Bob Baffert

LOUISVILLE, KY - With the Churchill Downs backstretch and apron buzzing with socially distanced and mask-wearing fans, you could feel the excitement building during training hours on a steamy Wednesday morning. Cloudy skies and humid conditions greeted the GI Kentucky Derby and Oaks contenders during the special, 15-minute training period beginning at 7:30 a.m. Hall of Famer Bob Baffert held court by the main gap and posed for a quick photo-op holding the lead shank of his overachieving $35,000 OBS July 2-year-old Medina Spirit (Protonico) as the main track was...

LOUISVILLE, KY - Unbeaten champion Essential Quality (Tapit) was assigned post 14 in a full field of 20 assembled for Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby at Tuesday's post position draw held at Churchill Downs. The Godolphin homebred and 'TDN Rising Star,' tabbed as the 2-1 favorite on Mike Battaglia's morning line, made it a perfect five-for-five for trainer Brad Cox with a hard-fought, neck decision over Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) in the GII Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Apr. 3. Luis Saez, disqualified from first aboard Maximum Security in 2019, has...

Sent off the prohibitive 3-5 favorite against a seemingly overmatched field in Saturday's GII Santa Margarita S. at Santa Anita, Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith's As Time Goes By (American Pharoah) was taken straight to the front by Hall of Famer Mike Smith and reeled off opening fractions of :23.17 and :46.98 as Harvest Moon (Uncle Mo) offered some mild pressure. Well in hand and not doing more than she had to down the backside, the half-sister to 3-year-old champion Will Take Charge was finally given her...

Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith's As Time Goes By (American Pharoah) has been progressing steadily since last fall and will try to collect her first black-type badge in Saturday's GII Santa Margarita S. at Santa Anita. Third in her career debut sprinting at Del Mar last August, the daughter of MGISW Take Charge Lady (Dehere) returned to finish second to stablemate Himiko (American Pharoah) after setting the pace in the early going at Santa Anita in October. A four-length winner going six panels at Los Alamitos Dec....

The disqualifications of Charlatan (Speightstown) and Gamine (Into Mischief) from May 2, 2020 wins at Oaklawn Park have been overturned, and Bob Baffert's 15-day suspension has been waived after a two-day hearing in front of the Arkansas Racing Commission. Charlatan was the winner of the GI Arkansas Derby, while Gamine won an allowance race the same day. Oaklawn announced lidocaine positives for the pair, disqualified them from the victories, and redistributed purse money last year. Tuesday, at the conclusion of the hearing, Baffert's attorney, W. Craig Robertson, said, "The ruling...

The big sales results from the first crop of juveniles by champion Gun Runner (hip 118) continued Tuesday at OBS when a son of the Three Chimneys stallion sold for $850,000 to the bid of bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, acting on behalf of Michael Lund Petersen. The gray juvenile will join the $1.7-million son of Gun Runner purchased by Amr Zedan at last month's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale in the Southern California barn of trainer Bob Baffert. "He's a beautiful horse," Lanni said. "Just a cool horse. He did everything he...

Cezanne (Curlin), who topped the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale in 2019 at $3.65 million, stamped himself as one to watch for this year with a dominant victory in Santa Anita's GIII Kona Gold S. Sunday evening. A debut winner going this same 6 1/2 furlongs last June, the Coolmore partners and St. Elias Stable representative doubled up going a mile at Los Alamitos in July. He was most recently fourth in Del Mar's Aug. 1 Shared Belief S. behind million-dollar stablemate Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile) and $850,000 GISW Honor A....

2nd-Santa Anita, $61,000, Msw, 4-18, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 1:16.86, ft, 5 1/2 lengths. CURVETTE (f, 3, Curlin--Fiftyshadesofhay {MGSW & MGISP, $1,097,951}, by Pulpit) was bet like a good thing for her debut Sunday at Santa Anita and ran to the money with an open-length score for Bob Baffert. Showing an upbeat local worktab capped by a five-furlong spin in 1:00 flat (9/64) Apr. 11, the Stonestreet homebred broke cleanly as the 6-5 favorite. Tracking barnmate Reem (Danza) from a close second through a :22.07 quarter, the bay turned up...

Gary and Mary West's 'TDN Rising Star' Concert Tour (Street Sense) will not run in the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby, said trainer Bob Baffert Saturday morning. He will instead be pointed for the May 15 GI Preakness S. at Pimlico. The homebred wired a field of Santa Anita maidens by 3 1/2 lengths to earn the 'Rising Star' designation Jan. 15 and made a seamless transition to graded competition, taking the seven-furlong GII San Vicente S. Feb. 6. The bay colt made all the running en route to a...

After bringing $110,000 from WinStar Farm at the Keeneland January dispersal of the late Paul Pompa, Jr., Country Grammer (Tonalist) makes his first start for Bob Baffert in Saturday's GII Californian S. at Santa Anita. Previously trained by Chad Brown, Country Grammer narrowly captured last summer's GIII Peter Pan S. at Saratoga with subsequent G1 Dubai World Cup winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) back in third. The $450,000 OBS April 2-year-old, last seen finishing a well-beaten fifth in the GI Runhappy Travers S. Aug. 8, worked five...

A pair of Spendthrift Farm homebreds stamped themselves as 3-year-olds to watch for the second half of the season with recent jaw-dropping 'TDN Rising Star' performances. Following Sea (c, 3, Runhappy--Quick Flip, by Speightstown) earned his 'Rising Star' badge with a flashy maiden win at second asking for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on the GI Arkansas Derby undercard, good for a gaudy 97 Beyer Speed Figure. The bay was hustled to the front by Joel Rosario in the six-furlong affair and was pressed on his inside through an...

The team at Three Chimneys could hardly have asked for a better start at stud for champion Gun Runner. The most expensive horse to retire to stud for the 2018 season, he filled a 171-mare book his first year, was the leading first-crop weanling sire the following year with an average exceeding $275,000, and again topped his class with his yearlings in 2020. By most accounts, the son of Candy Ride (Arg) has not done a thing wrong in his early stud career and yet, as his first crop was...