bob baffert political affiliation

CHRB brass agreed to follow Arthurs suggestion. [18] 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. He won his first race on that 1970 afternoon but not as a trainer. Hollendorfers lawyer, Drew Couto, has claimed his client is being unfairly blamed for a high-profile spike of deaths at the track. A week after that, Baffert learned of the positive test. [25][26] 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. It didnt take Baffert long to dominate Rillito Park and Prescott Downs in Arizona. Every investigation over the past 20 years has reached the same conclusion: no rules or regulations have been violated nor has there been any improper activity on Bobs part., Brewster also said that the vast majority of Bafferts drug-related violations, as tracked by ARCI, shouldnt be counted because they were too old or related to overages of otherwise-allowed drugs in a horse, which he dismissed as like coming to work with too much Advil in your system., Robertson said in an e-mail that [n]o one has done more for horse racing and is better for the sport than Bob Baffert, and he listed various awards the trainer has received, including being inducted into four separate Hall of Fames. The legal records, which draw from dozens of emails, memorandums and other materials that have not previously been made public, show how officials delayed action, contradicted their own plans and rewrote existing rules to Bafferts advantage. A 4/C violation meant minor punishment that wouldnt typically involve disqualifying the horse or redistributing winnings. 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 1997 he won his first Kentucky Derby with Silver Charm. Baffert says he plans to seek legal recourse wherever necessary. Baffert's disgrace could help turn racing to better future | Lexington Baffert, however, became the first trainer in history to win the Derby and Preakness in back-to-back years. The 90 day ban against Baffert was set to be honored in all 38 racing states. Rick Arthur, Californias medical equine director, who the documents show played a central role in the scuttling of the Justify matter, said the only part of the CHRBs handling of the case that disappointed him was the secrecy. Baedeker and Arthur said in interviews that no matter how it was handled it would have been impossible to resolve the case that quickly. (At least one death of a Baffert horse identified by The Post was not included in the agencys data.) And Madeline Auerbach, who later became a CHRB commissioner, had partnered with Baffert in thoroughbred breeding. Even then, he would not talk about the specifics of the cases against him. 10, 2022. There are highs and lows and a lot of disappointment. But the overall record indicates that he may not be running as tight a ship as he should.. [10][12] However, his violations for use of prohibited medications has sparked controversy. Churchill Downs announced that any points earned in the leadup to the Kentucky Derby by horses associated with a suspended trainer would not be counted a move that seemingly targets Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Baffert failed in multiple attempts in Kentucky to overturn the track's ban or the start of his suspension, which began April 4. When he was 10, his father purchased some Quarter Horses and he practiced racing them on a dirt track. Grays office told the committee that removing Dr. Arthur from his position, while intentional, is not the sole purpose of the bill, records show. Baffert has also had his share of horse fatalities, the other metric to which his critics point. After winning the Santa Anita Derby in April of that year, Bafferts Justify tested positive for scopolamine, a banned substance, which normally would have disqualified the victory and made the horse ineligible to run in that years Kentucky Derby. See, I bet you didnt know I was a jockey? Baffert said. In response to public records requests in Maryland, New Jersey and Kentucky, officials told The Post that they did not maintain digital records of horse deaths by trainer, instead keeping reams of copies of reports. "[23] 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. At first it was believed the substance came from a pain-relief patch that Bafferts longtime assistant Jimmy Barnes was wearing because of back pain. "This is emblematic of what is happening to our country. Arthur and CHRB investigators inspected Bafferts barn, reviewed veterinary records and interviewed Baffert, who was flanked by an attorney. Obviously if we can get the Kentucky case resolved, Arkansas will have the benefit of knowing that result before a final decision is made in that case. The 5-year-old mare was the seventh seemingly healthy horse from that barn to drop dead in 16 months. was unconstitutional after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a postrace drug test. In that period, 36% of all cardiac related horse deaths in California were animals trained by Baffert. I believe there is some precedent in criminal law when a law is changed from a felony to a misdemeanor how they should be prosecuted even before the new law becomes effective, wrote Arthur, whose job before medical equine director was as a racetrack veterinarian. He still has a responsibility as the face of the game but I dont think hell overcome [this] because his personality wont allow him to do it.. I think much of the GOP political party is moving too far to the right. As he did so, a political group with Baffert on its board was involved in legislation that would result in Arthur losing his job. He