Bob Baffert
Baffert claiming his trophy for National Treasure at the 2023 Preakness Stakes
OccupationTrainer
Born (1953-01-13) January 13, 1953
Nogales, Arizona, U.S.
Career wins3,046+ (ongoing)[1]
Major racing wins
Grade 1 Stakes Wins
Racing awards
Honors
Significant horses
Abel Tasman, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Authentic, Bayern, Behaving Badly, Bob and John, Bodemeister, Captain Steve, Chilukki, Congaree, Dortmund, Drefong, First Dude, Forestry, Game On Dude, Indian Blessing, Justify, Lookin At Lucky, Lord Nelson, Mastery, Medina Spirit, Midnight Lute, Midshipman, Misremembered, National Treasure, Pioneerof The Nile, Point Given, Real Quiet, Secret Circle, Silverbulletday, Silver Charm, Sinister Minister, Vindication, War Emblem, West Coast, Zensational

Robert A. Baffert (born January 13, 1953) is an American racehorse trainer who trained the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Baffert's horses have won a record six Kentucky Derbies, eight Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes, and three Kentucky Oaks. He has been the subject of significant controversy regarding repeated incidents of his horses failing drug tests or dying under his care.

Early life and career

Baffert grew up on a ranch in Nogales, Arizona, where his family raised cattle and chickens. When he was 10, his father purchased some Quarter Horses and he practiced racing them on a dirt track. In his teens, he worked as a jockey for $100 a day in informal Quarter Horse races on the outskirts of Nogales. From there, he moved to racing at recognized tracks, scoring his first victory at age 17 in 1970.[2]

Baffert graduated from the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program with a Bachelor of Science degree,[3] got married, and began training quarter horses at a Prescott, Arizona farm. By age 20, he had developed a reputation as a trainer and was hired by other trainers to run their stables.[2] His first winner was Flipper Star at Rillito Park on January 28, 1979. In the 1980s, Baffert moved to California and worked at Los Alamitos Race Course, where he switched to training Thoroughbreds full-time in 1991. He got his first big break in 1992 when he won his first Breeder's Cup race with Thirty Slews.[2][4]

Baffert established his early reputation with less expensive horses like Silver Charm and Real Quiet, bought for $16,500 and $17,000 respectively. Fellow trainer D. Wayne Lukas attributed Baffert's success to his "extraordinary eye for a good horse" and his management ability in finding the right opportunities for his charges.[5]

American Classic history

Baffert's history in the American Classic races began in 1996 when he trained a three-year-old colt named Cavonnier, who ran second in the Kentucky Derby. In 1997, he trained Silver Charm to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, finishing second in the Belmont. Baffert revisited the Derby the next year, sending two top colts, Real Quiet and Indian Charlie, to Louisville. Real Quiet won the race that year, and Baffert also finished third with Indian Charlie. Real Quiet won the Preakness as well, but, like Silver Charm, the horse was denied a Triple Crown win and finished second in the Belmont Stakes by a nose. Baffert, however, became the first trainer in history to win the Derby and Preakness in back-to-back years.

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. He finished third in the Derby that year with Congaree. Baffert won the Derby a third time in 2002 with War Emblem. The colt went on to win the Preakness Stakes, giving the trainer his third shot at winning the Triple Crown. The colt lost the Belmont Stakes after breaking poorly from the starting gate. Baffert did not have a horse hit the board again in any of the Triple Crown races until 2009, when he trained Pioneerof The Nile to a second-place finish in the Derby.

Baffert trained Lookin At Lucky, co-owned by Mike Pegram, to win the Preakness Stakes in 2010. The colt skipped the Belmont Stakes but became the champion three-year-old colt that year. In 2012, Baffert saddled Bodemeister, named for the trainer's youngest son, Bode, to second-place finishes in the Derby and Preakness. He saddled Paynter in the Belmont Stakes later that year, but that colt, like his stablemate Bodemeister, finished second.

