Medina Spirit before that colt died in December after a work- out at Santa Anita. Yakteen h as about 30 horses of varying abilities in his barn. Adding Messier and Taiba has provided a jolt of positive energy, he said. “I have never, ever woken up and n
Tim YakARCADIA, CALIF. — teen has been to the Kentucky Derby w ith good horses before. Now the trainer is at Churchill Downs in charge for the first time with two top contenders that used to be trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.
Yakteen worked two different stints earlier in his career as an apprentice under Baffert, who won’t be at the Derby on Saturday because he’s serving a 90-day suspension imposed by Kentucky racing officials. The six-time Derby winner also has been banned for two years by Churchill Downs Inc.
It may seem uncomfortable to most everyone except Yakteen.
“I wouldn’t say that I think that there’s any awkwardness there,” he said. “I just feel really lucky and fortunate.”
A surprised Yakteen took calls from the owners of Messier and Taiba asking him to train their budding stars.
“I was honored they had the confidence that I could continue to carry the torch,” he said, perched on a trunk near Messier’s stall in his Santa Anita barn.
Baffert relinquished the colts to serve the punish- ment handed down after last year’s Derby winner, Medina Spirit, tested pos- itive for an anti-inflamma- tory medication that isn’t allowed on race day.
Baffert’s suspension bars him from Santa Anita and Yakteen said they’ve had no conversations since he took charge of Messier, the early 8-1 third choice in the Derby, and Taiba, a 12-1 shot.
Taiba is owned by Amr Zedan, who campaigned
Yakteen was raised in Germany, where his Lebanese father was stationed with the U.S. Army after becoming an American citizen.
He moved to the U.S. at age 18 in 1982, joining a sister who lived next to Los Alamitos racetrack in Cypress, California. He attended the races for the first time and was hooked.
“That night was electrifying and it’s been with me ever since,” he said.
He got a day job at the track working in publicity, group sales and marketing. At night, he’d watch the races.
It wasn’t long before Yakteen made his way to the stable area, offering to work for free filling water buckets and mucking stalls. He took up living in a tack room.
“I enjoyed every aspect of it,” he said. “I had a goal that I wanted to be part of the industry.”
After starting with harness horses, Yakteen got hired by a white-haired quarter horse trainer named Baffert, who had left Arizona to chase his own dream. When Baffert switched to thoroughbreds in 1988, Yakteen stayed with him.