saddled Paynter in the Belmont Stakes later that year, but that colt, like his stablemate Bodemeister, finished second. ), The records show Arthurs early decisions led to the CHRB veering off its usual course in its handling of the Justify case, beginning with his email to a testing coordinator that read, The scopolamine cases will be handled differently than usual., By the CHRBs own guidelines, the way forward was clear: If a second sample came back positive, the CHRB would file a complaint. But hes a good person, no, a great person. Arthur, the equine medical director, took issue with Petersens legal finding that the CHRBs handling of the case could be declared arbitrary or capricious. It wasn't long after the running of the 123rd Kentucky Derby, where a grey . Most were for excessive use of phenylbutazone, a commonly used anti-inflammatory known as bute. Drop dead while galloping, read a California Horse Racing Board vets account of the first horses death in November 2011. Hes good.. You wouldnt know it now.. With private eyes and political muscle, horse racings elite pushed to punish dopers, Throughout the months-long process, CHRB officials had indicated they planned on filing a complaint against Baffert, which would have exposed the failed drug test. On the morning of this years Kentucky Derby, he was going through his list of past Kentucky Derby winners and should-have-been winners, and dismissed Medina Spirit as not the best horse in the race. Things would have been so much simpler if the horse had not won the race. With upward of $1 million in yearly revenue drawn from wagering at tracks, the TOCs stated mission included establishing fair and reasonable medication rules and integrity standards., Baffert, the groups resident celebrity, was in business with several of his colleagues. For every Baffert defender, you can find someone on the other side. Baffert won the Derby a third time in 2002 with War Emblem. When asked about that plan, attorney Brewster said that in fact 5 Stones did investigate Baffert at the direction of the Jockey Club. All of the explanations for the positive drug tests are plausible, but collectively they raise questions. Bob Baffert's Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know Arthur called Bafferts blanket use of thyroxine troublesome and said at the meeting, I havent found an example of a barn that uses it in all their horses like Baffert does. Yet he determined that the drug wasnt to blame for the deaths. The previous August, Bob Baffert Racing Stables had donated $1,000 to the TOCs political action committee, California records show. Shortly after Petersen sent the analysis of the states chances, the CHRB agreed to settle Ruiss lawsuit. He also dismissed complaints that doping was rampant in the sport. But Californias adoption of ARCI guidelines is not a given. Hes the person few in the business want to talk about, but everyone wants to hear about. They had discussions with David Tinsley, the former DEA supervisor who runs 5 Stones, the people said, but the thoroughbred owners involved scrapped the plan. When The Post shared the data on 72 of the horse deaths with Brewster, he and Bafferts lawyer, W. Craig Robertson III, said that one of the horses listed was never in Bafferts care, though it is marked as his horse in CHRB records, and that another was a stable pony not being raced. The 77-year-old billionaire made headlines last year when he made a $10,000 contribution to opponents of Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance. Two months after Arthur cleared Baffert, the legislation to limit his term died. EXPLAINER: Why is Bob Baffert not in the Kentucky Derby? - Spectrum News 1 It then changed the classification of scopolamine so that its detection in a horse would trigger only a fine and not disqualification and loss of the races purse. But in 2019, he was banned from Santa Anita Park and affiliated tracks after four of his horses died there in six months. Bob Baffert has supporters and detractors in how he deals with jockeys "[29][30] On September 10, 2021 Baffert was charged by NYRA for conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing. This article was published more than1 year ago, LOS ANGELES In March 2020, horse racings most recognizable figure, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, declared that his sport was in crisis.. California keeps track of horse deaths by trainer, but there are errors and limits to the data. Bob Baffert: Hall of Fame trainer suspended from participating in - CNN But Baffert and his lawyers had since established a reputation for pugnaciousness when regulators attempted to discipline him. [14] It was Baffert's fifth violation in 13 months. He has not been in alliance with us, said Hancock, mentioning Bafferts many positive tests and then listing top trainers who have had one or zero positives in their career. Four months after that, in May 2014, Arthur issued an advisory that the CHRB was concerned by the apparently indiscriminate use of thyroxine and that the drug must be prescribed for a specific horse for a specific condition. Arthur told The Post that the advisory was a result of the Baffert investigation. The Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Trainer in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2015, Baffert has won 18 Breeders' Cup races, including four editions of the Classic with . Baffert has been married twice and has five children: four with his first wife, Sherry: Taylor, Canyon, Forest, and Savannah. Hal Earnhardt, an Arizona car dealer and Bafferts oldest client, introduced