In 2015, Baffert trained the 2014 champion two-year-old colt American Pharoah to win the Triple Crown, the first to do so in 37 years. 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. American Pharoah next won the 140th Preakness Stakes, making six victories in that race for Baffert, who also finished fourth with Dortmund. Then, when American Pharoah won the 2015 Belmont Stakes, the win was the fourth attempt at a Triple Crown for Baffert, who at age 62 became the second-oldest trainer to win a Triple Crown.[6]

Baffert also trained the 2018 Triple Crown Winner, Justify and the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic.[7] Baffert became a 7-time winner of the Kentucky Derby in 2021 with Medina Spirit. However, Medina Spirit tested positive for the steroid betamethasone.[8] As of 1 January 2022 the question of whether the horse would join Dancer's Image by being disqualified for a drug violation in the Derby remains pending. Medina Spirit died after a training session on 6 December 2021 and an ensuing necropsy on 11 February 2022 was inconclusive.

Accomplishments

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. 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.[9] Point Given was nominated in 2009, but elected and inducted in 2010.

Baffert has trained horses that won seventeen American Classic Races, eighteen Breeders' Cup races, four Dubai World Cups and two Pegasus World Cups. His graded stakes wins include nine wins in the Santa Anita Derby, nine in the Haskell Invitational Handicap, nine in the Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes, and sixteen in the Del Mar Futurity, a race he won seven straight times from 1996 to 2002, when it was a Grade II event. He also won the race in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2022 when run as a Grade I event. He has won the Kentucky Oaks three times: first in 1999 with Silverbulletday, who was later selected for the Hall of Fame, then with Plum Pretty in 2011 and with Abel Tasman in 2017.

In 2010, Misremembered, a horse he bred, owned by his wife Jill and their friend George Jacobs, won the Santa Anita Handicap, marking Baffert's first Grade I win as a breeder instead of a trainer.

Controversies

According to his supporters, Baffert's style and personality, combined with his success, have made him a target for controversy. Longtime client Mike Pegram explained, "Anybody who walks with that swagger, people are going to love him or hate him…he's a wiseass and irreverent." Former client Kaleem Shah said, "He will rub people the wrong way by speaking his mind, sometimes he needs to hit the mute button."[10]

However, over 30 horses Baffert trained have failed drug tests. Baffert has paid out over $20,000 in fines, a pittance however, when compared against over $321 million in career earnings. He routinely challenges most sanctions, usually agreeing to accept fines but vigorously fighting suspensions. Horse owner and racing reform advocate Barry Irwin has stated, "He's Mr. Teflon."[11]

In raw numbers, most of Baffert's medication violations were for exceeding allowed amounts of authorized medications such as phenylbutazone, a pain medication commonly administered to horses.[10][12] However, his violations for use of prohibited medications has sparked controversy.

In September 2019 The New York Times reported that Justify tested positive for the banned substance scopolamine after winning the Santa Anita Derby.[13] After legal battles, in December 2023 a judge ordered stewards of the California Horse Racing Board to issue a new ruling which would effectively disqualify Justify from his win.[14]

In 2021, the post-race test of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit showed 21pg/mL of betamethasone.[15] In Kentucky, any amount of betamethasone detected in post-race testing is a violation and could result in a disqualification.[16] It was Baffert's fifth violation in 13 months.[17]

At a news conference on May 9, Baffert initially said that Medina Spirit was never administered betamethasone. He told reporters that he would fight the issue "...tooth and nail."[18][19] Nonetheless, Churchill Downs suspended Baffert from entering any horses at their racetrack pending the outcome of an investigation.[20] 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.[21][22] On May 11, Baffert stated Medina Spirit had dermatitis, for which an ointment containing betamethasone was used.[23][24] Sports Illustrated suggested that the positive drug test was a sign that Baffert's "leaking credibility" had reached "the saturation point."[25] On June 2, 2021, Medina Spirit's split sample also tested positive and Churchill Downs suspended Baffert through the end of the 2023 Spring Meet.[26]

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.[27][28] On June 14, 2021, Baffert sued the NYRA alleging the association had no authority to suspend his license and that suspension "without prior notice" was a violation of the law.[29][30] 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. The Judge made her ruling based on the NYRA having not allowed Baffert a forum to refute their claims and stated that they (the NYRA).."had held no hearing — let alone a prompt one."[31][32] On September 10, 2021 Baffert was charged by NYRA for conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing.[33][34] Additional charges were added on January 3, 2022.[35]

