Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s lawsuit against the New York Racing Association was dismissed Friday, clearing the way for his pre-suspension hearing from the organization to go forward. Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York threw out Baffert’s attempt to […]
Tag: Bob Baffert
Few Surprises Revealed as Eclipse Award Finalists Announced
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, National Turf Writers and Broadcasters, and the Daily Racing Form announced the finalists for the 2021 Eclipse Awards on Saturday. The list of finalists did not include Horse of the Year candidates, for which Knicks Go is a virtual certainty. Instead, finalists in 16 of […]
Champion Sprinter Gamine Retired Mere Days Into Her 5-Year-Old Season
Gamine, the incomparable sprinter who is among the fastest runners this century, was retired Monday, according to a release from her owner, Pandora jewelry baron Michael Lund Petersen. Through a representative, Petersen announced the now-5-year-old mare will reside at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Kentucky. With a 9-0-1 record and […]
Smarty Jones Winner Dash Attack Gives McPeek a Pleasant Problem
Kenny McPeek has what you call a Kentucky Derby embarrassment of riches coming courtesy of Dash Attack, who won Saturday’s Listed Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park. And the dynamic trainer is still trying to put the talented pieces together. That’s because, on Saturday, McPeek added another piece to an […]
As Time Goes By Blows By Her La Canada Rivals; Elusive Grade 1 Up Next
With trainer Bob Baffert 10 miles down the road attending the Rose Bowl, his mare As Time Goes By went by her competition by 13 ½ lengths, winning the Grade 3 La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita Park in dominant fashion. As Time Goes By proved she didn’t need Baffert […]
When it Comes to the Derby, Nothing Phony About These Sham Stakes
Unlike many of its early Kentucky Derby prep predecessors, Saturday’s Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita Park brings the recent Derby chops with it. How recent? How about the last two Derby champions? The one-mile Sham, which offers 10-4-2-1 Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers, gave you […]
Speedy Flightline, Classy Dr. Schivel Point the Way In the Malibu Stakes
All you need to know about the marquee race on Santa Anita Park’s Opening Day slate – the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes – is that Dr. Schivel: a two-time Grade 1 winner and the only Grade 1 winner in the field, isn’t the favorite. The same Dr. Schivel who was […]
Private Mission’s La Brea Stakes Mission: Avoid A Pace Meltdown
The last time we saw Private Mission, she was engaged in an incendiary pace meltdown with Letruska and others in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar. Now, we see if she’s learned a lesson from that rude awakening in Sunday’s Grade 1 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita Park. […]
California Senator Feinstein Calls Out CHRB on Medina Spirit Investigation
California Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein, one of the Senate co-sponsors of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 and a frequent critic of horse racing, wrote a letter to the California Horse Racing Board seeking transparency in the sudden death of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit. In the […]
Los Alamitos Futurity: The Race Bob Baffert Made His Own
The Bob Baffert Invitational, otherwise known as the Los Alamitos Futurity, goes off on Saturday as the penultimate day of Los Alamitos’ short Thoroughbred Winter Meet. And as you would expect, the 1 1/16-mile test for 2-year-olds has that usual Baffert flavor to it. There’s Messier, the prohibitive 1/2 favorite. […]
Derby Champion Medina Spirit Dies of Apparent Heart Attack After Workout
The sporting world beyond horse racing was shocked Monday morning when 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit suddenly died of an apparent heart attack after a morning workout at Santa Anita Park. The Bob Baffert-trained 3-year-old had just finished a five-furlong work in 1:01.40 when he collapsed. Santa Anita’s onsite […]
Baffert Attorneys: Test Proves Cream Caused Medina Spirit’s Positive Test
The attorneys for Medina Spirit’s owner and trainer, Amr Zedan and Bob Baffert, issued statements late Friday claiming that tests performed by a New York laboratory confirmed their position that the Kentucky Derby winner’s positive test for the corticosteroid betamethasone came from the ointment Otomax and not an injection. Baffert’s […]
Baffert Sends Three Looking for Five in the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes
Not surprisingly, Saturday’s Grade 1 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos has that distinct Bob Baffert flavor to it. That flavor manifests itself with the Hall of Fame trainer sending out three 2-year-old fillies in what is the final Grade 1 of the year for juvenile fillies. To illustrate Baffert’s dominance […]
Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool Opens Without Baffert Colts
In case you’re curious, the first Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool opens this weekend with “All Other Colts and Geldings from the 2019 Foal Crop†as the even-money favorite. It also opens with the current Las Vegas futures favorite, Corniche, literally missing from action. Currently 6/1 at Caesars at William […]
Azul Coast Breaks Out of the Shadows, Takes Native Diver at Del Mar
Azul Coast was the forgotten Baffert; the also-ran in the three-headed contingent the Hall of Fame conditioner sent out in the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar on Saturday. Hidden in the shadow of the more heralded Eight Rings and the veteran stakes runner Ax Man, and coming […]
Two 2022 Derby Hopefuls Share Future Odds on Differing Paths
As one Kentucky Derby hopeful underwent surgery, another underwent surgery to his Derby futures odds after winning his stakes debut. Jack Christopher, who was the 9/5 morning-line favorite before being scratched from the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, had a screw placed in a left shin, according to Blood-Horse. After Dr. Larry […]
Letruska, Malathaat Coming Back After Breeders’ Cup Disappointments
Unlike many of the boys who are heading off to the stallion shed, expect to see the standout fillies and mares coming out of the Breeders’ Cup at a track near you in 2022. Where and when you’ll see them is a story still being written. Take Letruska, who was […]
What’s Next After Breeders’ Cup? Knicks Go vs. Life Is Good For Starters
How does Knicks Go vs. Life Is Good for the Pegasus World Cup sound? Like the Breeders’ Cup Classic winner isn’t quite ready for his stud career yet? Trainer Brad Cox told the Breeders’ Cup notes team that the Classic winner and all-but-anointed Horse of the Year has one more […]
Breeders’ Cup Classic: An All-Star Field With Numerous Possibilities
The first thing worth understanding about the Breeders’ Cup Classic is that it’s not kind to favorites. Unless you qualify for legend status, like Ferdinand, Alysheba, A.P. Indy, Cigar, Skip Away, Ghostzapper, Zenyatta and American Pharoah do. Last year’s winner, Authentic, was 5/1. Your favorite, meanwhile, was 3.20/1 Tiz the […]
Breeders’ Cup Reveals Intense Security Measures for Baffert’s Horses
The Breeders’ Cup may have been late to the Bob Baffert scrutiny party, but the organization is bringing a rather hefty punch to the proceedings. On Tuesday, it outlined to the Los Angeles Times the security measures the Hall of Fame trainer must adhere to for his horses to run […]