NYRA suspends Bob Baffert 1 year; eligible to return in Jan.
The New York Racing Association suspended trainer Bob Baffert for one year Thursday for repeated medication violations,
A panel credited Baffert for time served from an initial suspension that makes the twotime Triple Crown-winner eligible to saddle horses in New York again Jan. 26. The final decision marks the end of a protracted back and forth about Baffert’s status in the state that began in May 2021.
“This was an impartial and deliberative process that has resulted in a lengthy suspension of the sport’s most prominent trainer,” NYRA President and CEO Dave O’Rourke said in statement. “However, this is not simply about Bob Baffert or any one individual but about protecting the integrity of the sport here in New York. Today’s decision advances that goal.”
The ban is shorter than the two years Churchill Downs sidelined Baffert after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for a substance that is not allowed on race day. Retired New York State Supreme Court Justice O. Peter Sherwood, who was serving as the NYRA hearing officer, previously recommended a two-year suspension.
The panel’s decision cannot be appealed through NYRA’s process, which was developed last year after Baffert successfully sued in federal court to get his initial suspension in New York lifted. Baffert is also fighting in federal court against the Churchill Downs ban that made him ineligible to run horses in the Derby in 2022 and 2023.
Under the terms of the suspension agreed to by the panel made up of Saratoga attorney John J. Carusone, New York Thorough-* bred Horsemen’s Association executive director Will Alempijevic and New York Race Track Chaplaincy of America leader the Rev. Humberto Chavez, Baffert would be able to be a part of the Belmont Stakes next year.
Medina Spirit tested positive for the corticosteroid betamethasone, which is not allowed in Kentucky on race day, and was later disqualified. The colt collapsed and died in December in California. An exam found no definitive cause of death.