In February 2022, Baffert was suspended 90 days and fined $7,500 by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. The suspension was scheduled to run March 8 through June 5. Baffert was granted a stay until April 4 to gain time for an appeal.[36] However, the Kentucky Court of Appeals rejected Baffert's appeal on April 1. This in turn led to a ban from all California Horse Racing Board facilities beginning April 4 due to a rule removing any trainer under a 60 day or higher ban from all CHRB facilities. This included Baffert's home track at Santa Anita, although Baffert horse Shaaz won the sixth race on April 2. The 90 day ban against Baffert was set to be honored in all 38 racing states. By the April 1 ruling, Baffert had already transferred four 3-year-old colts to other trainers.[37]

The most notable cases prior to Medina Spirit's test were the disqualification of Gamine after a third place finish in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks, also for betamethasone,[38] and Triple Crown winner Justify, who tested positive for scopolamine after winning the 2018 Santa Anita Derby, but the results did not become public until after the horse won the Triple Crown.[8][39] That case was eventually dismissed as the regulators concluded the facts supported an instance of feed contamination. Similarly, cases against two horses who tested positive in Arkansas in 2020 for lidocaine were dismissed as being the result of accidental transfer from an assistant trainer who was using the medication on himself. Nonetheless, in that case, Arkansas suspended Baffert for 15 days.[8] His first suspension was in 1977 for misuse of morphene, but thereafter he had no violations for the next eight years.[10]

Controversy deepened when on December 6, 2021, Medina Spirit died of an apparent heart attack after a workout at Santa Anita Park.[40] This reminded the public that since 2000, at least 74 other horses had died while in Baffert's stables.[10] Though number of racing starts are used to calculate rates of death for all horses in the care of race trainers, not all horse deaths were animals in race training nor were they necessarily race-related fatalities.[11]

Prior to Medina Spirit's death, Baffert had last been under intense scrutiny a decade earlier when seven horses in his stables at Hollywood Park died between November 2, 2011 and March 14, 2013, all from sudden and later unexplained heart attacks. In that period, 36% of all cardiac related horse deaths in California were animals trained by Baffert.[41] California's equine medical director found that Baffert's horses were routinely given Thyro-L, or thyroxine, a thyroid hormone, that could cause heart problems during exercise, but concluded the medication, which Baffert said he had been using routinely for the previous five years, did not cause the heart attacks. No sanctions were issued against Baffert.[42][43]

Personal life

Baffert has been married twice and has five children: four with his first wife, Sherry: Taylor, Canyon, Forest, and Savannah. He married his second wife, Jill, a former television reporter based in Louisville, in 2002. They had a son in 2004 whom they named "Bode" (/ˈboʊdi/ BOH-dee), after skier Bode Miller.[2] Baffert and his family reside in California.

He appeared in an episode of the TV show Take Home Chef.

Bob survived a heart attack in late March 2012 while in Dubai for a world-class race at Meydan.

Following the 2015 Belmont win, Baffert outlined several charities that he and his wife Jill supported.[44] He had been paid $200,000 to allow the Burger King to stand behind him in the grandstand during the televised broadcast of the Belmont, after having turned down $150,000 to allow the mascot to appear with him at the Preakness.[45] At the post-Belmont press conference, Baffert announced he and his wife would be making donations of $50,000 each to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA), and Old Friends Equine, all programs for retired race horses; and to the Permanently Disabled Jockey's Fund in memory of a Quarter Horse Jockey named Robert Z. "Bobby" Adair.[44][46] A friend of Baffert's and an inductee into the American Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame, Adair died on Preakness Day, May 16, 2015, at 71. Baffert dedicated American Pharoah's win to Bobby.[47]

