Tag: Bob Baffert

Trainer Bob Baffert's Medina Spirit wired the field in the Grade 1 Awesome Again earlier this month. The star Baffert colt -- as well as his other Breeders' Cup entries -- will be allowed to run in the championships at Del Mar next month. (Image: Ernie Belmonte)

Breeders’ Cup Allows Baffert’s Horses to Run with Extra Conditions

After a nearly month-long “review process” on Bob Baffert’s status, Breeders’ Cup officials announced on Sunday that the Hall of Fame trainer can enter this year’s Nov. 5-6 event at Del Mar, with certain conditions. Those conditions include extra testing of his entries, which Baffert will pay for, along with […]

Bob Baffert's star 3-year-old filly Private Mission heads to the Breeders' Cup Distaff after Sunday's convincing victory in the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita Park. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Baffert Makes Santa Anita Park His Personal Playground — Again

Two weeks ago, Bob Baffert made what appeared to be a head-scratching decision, keeping star 3-year-olds Medina Spirit and Private Mission home in California. That, instead of running the pair against their age group rivals in Parx Racing’s two marquee races, the Pennsylvania Derby and the Cotillion. And yet again, […]

Tripoli has two victories and a second in his last three races. This includes this win in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. He carries value-laden 3/1 odds into the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Awesome Again Pits ‘Youngster’ Medina Spirit Against His Elders

Medina Spirit is considered one of the “kids” in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes, a change in status from what his consideration would have been, had he run in last week’s Pennsylvania Derby. From one of the fellow 3-year-olds in that race, to one of the kids in Saturday’s […]

You saw Medina Spirit and John Velazquez capture August's Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar. You won't see the pair in Saturday's Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby. Trainer Bob Baffert scratched the Kentucky Derby winner after he drew an outside post. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Citing Post Draw, Baffert Scratches Medina Spirit from Penn Derby

Bob Baffert scratched Medina Spirit from Saturday’s Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx on Tuesday after the Kentucky Derby winner and 2/1 morning-line favorite drew an outside post that Baffert found troubling. Medina Spirit drew post 9 in the 10-horse Pennsylvania Derby field. That put his two chief competitors, Hot […]

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert faces another challenge from a racing organization. The Breeders' Cup began reviewing his eligibility for this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships. (Image: John Minchillo/Associated Press)

Breeders’ Cup Board Instigates Review on Bob Baffert’s Eligibility

The Breeders’ Cup announced this weekend that it began reviewing whether Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert can send his horses to this year’s event, set for Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar. The process began in the wake of the New York Racing Association’s scheduled Sept. 27 hearing for the […]

The 2022 Road to the Kentucky Derby begins Sept. 18 at the home of the Derby: Churchill Downs. (Image: Churchill Downs)

Suspended Baffert Not Invited to Join 2022 Kentucky Derby Trail

When the Road to the 2022 Kentucky Derby begins Saturday, Sept. 18, the trail to the Run for the Roses will proceed without the trainer synonymous with Derby success: Bob Baffert. Churchill Downs announced in a Friday statement that no Derby qualifying points will be awarded to “any horse trained […]

Jockey Tiago Pereira rode Tripoli to Horse of the Meet honors at Del Mar. Tripoli won the Grade 1 Pacific Classic and helped owners Hronis Racing take its sixth Del Mar owners title and fourth in the last five years. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Del Mar Wrap: Nothing Average About Record Average Daily Handle

Del Mar closed its 82nd summer season with a track record for daily average handle, watching horseplayers wager an average of nearly $18.4 million each day of the 31-day meet. That surpassed last year’s daily average of $17.3 million, which came without fans in the stands thanks to the pandemic. […]

Pappacap impressed in both his races, including this stalking victory in the Grade 2 Best Pal. He is a strong contender to win Monday's Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Del Mar Futurity Gives You Derby Prospects Worth Watching

The Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity is another one of those races carrying a heavy Bob Baffert flavor. The Hall of Fame trainer won the Futurity a record 14 times, including seven consecutive victories between 1996 and 2002. That’s not surprising when you consider it’s one of the top 2-year-old […]

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit won his third race of 2021 with this 1 1/4-length victory in the Shared Belief Stakes over Rock Your World. The two sophomores may see each other for the fourth time this year in either the Pennsylvania Derby or Awesome Again Stakes. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Medina Spirit Edges Rock Your World in the Shared Belief

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit returned to racing for the first time in 3 ½ months on Sunday, capturing the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar. Along the way, Medina Spirit turned a trick no other Bob Baffert-trained horse has ever done. “For what this horse has gone through, he’s […]

Letruska has been the most impressive older female horse in 2021, as her last-out victory here in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis illustrates. She is the 6/5 favorite to win her fourth consecutive graded-stakes race in Saturday's Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga. (Image: Coady Photography)

Letruska Brings Formidable Form Into a Deep Personal Ensign Field

Say this for the 2021 Personal Ensign; Letruska may be the clubhouse leader as Champion Older Filly of the Year, but her rivals for that title don’t scare easily. That explains why the Grade 1 Personal Ensign – one of Saratoga’s six Grade 1s on Saturday — features a deep, […]