him to Pegram, who made his money in fast-food franchising. Bob survived a heart attack in late March 2012 while in Dubai for a world-class race at Meydan. Bafferts attorney argued in court that the trainers May suspension by the New York Racing Assn. After the test result was revealed, Mick Ruis, the trainer and owner of the Santa Anita Derbys runner-up, sued the CHRB, claiming Justifys win should have been erased. It will all be settled by lawyers and judges and that takes time. I went under the radar. He claimed the boards cover up cost him damages including the $400,000 difference between the first-place and second-place purses in the Santa Anita Derby. He has also won the Preakness Stakes five times and the Belmont Stakes once. With private eyes and political muscle, horse racings elite pushed to punish dopers, Bob Baffert, long horse racings irreverent king, sits on a precarious throne, Bob Baffert, banned from racing horses in New York, sues states racing association. Gray said at the time that the bill also would increase the institutional knowledge of Californias central horse drug-testing lab. Horse-racing deaths, like much of the sport, are shrouded by a disjointed bureaucracy. Finding a new director every two to four years would cost $300,000 each time, a committee that analyzed the bill found. If it surprised me it would be that I expected more, Roberts said. The month after Gray introduced his legislation, Bafferts seventh sudden death made the deaths at Hollywood Park a national news story. Per Baffert, barn staff including grooms, were involved in administering the thyroxine in feed.. Baffert, one of the most legendary trainers in American horse racing, has faced criticism and suspensions after his 2021 Kentucky Derby champion, Medina . The dark side of Bob Baffert's reign. This article was published more than1 year ago. Hes Mr. Teflon.. (A CHRB spokesman declined to comment, citing pending litigation. 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]. On July 15, 2020, Deputy Attorney General Robert Petersen sent his initial case assessment to Brodnik. In his claustrophobic and cluttered office at Santa Anita Barn 5, Bob Baffert, the hall of fame trainer, was pushing papers and moving stacks, hunting for a faded photo of his 17-year-old self aboard a long-forgotten quarter horse from a small racing circuit in Arizona. When the CHRB also decided to run DNA tests on the horses blood samples, the records show Arthur said the request would be a big deal and asked if they could wait until after the Preakness, which was 10 days away. Following the 2015 Belmont win, Baffert outlined several charities that he and his wife Jill supported. Kaleem Shah, an owner who split with Baffert in 2016, defended the trainer over the horse deaths. This America's different." pic . Bob Baffert - Bio, News, Photos - Washington Times This horse was going to run at the Triple Crown, Arthur said. Does the drug that could strip Medina Spirit of a Kentucky Derby win enhance performance? LOS ANGELES In 2018, as star trainer Bob Baffert led his thoroughbred Justify to the Triple Crown, California regulators embarked on a secret effort to exonerate Baffert after the horses positive test for a banned substance, according to confidential records obtained by The Washington Post that fully detail the saga for the first time. I told him there would be nothing from CHRB before the KY Derby, unlikely before the Preakness and possibly not until after the Belmont, Arthur wrote. This whole thing is ridiculous, Baffert texted back, according to messages obtained by The Post via public records request. In the 1980s, Baffert moved to California and worked at Los Alamitos Race Course, where he switched to training Thoroughbreds full-time in 1991. Arthur is the CHRBs primary advisor on drug testing, according to state code; the role of determining penalties in individual cases falls to its stewards and commissioners. The way this case was handled was out of respect for Justify., On the afternoon of April 18, 2018, Arthur learned that Justify and another Baffert horse, Hoppertunity, had tested positive for scopolamine. Former Democratic congressman Dennis Cardoza, also on the board, was co-owner with Pegram of Shakin It Up, a successful thoroughbred trained by Baffert. In the past three years, there were 188 deaths involving either racing or training in California. Darrell Vienna, Ruiss attorney, said he would not have agreed to those stipulations but was not allowed to intervene. Baffert grew up on a cattle and chicken farm in Nogales, Ariz., near the Mexico border. "We live in a different world now. Baffert revisited the Derby the next year, sending two top colts, Real Quiet and Indian Charlie, to Louisville. But in this case, Arthur urged a lighter penalty based on his suggestion the CHRB downgrade the drug. But Arthurs report said Hollywood Park used a different sort of poison than that found in the necropsy. Trump: Kentucky Derby Controversy 'Emblematic of What Is - Newsmax Theres a recognition that certain substances are normal in equine care, Martin said, but if that horse still requires that, then maybe you shouldnt run the horse., Martin made a distinction between doping horses with banned substances and running them with too much medication. Jerry Hollendorfer has the most deaths with 122. A 23-page analysis of that case, sent to the CHRB by a California deputy attorney general in July and obtained by The Post, suggests the states lawyers were concerned about the way the agency responded to the failed drug test. At one point, the regulators