Triple Crown race record
    Year Kentucky Derby Finish Preakness Stakes Finish Belmont Stakes Finish
    1996 Cavonnier 2nd Cavonnier 4th Cavonnier DNF
    1996 Semoran 14th - - - -
    1997 Silver Charm 1st Silver Charm 1st Silver Charm 2nd
    1998 Real Quiet 1st Real Quiet 1st Real Quiet 2nd
    1998 Indian Charlie 3rd - - - -
    1999 Prime Timber 4th - - - -
    1999 Excellent Meeting‡ 5th Excellent Meeting‡ DNF - -
    1999 - - - - Silverbulletday‡ 7th
    1999 General Challenge 11th - - - -
    2000 Captain Steve 8th Captain Steve 4th - -
    2001 Congaree 3rd Congaree 3rd - -
    2001 Point Given 5th Point Given 1st Point Given 1st
    2002 War Emblem 1st War Emblem 1st War Emblem 8th
    2003 Indian Express 14th - - - -
    2003 - - Senor Swinger 5th - -
    2005 Sort It Out 17th - - - -
    2006 Point Determined 9th - - - -
    2006 Sinister Minister 16th - - - -
    2006 Bob and John 17th - - Bob and John 8th
    2009 Pioneerof The Nile 2nd - - - -
    2010 Lookin At Lucky 6th Lookin At Lucky 1st - -
    2010 Conveyance 15th - - - -
    2010 - - - - Game On Dude 4th
    2011 Midnight Interlude 16th Midnight Interlude 13th - -
    2012 Bodemeister 2nd Bodemeister 2nd - -
    2012 Liaison 6th - - - -
    2012 - - - - Paynter 2nd
    2013 - - Govenor Charlie 8th - -
    2014 Chitu 9th - - - -
    2014 - - Bayern 9th - -
    2015 American Pharoah✝ 1st American Pharoah✝ 1st American Pharoah✝ 1st
    2015 Dortmund 3rd Dortmund 4th - -
    2016 Mor Spirit 10th - - - -
    2016 - - Collected 10th - -
    2018 Justify✝ 1st Justify✝ 1st Justify ✝ 1st
    2018 Solomini 10th - - - -
    2018 - - - - Restoring Hope 8th
    2019 Improbable 4th Improbable 6th - -
    2019 Game Winner 5th - - - -
    2019 Roadster 15th - - - -
    2020 Authentic 1st Authentic 2nd - -
    2020 - - Thousand Words 8th - -
    2021 Medina Spirit Last* Medina Spirit 3rd - -
    2021 - - Concert Tour 9th - -