Gamine's balletic stride is illustrated in her 10-length romp in July's Great Lady M Stakes at Los Alamitos. The Champion Female Sprinter of 2020 returns to Saratoga Saturday for the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes. (Image: Ernie Belmonte)

Gamine Dances into Saratoga for the Ballerina Stakes

You’ve got an in-form Gamine running a seven-furlong sprint on an Eastern track with a Breeders’ Cup berth on the line. Given what this combination has created in the past, it’s no wonder you’ll find the Champion Female Sprinter of 2020 in a race called the Ballerina. After all, almost […]

Controversial Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit may return to the gate for the first time since May 15 at Saturday's Grade 3 Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Derby Champion Medina Spirit May Return Saturday for Shared Belief

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, who hasn’t run since finishing third in the May 15 Preakness Stakes, could be back this Saturday for the Grade 3 Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar. According to the Daily Racing Form, the Bob Baffert-trainee’s return is contingent on a Monday workout for the […]

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert (left), shown here leaving federal court during a Monday hearing, had his indefinite suspension by the New York Racing Association ruled unconstitutional. A Brooklyn judge said the suspension violated the trainer's due process rights. (Image: AP File Photo/John Minchillo)

Judge Rules Bob Baffert’s NYRA Suspension Unconstitutional

On the eve of Saratoga Race Course’s 2021 opening day, a New York federal judge ruled the New York Racing Association’s suspension of Bob Baffert was unconstitutional. That Wednesday ruling by Judge Carol Bagley Amon opens the gate for the Hall of Fame trainer to run his charges at Saratoga’s […]

Defunded owns only this maiden special weight win in five starts. But the gelding is the 3/5 favorite to win Sunday's Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby. (Image: Ernie Belmonte)

As Usual, Los Alamitos Derby Discussion Begins With Baffert

Someone in this small, but scrappy, Los Alamitos Derby field is going to earn what has heretofore been a difficult achievement for them: a stakes victory.  And as usual in this race, Bob Baffert has the upper hand. Baffert sends out both 3/5 favorite Defunded and 5/2 second-favorite Classier into […]

The Los Alamitos Derby, won by Uncle Chuck last year, has struggled to fill fields lately. It was postponed from Saturday to Sunday in an effort to draw more competitors. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Lack of Entries Pushes Los Alamitos Derby From Saturday to Sunday

Due to an insufficient number of entries, the Los Alamitos Derby, one of the flagship events on Los Alamitos’ abbreviated summer Thoroughbred card, will run on Sunday instead of Saturday. The $150,000 Grade 3 event, which takes its 3-year-olds 1 1/8 miles around the Southern California track, drew only four […]

The freakish speed of Life is Good returned to the track Thursday for the first time since March. When he's ready to race, Life is Good will do so under new trainer Todd Pletcher. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Life is Good Hits the Track, Hits the Road from Baffert to Pletcher

The fallout from Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s suspension from New York Racing Association tracks manifested itself again Thursday when WinStar Farm president and CEO Elliott Walden said he will send star 3-year-old Life is Good to Todd Pletcher once the horse is ready to return. That return may […]

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit remains the focus of a legal battle over his urine sample. On Wednesday, a Kentucky judge allowed further testing on the colt. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Judge Grants Baffert’s Request for More Testing of Medina Spirit’s Urine

Kentucky Judge Thomas Wingate granted permission on Wednesday for a urine sample of Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit to undergo extra testing at a New York lab. Blood-Horse first reported that Wingate, a Circuit Court Judge from Franklin, Kentucky, specified the details for the sample’s transfer from the Kentucky Horse […]

Bob Baffert filed suit against the New York Racing Association Monday, claiming the organization had no legal jurisdiction to suspend him. (Image: Charlie Riedel/AP File Photo)

Baffert Continues Legal Offensive, Sues NYRA Over Suspension

Remaining on the legal offensive, even as he keeps a low profile, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert filed a lawsuit against the New York Racing Association Monday. The suit claims Baffert’s right to due process was violated when the organization suspended him. The Thoroughbred Daily News first reported that […]

Medina Spirit trainer Bob Baffert (left) and owner Amr Zedan flank jockey John Velazquez as they hoist the Kentucky Derby trophy. Baffert and Zedan filed suit Tuesday to protect Medina Spirit's Derby victory. (Image: AP Photo)

Baffert, Zedan File Suit Seeking Extra Testing for Medina Spirit

Bob Baffert and Amr Zedan, the trainer and owner of Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit, went on the legal offensive Tuesday, filing a lawsuit against the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. The suit, filed in Franklin Circuit Court in Kentucky, claims the KHRC’s ban on betamethasone applies only to injections and […]

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert doubles as the face of his sport. His face won't be around Churchill Downs the next two years after that track suspended him for two years. (Image: AP Photo)

Churchill Downs Drops Two-Year Suspension on Bob Baffert

In the wake of Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit’s split sample testing positive for the prohibited anti-inflammatory betamethasone, Churchill Downs suspended trainer Bob Baffert for two years, effective immediately. The ruling prohibits the Hall of Fame trainer from entering horses for races or occupying stall space at Churchill Downs, and […]