positive test for a banned substance, according to confidential records obtained by The Washington Post that fully detail the saga for the first time. Baffert said in his autobiography it was a combination of ignorance and desperation. Trainer Bob Baffert stands outside his barn at Churchill Downs on May 2, 2016, in Louisville, Ky. Medina . After the Times broke the news of the positive drug test, Ruis sued the CHRB in January 2020. Following the publication of the report, Baffert tweeted: Im gratified that CHRB completed its investigation & found there was no wrongdoing. Arthur said the TOC was behind the effort to oust him because of his criticism of Lasix. Decorated racehorse trainer who won multiple Kentucky Derbies, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. 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. And promote he does, chatting with people he met one minute ago as if they were long-lost friends. His American Pharaoh horse won the Triple Crown in 2015. But he said it wasnt clear from the records why the CHRB reversed course on filing a complaint against Baffert. The TOC, of which Baffert is still a board member, did not respond to requests for comment. 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. To the newspaper, she. He also can be found at the Olympics, having just finished the Tokyo and Beijing double, marking his 11th Olympics. [10][12] However, his violations for use of prohibited medications has sparked controversy. 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. Baffert won his first race as a thoroughbred trainer Jan. 28, 1979, saddling Flipper Star to a victory at Rillito in Arizona. 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. Does the drug that could strip Medina Spirit of a Kentucky Derby win enhance performance? On July 15, 2020, Deputy Attorney General Robert Petersen sent his initial case assessment to Brodnik. In 2013 the group hosted a Lasix-focused event at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills at which one owner reportedly said running a race without the drug was like waterboarding your horse in their own blood.. The Jockey Club has a database of thoroughbred breakdowns meaning deaths stemming from track injuries but said it is barred from sharing its data because of its contracts with racetracks. View . Many in the racing world wondered how many times can the dog eat your homework? Hes won seven, more than anyone else in the 147-year history of the race. 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.. Hollywood Park closed in 2013, and the saga of the dead horses there faded quickly from the headlines. 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. Arthur is retiring at the end of June from a job often consumed by the scandals of a single trainer. A CHRB spokesman said the agency could not comment or make any employees available for an interview, citing the pending litigation. He acknowledged there was no way to determine if that bale was part of the delivery to Baffert, according to the records, but the CHRB investigator nonetheless submitted the sample for testing. He told reporters that he would fight the issue "tooth and nail. On June 1, Baedeker had asked the agencys top lawyer and investigator how close they were to filing the Scopolamine complaints., On July 9, a month after Justifys Belmont triumph, the agencys chief counsel, Robert Brodnik, wrote to the CHRB investigator that they would like to officially file by Monday.. 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.