    Kentucky Derby record: 34–7–3–3

    Preakness record: 23–7–2–3

    Belmont record: 12–3–3–0

    • ✝ – won Triple Crown.
    • ‡ – Filly
    • * – win stripped

    References

    1. ↑ "Trainers – Bob Baffert". America's Best Racing. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
    2. 1 2 3 4 Wharton, David (June 5, 2015). "Bob Baffert Has Come a Long Way in Horse Racing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
    3. ↑ "About Bob Baffert". Bob Baffert Riding Stables. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
    4. ↑ "NYRA Media Guide 2021 (PDF)" (PDF). NYRA.com. pp. 50–52. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
    5. ↑ "Baffert nears $300M mark with an all-star stable". www.bloodhorse.com. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
    6. ↑ ESPN News Service (June 6, 2015). "American Pharoah claims first Triple Crown since 1978". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
    7. ↑ Bob Baffert discusses tumble in Kentucky Derby winner's circle. WLKY (News). September 5, 2020. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
    8. 1 2 3 Graves, Gary B. (May 10, 2021). "Bob Baffert no stranger to failed drug tests by his horses". Associated Press. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
    9. ↑ "Press Release Racing Museum April 20, 2009". Archived from the original on April 24, 2009.
    10. 1 2 3 4 "The last stand of Bob Baffert, horse racing's most successful and embattled trainer". Los Angeles Times. October 1, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
    11. 1 2 Garcia-Roberts, Gus (June 18, 2021). "The dark side of Bob Baffert's reign". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 19, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
    12. ↑ "Thoroughbred Regulatory Rulings". Thoroughbred Regulatory Rulings.
    13. ↑ Drape, Joe (September 11, 2019). "Justify Failed a Drug Test Before Winning the Triple Crown". The New York Times.
    14. ↑ Cherwa, John (December 1, 2023). "Justify's win in 2018 Santa Anita Derby in doubt after judge's ruling". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
    15. ↑ "Medina Spirit's Kentucky Derby win in doubt after postrace drug test". Edition.cnn.com. May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
    16. ↑ "Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Withdrawal Guidelines Thoroughbred; Standardbred; Quarter Horse, Appaloosa, and Arabian" (PDF). Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. April 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
    17. ↑ "Baffert: Meds applied to Derby winner had steroid". ESPN.com. May 11, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
    18. ↑ Crosby, Claire (May 9, 2021). "Medina Spirit Tests Positive for Betamethasone". Bloodhorse.com. The BloodHorse. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
    19. ↑ Graves, Gary (May 9, 2021). "Baffert says Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive". apnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
    20. ↑ "Churchill Downs' Statement in Response to Medina Spirit's Post-Race Test Result Allegations" (PDF) (Press release). Louisville, KY: Churchill Downs Incorporated. May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
    21. ↑ "Trainer: Kentucky Derby winner faces disqualification due to 'cancel culture'". The Guardian. May 10, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
    22. ↑ Gaydos, Ryan (May 10, 2021). "Bob Baffert asserts Medina Spirit's Kentucky Derby win was valid, invokes 'cancel culture'". Fox News. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
    23. ↑ "Bob Baffert says Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was treated with ointment that contained steroid". Espn.com. May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
    24. ↑ Forde, Pat. "Baffert Has Turned Medina Spirit Controversy Into a Circus". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
    25. ↑ Forde, Pat. "Baffert's Leaking Credibility Reaches Saturation Point". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
    26. ↑ Staff, H. R. N. "Churchill Downs Inc. suspends Baffert for 2 years". Horse Racing Nation. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
    27. ↑ "Trainer Bob Baffert suspended from entering Medina Spirit, other horses at Belmont Park". Espn.com. Associated Press. May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
    28. ↑ Drape, Joe (May 17, 2021). "New York Racing Officials Suspend Baffert From Belmont Stakes". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
    29. ↑ "Trainer Bob Baffert sues to get New York suspension lifted". Associated Press. June 14, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
    30. ↑ Freiman, Jordan (June 14, 2021). "Horse trainer Bob Baffert sues New York racing officials over suspension". CBS News. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
    31. ↑ "Baffert sues to overturn New York racing ban". June 15, 2021.
    32. ↑ "Judge nullifies horse trainer Bob Baffert's NY suspension". Nbcnews.com. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
    33. ↑ "Baffert charged by New York Racing, scheduled for hearing". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
    34. ↑ Barnes, Adam (September 10, 2021). "Legendary horse trainer charged again following Kentucky Derby scandal". The Hill. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
    35. ↑ "NYRA Amends Charges Against Baffert to Include Bute Overages". TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. January 3, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
    36. ↑ "Forbes". Forbes. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
    37. ↑ "The Seattle Times | Local news, sports, business, politics, entertainment, travel, restaurants and opinion for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest". www.seattletimes.com. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
    38. ↑ Frakes, Jason (February 4, 2021). "Bob Baffert fined $1,500, Gamine disqualified from third-place finish in Kentucky Oaks". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
    39. ↑ Kempt, Reina. "Here's what we know following Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit's positive drug test". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
    40. ↑ "Medina Spirit Dies of Apparent Heart Attack at Santa Anita". TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. December 6, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
    41. ↑ Mitchell, Eric (April 10, 2013). "Baffert Horses Big Part of Sudden Death Spike". www.bloodhorse.com. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
    42. ↑ "Report on the investigation and review of the seven sudden deaths on the Hollywood Park main track of horses trained by Bob Baffert and stabled in Barn 61" (PDF). California Horse Racing Board. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 11, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
    43. ↑ "Cardiac Failure Fatalities Spike in California, Baffert Barn". Horse Racing News | Paulick Report. April 10, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
    44. 1 2 "2015 Belmont Stakes Press Conference" (video). The Blood Horse. June 6, 2015. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
    45. ↑ Paulick, Ray (June 8, 2015). "Bafferts Make Whopper Of A Donation To Equine Charities". Paulick Report. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
    46. ↑ Myrick, Steve (June 6, 2015). "Bafferts, Espinoza donate Belmont winnings". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
    47. ↑ Press release (May 16, 2015). "Robert Adair Dies". Archived from the original on June 14, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
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