effort included searching for exonerating evidence in a literal haystack. It basically said something under his control is associated with these fatalities, Arthur said, but regulators couldnt act without evidence of a rules violation. Racing lacks a central clearinghouse for data on deaths nationally, and regulators in many states do not track deaths by trainer. Gary Fenton, chairman of the TOC, declined to be interviewed. A A Former President Donald Trump released a statement Sunday about the disputed winner of the Kentucky Derby, saying the controversy reflects the current state of the country. When Did threshold change and what were they before?, No amount of betamethasone is permitted in Kentucky races now, Borden wrote. In 1977, as a part-time trainer, he was suspended for a year when one of his horses tested positive for morphine. [34] However, the Kentucky Court of Appeals rejected Baffert's appeal on April 1. Justify tested positive for scopolamine, an anti-nausea medication said to have potential performance-enhancing effects in horses, after winning the Santa Anita Derby in April 2018. Ruis horse, Bolt dOro, finished second. Tinsley declined to comment. [21][22] Sports Illustrated suggested that the positive drug test was a sign that Baffert's "leaking credibility" had reached "the saturation point. That didnt feel appropriate to those of who wanted to see science prevail, Cardoza said. [15], At a news conference on May 9, Baffert initially said that Medina Spirit was never administered betamethasone. The lawyers said that taking into account Bafferts estimate of how many horses he has in his care, a count that differs from the starts data, the number of deaths of horses in Bobs barn is consistent with what would normally be expected from the horse population in general. Starts are regularly used, including by the CHRB, to study the death rates of a trainer. On Monday, Bell confirmed he helped with the search, adding Jimson weed has plagued California for years.. Baffert was granted a stay until April 4 to gain time for an appeal. The bill was introduced by California Assemblyman Adam Gray, a former aide to Cardoza who had been in office for less than three months. The Post reported this month that Arthur had previously studied a spate of sudden horse deaths in Bafferts barn. And he pushes the envelope to the extent that they give their lives for his bank account.. [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. Thats the only time I ever had to deal with somebody who tried to go to federal court to stop a state administrative action., Finally, in 2005, after the matter had returned to state court, the CHRB dismissed the suspension after an administrative law judge concluded Baffert had nothing to gain and a great deal to lose by the use of a banned substance on this horse., Baffert further solidified his influence in the ensuing years. Gagliano, the Jockey Club president, denied that the group had any knowledge of whom 5 Stones investigated, outside of the eventual indictments. Cardoza, who now works for a law firm, denied in an interview last month that the TOC was involved: Not at all. But he then said, TOCs involvement in that bill had nothing to do with Bob Baffert., Instead, Cardoza said, the drive to oust Arthur was over his opposition to Lasix. In 2012, Baffert saddled Bodemeister, named for the trainer's youngest son, Bode, to second-place finishes in the Derby and Preakness. Longtime client Mike Pegram explained, "Anybody who walks with that swagger, people are going to love him or hate himhe's a wiseass and irreverent." What we knew about horses you could put in a thimble. But in 2018, Arthur was still on the job when another Baffert-trained horse tested regulators willingness to challenge him. Arthur said the TOC was behind the effort to oust him because of his criticism of Lasix. The scheme involved digging up drug-related dirt on Baffert and then telling him that the evidence could disappear tomorrow if he were to endorse the federal reforms of the sport, one of the people said. Decorated racehorse trainer who won multiple Kentucky Derbies, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. By then, Bafferts encounters with regulators dated back decades, to 1977, when he served a yearlong suspension for racing a horse on morphine. Medina Spirit departed Churchill Downs in a van before dawn on Monday, bound for Baltimore (a horse van, not Jeff Spicoli's VW bus ). Hes a very unique personality, a unique sense of humor. Either way, the state-appointed official probing Bafferts role in the deaths at Hollywood Park did so as his job was being threatened by the efforts of a Baffert-affiliated coalition. A CHRB spokesman said the agency could not comment or make any employees available for an interview, citing the pending litigation. He also won the race in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 when run as a Grade I event. By the April 1 ruling, Baffert had already transferred four 3-year-old colts to other trainers. The drug was again betamethasone, and Baffert again expressed shock and vowed to clear his name. By then, Arthur already had a years-long, tangled history with Baffert. By age 20, he had developed a reputation as a trainer and was hired by other trainers to run their stables. But even in those cases, which were handled according to established rules, the horses were disqualified and their winning purses were forfeited. His most serious infraction was also his first. Baffert dedicated American Pharoah's win to Bobby. Those who have known Baffert the longest, including a core