Bob Baffert

After 2 1/2 years of closed-session decision-making by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) and a complicated court battle to publicly reopen the case over whether to disqualify 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify over a scopolamine positive from when the colt won that year's GI Santa Anita Derby, the initial back-and-forth legal salvos in an Oct. 29 stewards' hearing on the matter indicate that the argument could come down to whether scopolamine was a Class 3 or Class 4 substance at the time of the post-race test. The difference in...

Eclipse Award winner Maximum Security (New Year's Day), GI Kentucky Derby hero Authentic (Into Mischief), GI Belmont S. victor Tiz the Law (Constitution), Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), who beat the boys in the GI Preakness S. and European star mare Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) are among the over 200 horses entered for the Breeders' Cup World Championships to be held at Keeneland Race Course Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7. Maximum Security makes his first appearance at the Breeders' Cup and is one of an imposing trio in the $6-million...

A hearing has been set for November 12 before the California Horse Racing Board's Board of Stewards after a split sample confirmed a positive result for the presence of Dextrorphan, a cough suppressant, in the sample from the Bob Baffert-trained Merneith (American Pharoah), who was second in the fourth race at Del Mar July 25, 2020. "Unfortunately, it's just another case of contamination," Craig Robertson, Baffert's attorney, told the TDN. "One of Bob's grooms had COVID, and he was the groom who was handling Merneith. He was taking both DayQuil...

Classier (Empire Maker) became the latest flashy colt unveiled by Bob Baffert and the stallion-making conglomerate nicknamed The Avengers as he streaked home an impressive winner at Santa Anita Saturday worthy of a 'TDN Rising Star' nod. Having tuned up for this with a head-turning six-furlong work from the gate on Monday (6f, 1:12.40, 1/3, XBTV Video), the bay was let go at generous 7-2 odds as two foes with experience took more attention. Off a bit sluggishly from his rail draw, Classier quickly recovered to take command and zip...

Trainer Bob Baffert's arsenal was on full display Saturday morning at Santa Anita in preparation for their respective Breeders' Cup engagements at Keeneland Nov. 6 and 7. Heading the charge was GI Kentucky Derby hero Authentic (Into Mischief), who breezed seven furlongs in 1:24.40 (XBTV video) in advance of the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. In his latest start, the colt finished a neck behind winner Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) in the Oct. 3 GI Preakness S. Undefeated TDN Rising Star Princess Noor (Not This Time) breezed six furlongs in a bullet...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 4th-MTH, $45K, Msw, 2yo, 1mT, 2:09 p.m. ET Proxy (Tapit) is the latest foal out of versatile Panty Raid (Include), a highest-level winner on turf and synthetic and Grade II winner on the dirt. A $2.5-million Fasig-Tipton November buy in 2008, Panty Raid's 3-year-old daughter Micheline (Bernardini) broke her maiden in the course-and-distance Sorority S. last September. More recently, the fellow Godolphin homebred and Mike Stidham trainee took the Sept. 10 Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs before finishing a close second in Keeneland's GI...

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) is conducting a follow-up investigation of a class C medication positive detected in a sample returned from Kentucky Oaks day, according to a KHRC statement Thursday. Joe Drape of The New York Times reported in a story published at 6:43 p.m. that it was the Kentucky Oaks third-place finisher Gamine who returned the positive test, citing "two people familiar with the results of the drug test who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly." "The Derby day samples were...

Do these things really even out? Who knows? All you can say for certain is that the satisfaction, as and when the wheel turns back in your favor, is all the more profound; and that any neutral, accordingly, should be rooting for Tim Yakteen at the Breeders' Cup. Like most horsemen, the Californian trainer has learned a wholesome fatalism. He doesn't dwell on what happened seven years ago this week. After all, he has based a whole career on the lessons available in experience of every kind, good and bad--whether...

Baoma Corporation's $750,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga buy Private Mission (Into Mischief) led home a one-two finish of promising fillies for the Bob Baffert barn Sunday to earn the 'TDN Rising Star' distinction. Backed as the even-money choice off a series of works that had churned up some buzz (click for XBTV video of Oct. 5 breeze in company with $1.3-million colt American Admiral {American Pharoah}), the bay showed good early speed to sit in second locked on to the pacesetter. She took over after a :45.23 half, and only stablemate Frosteria...

Kalypso broke her maiden in stakes company with a front-running score in the Anoakia S. Sunday at Santa Anita. The chestnut filly strode out to the early lead and was in hand through a quarter in :22.17 and a half :45.14. Three lengths in front with furlong to run, Kalypso was never threatened and sailed under the wire 2 1/4 lengths in front to become the second black-type winner for her freshman sire (by Giant's Causeway). "When you ride for Bob [Baffert], he just says, 'Break well and play the...

   Only a few years after first becoming involved in Thoroughbred ownership, Susan and Charles Chu watched their first Grade I winner also become a Breeders' Cup Champion when 'TDN Rising Star' Drefong (Gio Ponti) crossed the wire first in the 2016 Breeders' Cup Sprint under their Baoma Corporation banner. While they'd had several graded stakes contenders come along prior to Drefong's campaign, after the millionaire took his third Grade I in the Forego S. for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in 2017, Baoma Corporation went through a bit...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 2nd-BEL, $80K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, post time: 12:55 p.m. ET Several well-bred firsters will look to run down the likes of morning line favorite Exact (Competitive Edge), who was second over track and trip Sept. 18. Allen Stable and Shug McGaughey unveil Cafe Society (Empire Maker), a $135,000 KEESEP yearling turned $475,000 OBSAPR 2-year-old off a :10 flat breeze. Dam Full Tap (Tapit) was carrying Cafe Society when she brought $375,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November sale. The three-time winner, who was third in...