Bob Baffert

We've all seen those old thrillers where the sports car is twisting along a road cut into a coastal cliff, and suddenly one of the wheels is spinning over the sea far below. Well, that's pretty much how it feels when a commercial breeder decides to bring home a Book 1 yearling at $385,000. In both cases, you're putting an awful lot of trust in horsepower, admittedly in its sleekest form, getting you back on the road. Unlike Cary Grant in North By Northwest, however, you don't even have the...

Revolutionary handicapper and racing writer Steve Crist has been out of a public eye after retiring five years ago, but still has as much passion and enthusiasm for racing as he's ever had, and Wednesday morning, he joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland for an expansive discussion on a variety of industry issues. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Crist discussed his increasing involvement in the game from an ownership standpoint, racing's progress on detecting and punishing cheaters, the Bob Baffert saga...

BROOKLYN, NY--Judge Carol Bagley Amon dismissed Bob Baffert's charge of contempt against the New York Racing Association Tuesday morning in federal court, saying that her previous injunction of NYRA's attempted suspension of Baffert in May applied only to enforcing that suspension, and not the issue at hand of NYRA scheduling a hearing and issuing official charges against Baffert in a Sept. 10 statement. The ruling clears the way for NYRA to proceed with its proposed hearing process, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 11 and may result in Baffert once...

Lightly raced Private Mission handled older foes with aplomb Sunday, earning a guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff in the process. A debut winner sprinting here nearly a year ago, the bay was a speed-and-fade fourth at odds-on in the following month's Desi Arnaz S. at Del Mar and subsequently went missing. She reappeared to annex a local optional claimer in June, and took to two turns emphatically when romping by 6 1/2 lengths in Del Mar's GIII Torrey Pines S. Aug. 21. Keeping...

7th-Santa Anita, $62,500, Msw, 10-3, 2yo, 6f, 1:10.38, ft, 4 1/4 lengths. WINNING MAP (c, 2, Liam's Map--Starlet O'Hara {SP}, by Discreetly Mine), sent off the 2-5 favorite, powered home an easy four-length winner of his debut at Santa Anita Sunday. The gray colt, a $55,000 KEESEP yearling turned $525,000 OBS March juvenile, went right to the early lead and was in control through a quarter in :22.08. He scampered further clear on the far turn, but Sir London (Malibu Moon) rushed up to challenge the favorite as the half...

For 110 seconds on an unseasonably hot Saturday afternoon in Southern California, all was right in the world of Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirit (Protonico). Having given last Saturday's GI Pennsylvania Derby a miss, the blue-collar colt was rerouted to Saturday's GI Awesome Again S. and a first try against some accomplished older horses. With a berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic on the line, the Florida-bred once again displayed the tenacity and raw ability that carried him past the post first in the GI Kentucky Derby, leading every...

Bob Baffert comes into Sunday's GII Zenyatta S. with a strong one-two punch in the form of Private Mission (Into Mischief) and the regally bred As Time Goes By (American Pharoah--Take Charge Lady). The winner of this event earns a spot in the upcoming GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar. A debut winner at this oval last October, Private Mission checked in fourth in Del Mar's Desi Arnaz S. a month later and was subsequently shelved. Making her belated sophomore bow in a June 12 optional claimer here, the...

'TDN Rising Star' Corniche (c, 2, Quality Road--Wasted Tears, by Najran), the $1.5-million OBS April topper earlier this spring and a jaw-dropping debut winner going 5 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar Sept. 4, led them every step of the way to run to the money as the 2-5 favorite in Friday's 'Win and You're In' GI American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita. Pappacap (Gun Runner), winner of the GII Best Pal S., was second; third out maiden winner Oviatt Class (Bernardini) was third. Corniche is the 10th winner of the...

Medina Spirit (Protonico) looks to secure his spot in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic as he faces his elders Saturday in the GI Awesome Again S. at Santa Anita. Winner of the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. here in January, the Florida-bred was second in both the Mar. 6 GII San Felipe S.--won by his former stablemate and recent GII Kelso H. victor Life is Good (Into Mischief)--and Apr. 3 GI Santa Anita Derby. The dark bay went wire to wire in the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby, a win...

The matter of whether or not the New York Racing Association should be held in contempt and whether it can go ahead with a hearing that could lead to the suspension of Bob Baffert landed once again Friday on the desk of Judge Carol Bagley Amon. The latest twist in the Baffert-NYRA saga began last week when Baffert's attorneys charged that NYRA should be held in contempt because of its announced plans to afford Baffert a hearing. The two sides have been at odds over the interpretation of a July...

'TDN Rising Star' Corniche (Quality Road) looks to stamp his ticket to the upcoming GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile in Friday's GI American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita. Topping the OBS April sale at $1.5 million, the Speedway Stable colorbearer wired the field for an effortless 4 1/4-length graduation in his 5 1/2-panel unveiling at Del Mar Sept. 4, earning a gaudy 98 Beyer Speed Figure. His breeding indicates this extension to a route of ground should be no problem and with his rail draw, pilot Mike Smith is likely to...

Grace Adler (Curlin) looks to take her record to three-for-three and provide Hall of Famer Bob Baffert with his 12th victory in Santa Anita's GII Chandelier S. Friday, a "Win and You're in Event" for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in November. A debut winner at Del Mar July 31, the $700,000 FTKSEL purchase already secured her spot in the gate for the World Championships with a dominant late-running score in the Sept. 5 GI Del Mar Debutante S., which she won by 11 1/4 lengths over Dance to...