group of owners, recognize his flaws but generally remain steadfast in their support of him. I told him I thought there was a good indication that these were feed contamination.. [8] His first suspension was in 1977 for misuse of morphene, but thereafter he had no violations for the next eight years. Bob Baffert: Judge denies his request to lift two-year Churchill Downs In fact, Bafferts horses, at 8.3 deaths per 1,000 starts, have died at a significantly higher rate than Hollendorfers, at 6.25. American Pharoah next won the 140th Preakness Stakes, making six victories in that race for Baffert, who also finished fourth with Dortmund. [13] In Kentucky, any amount of betamethasone detected in post-race testing is a violation and could result in a disqualification. There have been so many false narratives that have come up and the hearing process isnt even done yet. On at least 14 occasions, Baffert has been caught racing a horse with more than the allowable amount of bute in its system, according to a review of ARCI data, making it his most common offense. Nonetheless, in that case, Arkansas suspended Baffert for 15 days. On June 2, with the Belmont Stakes a week away, the owner of a feed operation showed up at the CHRB office carrying plant samples he said he found more than a month earlier, the records show. Hes won seven, more than anyone else in the 147-year history of the race. 'It was cancel culture': Kentucky Derby winner's trainer defends failed Another day passed before it was discovered the colt was administered a topical ointment for a rash that contained betamethasone. The CHRB officially opened an investigation. Pegram persuaded Baffert to try thoroughbreds. Asked whether he was surprised by the finding that Bafferts barn was the deadliest in California, Roberts laughed. Celebrities Who Are Republicans/Conservatives - HubPages It bothers me when hes not considered the Kentucky Derby winner.. The board followed their recommendation. As The Post reported in April, the Jockey Club, an industry group of top thoroughbred owners, then hired the same private agency, 5 Stones Intelligence, to probe suspected dopers. In 2021, the post-race test of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit showed 21pg/mL of betamethasone. State investigators found that his staff was mixing a potentially dangerous prescription drug into the feed of every horse in his care. In more than four decades in the sport, Baffert has faced significant regulatory scrutiny because of a high death rate only once, after seven of his horses collapsed in a short period of time at the same California track. The Post separately obtained start data dating back to 2000 from the Daily Racing Form to put the deaths into context. The groom denied it. He declined to answer further questions. Biography Bob Baffert is best known as a horse rider. Whether youre a lifelong resident of D.C. or you just moved here, weve got you covered. A three-member hearing panel has made the decision to suspend Hall of Fame horse trainer Bob Baffert for one year, effective immediately, the New York Racing Association announced Thursday. The owner was Kaleem Shah. How carefully the dosage was followed was not determined, Arthur wrote. Bafferts lawyer called as a defense witness Arthur, who testified that his handling of the case was the fault of Californias cumbersome regulatory process. He declared, I considered this a horse poisoning, not a horse drugging., After the hearing, Santa Anitas Board of Stewards, a three-person panel that rules on drug cases, dismissed the complaints. FILE - In this Monday July 12, 2021 file photo, horse trainer Bob Baffert leaves federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Cherwa also contributes general interest stories from Florida. [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. Baffert did not have another medication violation for eight years. Early life and career [ edit] After Baffert was notified a week following this years Kentucky Derby that the colts blood and urine sample contained 21 picograms, a trillionth of a gram, of betamethasone, he held a hastily called news conference outside his barn at Churchill Downs saying he had no idea how it could have gotten into the horses system. [42][44] 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. Instead of promptly filing a public complaint against Baffert, the CHRB kept the positive result secret while Arthur conducted a lengthy investigation. In the settlement, which records show did not include monetary damages, CHRB agreed to file a complaint against Justify. He's a cheat and an asshole, and I hope Medina Spirit gets taken down and his connections are denied the $1.8 million first-place check. And Ive warned them that this was not going to stay a secret at the time, he testified of the CHRB, but that was their decision, not mine. (Baedeker, who retired last year, told The Post they couldnt legally disclose the test results because CHRB did not file a complaint.). Several members of the Breeders Cup board have used Baffert as their trainer. Its so obvious. Baffert's attorney argued in court that the trainer's May suspension by the New York Racing Assn. This included Baffert's home track at Santa Anita, although Baffert horse Shaaz won the sixth race on April 2. The majority of the deaths in Bafferts care are attributed to breakdowns, though others have died suddenly without explanation and some of the horses suffered illness including his most recent death, Noodles, in May where pneumonia was the suspected cause.

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