Leading OFF
Baffert wins, so horse owners overlook deaths and doping
Despite all of it — the drama, the doping accusations, even the deaths — there are no shortage of multimillionaires eager to give their high-priced Thoroughbreds to Bob Baffert.
Why? Because after a twoyear ban from the Kentucky Derby, Baffert quickly returning to the Triple Crown winner’s circle was the best bet in sports. And just like that, he’s back.
In a Preakness Stakes that was short on quality horses but electrifying at the end, Baffert’s National Treasure surged past Blazing Sevens after a stretch duel while Derby winner Mage settled for third.
It was the kind of result that helps explain why every year Baffert gets a new barn full of the best 2-year-old prospects in North America. Even with a horse that was just 1-for-5 and finished fourth in the Santa Anita Derby, Baffert delivered his 17th Triple Crown race win. If you want to win one of those three classics, the numbers say he’s the man most likely to get it done.
But for the larger ecosystem of horse racing, the Preakness was not a day to feel good about the state of the sport. After a Kentucky Derby week marred by seven horse deaths, there was no relief in Baltimore when Havnameltdown broke down and had to be euthanized in an earlier race on the Preakness card.
That would have been a tragedy no matter which barn Havnameltdown came from. But for those who believe Baffert’s highly publicized list of doping violations makes him a danger to the horses he trains, the breakdown of Havnameltdown seemed like evidence that the penalties he received in 2021 didn’t go far enough.
“This business is all twists and turns, the ups and downs,” Baffert said on NBC immediately after the Preakness. “It’s been a very emotional day.”
Baffert is right that this is the duality of horse racing distilled into one afternoon. In the span of a few sentences on television, he is fighting back tears for Havnameltdown while also celebrating with owners who are overjoyed at winning one of the most important races in the world.
To most people who don’t follow the sport closely, that might seem callous and inappropriate. But that’s kind of the reality of horse racing, especially for someone like Baffert who has lots of horses to train and lots of owners to keep happy. The show goes on.
Of course, the problem is that we see both sides of that emotional coin quite a bit— and far too much of the sadness — when it comes to Baffert.
A Washington Post report in 2021 revealed that Baffert’s stable had 8.3 horse deaths per 1,000 starts in California since 2000 — the highest rate among the state’s 10 trainers who had the most catastrophic breakdowns.
That’s an inexcusable number, but because of Baffert’s
charisma and success training Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify, it wasn’t at the forefront of very many discussions.
But that all changed in 2021 when Baffert’s would-be seventh Derby win with Medina Spirit was overturned due to a positive post-race drug test for betamethasone. Baffert’s argument that it was a topical ointment for a skin condition and not a performance enhancer fell on deaf ears. It was in the horse’s system when it wasn’t supposed to be. When Churchill Downs banned Baffert for two years, it cited not just what happened with Medina Spirit but his career-long history of drug violations: “Mr. Baffert’s record of testing failures threatens public confidence in Thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby.”
Though Baffert has claimed legally and in his public comments that his reputation has been sullied unfairly, the entire ordeal with Medina Spirit did not significantly change the core aspect of his business: attracting owners who thirst to win Triple Crown races.
Even the last couple of years, Baffert’s barn has been loaded with some of the most expensive and well-bred colts on the planet. Those who were good enough to make the Derby cut were temporarily transferred to other trainers so they would be eligible to run, but it’s clear Baffert had plenty waiting in the wings.
National Treasure is probably not even among the four or five best in his barn. Earlier on May 20, Baffert won a stakes race with Arabian Lion, who might have been the best horse in the field had he run in the Preakness.
And as the 2-year-olds are arriving and beginning to train for their debuts, there’s no doubt Baffert has already identified 10 or 12 of them as legitimate Derby prospects for next year, when he’ll make his triumphant return to Churchill Downs.
Whether the sport likes it or not, that reckoning is coming. And Baffert is going to be there with an undoubtedly strong hand, because at his level it’s a numbers game that he starts with the best and the most.
But no matter how many break down, how many get injured or how many drug violations he has on his record, losing is the only thing that would stop owners from sending Baffert their horses.
Last weekend’s Preakness showed why that isn’t going to happen any time soon.
National Treasure won the 148th Preakness Stakes on May 20, shattering Kentucky Derby winner Mage’s hopes of capturing the Triple Crown.
Ridden by jockey John Velazquez and trained by Bob Baffert, National Treasure finished first under the wire at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course ahead of Blazing Sevens. The winning time was 1:55:12.
Baffert now has the most Preakness wins by a trainer with eight. He was previously tied with Robert Wyndham Walden, who won the race seven times in the late 1800s. Baffert missed last year’s Preakness while serving a suspension after 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a drug test and was disqualified. Two weeks before the Preakness, he missed the Kentucky Derby for the second year in a row because of the sanctions. He has trained two horses that won the Triple Crown: American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018.
One of Baffert’s horses, Havnameltdown, was euthanized on the Pimlico track earlier in the day following the Chick Lang Stakes when the horse suffered an inoperable ankle injury. Jockey Luis Saez was thrown off the horse and taken to the hospital but was “stable and conscious.”
“This business is all twists and turns, the ups and downs. We had a horrible race and we’ve just been really totally wiped out after that horse got hurt,” an emotional Baffert said after National Treasure’s Preakness win. “There’s so many responsibilities a trainer has.
“Losing that horse today really hurt, but I’m happy for Johnny. He got the win . ... It’s been a very emotional day.”
Mage finished third, 21⁄4 lengths behind Blazing Sevens, after winning the Kentucky Derby earlier this month. That means there is no possibility of a Triple Crown winner during the Belmont Stakes on June 10.
“With no speed in the race, it’s hard to catch up with a horse that comes from behind,” Mage jockey Javier Castellano said. “My horse responded, but I couldn’t catch those other two horses. They opened up, and the race was over.”
It’s not clear if National Treasure will run at Belmont.
“Soak this up,” Baffert said when National Treasure’s owners directed a question about the Belmont Stakes to the trainer. “It’s been a tough go. We always think big, but the horse will let us know if he’s able to bounce back and go to Belmont. We’ll have a meeting.”
After First Mission scratched May 19, only seven horses raced in the Preakness. It was the smallest field since 1986 and, with only Mage making the trip to Baltimore with a short turnaround from Churchill Downs, it was the first time since 1948 that only one entrant from the Kentucky Derby participated in the Preakness.
First Mission was removed from the running because of a concern about his left hind ankle. Earlier this month, there were five scratches before the Kentucky Derby, including favorite Forte. The weekend at Churchill Downs was also marred by seven horse deaths.