After largely getting away with 7 dead horses in less than a year and a half and 30+ horses testing positive for prohibited substances in his hall of fame career it appears Bob Baffert has finally pushed things too far.
Making reference to Baffert's "reckless practices and substance violations" as well as "increasingly extraordinary explanations" Churchill Downs has announced no horse trained by Baffert or by Bob Baffert Racing Stables can race at any track owned by Churchill Downs Inc. until the conclusion of the 2023 Spring Meet at Churchill Downs.
A few months ago, afer viewing the Baffert interview from Inside the Betting Life: Horses I was intrigued enough to purchase his autobiography, "Baffert: Dirt Road To The Derby" by Bob Baffert with Steve Haskin.
In the book, starting on page 84, Baffert writes about his very first controversy with banned substances in 1975:
"The following year, after school was out, I returned to Los Alamitos with a friend, Jim Maple, and we had about five horses between us. My brother Bill also was there. I galloped the horses for Jim, who was a top trainer at Rillito Downs. Although they were his horses, I had a trainer's license at Los Alamitos, so they raced in my name. I wound up claiming a horse myself for two thousand dollars and was going to run him back. I couldn't win a race there, and wanted to win so badly before the meet ended. Four days before the end of the meet, I ran this horse, and a guy told me if he gave the horse some stuff the horse would win. I didn't know what it was and I barely knew the guy. At the time, I was sort of like a guinea pig, and he gave it to the horse. None of my horses ever got tested because they always ran so far back. So he gave this stuff to my horse, who still ended up losing, but they tested him on a spot check.
Now the meet's over and everybody has packed up and left. Maple's gone. Bill's gone. I'm waiting for my dad to come and get me when I get a call to go to the stable gate. They tell me I need to call the California Horse Racing Board. I call them and they tell me the horse I ran has tested positive for a pain killer. Well, it was like my guts had fallen out. I was so mad at myself. I kept thinking, "How stupid can I be?''
My dad shows up and I tell him the bad news. He was the listed owner of the horse, and he goes, "Bob, what's wrong with you?" But he felt bad for me; he knew I felt horrible. One thing about my dad, whenever I got in a bad spot, he'd never get on my case. He'd always say, "Don't worry, we'll deal with it." We drive up to Hollywood Park and my dad is trying to think of a story for me. We go before these investigators, and I do the usual deal "I don't know what happened," and this and that. Afterward, they say, "We'll get back to you."
After going back home, I got a letter from the racing board saying I never showed up for my hearing. They had wanted me to go up to Sacramento because the meet was over. They told me if I came back in January, six months later, they'd give me a hearing. My dad typed out a story for me to tell - It was the last night of the meet, and a lot of horses were shipping out, and I noticed that there were a lot of suspicious characters hanging around the barn. With so many horses leaving at once, the security was kind of lax. This was my story."
I'm disinclined to believe Baffert's account. "I didn't know what it was..." What sort of horse trainer would allow "a guy" to administer an unknown substance to his horse?
Baffert ended up receiving a one-year retroactive suspension for this offense, which meant he was only actually suspended for six months.
In 1907 an owner named Joseph Marrone entered his horse St. Joseph at Bennings, in Washington D.C. There was no official drug testing in those days but St. Joseph arrested the attention of track stewards and the veternarian due to the horse's "warm appearance and antics." St. Joseph finished second to last in the first race, after which Marrone was suspended and prohibited from entering the track.
The Washington Times of Nov. 26, 1907 stated: "Not much sympathy will be exerted over Marrone's troubles. He is a type of horsemen who plays the game with sharp tools and if his own fingers are cut, nobody will cry."
Horse racing may have changed a lot over the past 100+ years but like Marrone I suspect nobody is shedding tears for Bob Baffert.
Marrone's case eventually ended up in the Supreme Court. How far will Baffert go to be reinstated?
JHK
