Bob Baffert
Yes, despite everything, life really is good. I know that the industry press is currently saturated with the contention of attorneys, rather than racehorses. And I know that our sport, in the process, is squandering much of the cultural capital that should instead have been invested in the two compelling talents squaring up at Gulfstream Saturday. Yet perhaps one of the protagonists will not just put all these tawdry sagas aside, however briefly, but also pay a timely tribute to a mare who could get anyone interested in the game....
Bob Baffert's five-day hearing on "detrimental conduct" charges levied by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) closed Friday with NYRA's attorney arguing that the Hall-of-Fame trainer has trashed the sport with such an unprecedented litany of medication violations that NYRA needs to be allowed to punish him, while Baffert's lawyer countered that the real extraordinary aspect of the case involves vendetta-based accusations that could result in draconian sanctions NYRA has never before attempted to impose upon any other trainer. "Bob Baffert is not a cheater," the trainer's attorney, W. Craig...
Bob Baffert has a chance to sweep Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby preps as he saddles three of the five runners in Santa Anita's GII San Vicente and the morning-line favorite in Oaklawn's GIII Southwest S. in Newgrange (Violence). A debut winner at Del Mar Nov. 28, the dark bay wired Santa Anita's GIII Sham S. next out Jan. 1, earning a field's-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure. Smarty Jones S. top three Dash Attack (Munnings), Barber Road (Race Day) and Ignitis (Nyquist) rematch here. Opening his account with a 1 1/4-length...
Bob Baffert has won Santa Anita's GII San Vicente S. 11 times and has a pretty good chance to secure his 12th victory Saturday when he saddles three of the five runners entered in this year's renewal. Leading that trio is last term's GI Del Mar Futurity S. winner Pinehurst (Twirling Candy). A debut winner at the seaside oval Aug. 1, the bay went wire-to-wire for a 4 1/2-length score in the Sept. 6 Futurity, but could only manage fifth behind stablemate and likely champion Corniche (Quality Road) in the...
Bob Baffert testified for about 3 1/2 hours in Thursday's hearing to determine whether the New York Racing Association (NYRA) can exclude the trainer over alleged "detrimental conduct." Much of the testimony consisted of exchanges between the Hall of Fame trainer and NYRA attorney Hank Greenberg, whose attempts to rattle Baffert were largely unsuccessful. The Hall of Famer stuck to what has been the narrative from his team since the issues of his repeated medication violations first arose--that each offense involved mitigating circumstances that explain why he wasn't deserving of...
Under pressure of cross-examination that questioned his credibility, a retired New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) steward launched into a nearly five-minute tirade just before the close of Wednesday's hearing to determine whether the New York Racing Association (NYRA) can exclude trainer Bob Baffert over alleged "detrimental conduct." Voice cracking with emotion and punctuating points by banging his fist on the witness table, Stephen Lewandowski, who served as the state steward at NYRA tracks between 2014 and 2019, lost his cool after testifying in support of Baffert and then facing...
The concept of perception versus reality has been a core plank on both sides of the highly publicized "detrimental conduct" case ever since the New York Racing Association (NYRA) first tried to banish trainer Bob Baffert eight months ago. On Tuesday, the second day of a hearing process that could lead to Baffert's exclusion from New York's premier tracks, the murky interpretation of who should be considered the true victim and which entity is in need of protection from harm rose to the forefront in the form of arguments over...
Attorneys in the hearing pitting NYRA vs. Bob Baffert made their opening statements Monday in what turned into a sparring session, with one side claiming NYRA Board members had a vendetta against Baffert and the other contending that the Hall of Fame trainer was responsible for a "rampage of doping violations" and is deserving of a temporary suspension. The hearing, expected to last from three to five days, will determine whether or not NYRA's attempts to suspend Baffert over a rash of medication positives, including one in the 2021 GI...
8th-Santa Anita, $73,140, Alw (NW1$X)/Opt. Clm ($50,000), 1-23, 4yo/up, f/m, 1m, 1:39.09, ft, 6 1/2 lengths. DISTRACTEDPRINCESS (f, 4, Distorted Humor--Celtic Princess {Brz} {Ch. 2-year-old Filly-Brz, Horse Of The Year-Brz, Ch. 3-year-old Filly-Brz, MG1SW-Brz, GSW & GISP-USA, $330,624}, by Public Purse) parlayed an uber-impressive 13-length debut seven-furlong romp Dec. 31 into a second career win on the slight stretch out to a mile Sunday at Santa Anita. She broke on top, dueled briefly with Eyes Open (Street Sense), but had a half-length advantage and was moving easily with her ears...
Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 6th-OP, $84K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6f, 3:51 p.m. ET The first of two strong-looking groups of sophomore fillies line up here in Hot Springs. Brad Cox-trained second timer Firewolves (Practical Joke) gets the tepid morning-line nod coming off a runner-up outing over track and trip Dec. 3 that earned her a 75 Beyer Speed Figure. The $140,000 Keeneland September yearling is half to MGSP Tap for Luck (Tapit) and to the dam of GSW/GISP Jeltrin (Tapizar). Peace Peddler (Gun Runner) set a solid pace in...
A federal judge on Friday dismissed Bob Baffert's lawsuit against the New York Racing Association (NYRA) that had alleged the Hall of Fame trainer was injured by NYRA's initial attempt to bar him back in May and again in September when it summoned him to a hearing to adjudicate his "detrimental" conduct related to repeated equine drug positives. Chief among the reasons that United States District Court (Eastern District of New York) Carol Bagley Amon dismissed the amended complaint were that some of Baffert's claims were not yet "ripe" for...
In the formal hearing Friday morning of the Veterinary Medical Board's petition for an interim suspension of California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) equine medical director Jeff Blea's medical license, both sides laid out their arguments. In short, the deputy attorney general Elaine Yan representing the veterinary board took a procedural defense of the petition, arguing that the allegations against Blea amount to violations of standards of practice within the veterinary community as codified in the veterinary medicine practice act. "These guidelines emphasize the importance of examinations and diagnosis," said Yan,...