Bob Baffert is back at the Kentucky Derby for the first time in three years. The most infamous (and successful) trainer in horse racing returned to Churchill Downs with a wry smile and a joke.
Did the powers that be conspire against him?!
Baffert, 72, is the most influential trainer in the history of horse racing whether you like him or not. Horses under his tutelage have won six Kentucky Derbies, a record eight Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes and three Kentucky Oaks. He can also claim two Triple Crowns with American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018.
That success does not even include Medina Spirit, which leads us to today.
Medina Spirit won the Kentucky Derby in 2021 but the result was overturned after the horse tested positive for the corticoseroid betamethasone. It was Baffert’s fifth medical violation in 13 months. Several different racetracks immediately suspended the trainer from entering its races. Churchill Downs issued a hard ban of three years.
Baffert initially claimed that Media Spirit was never administered betamethasone. He was going to fight “tooth and nail” to clear his name but he later backed off of his original story. Medina Spirit was treated for dermatitis using an ointment containing betamethasone.
Baffert ultimately filed a lawsuit against Churchill Downs to overturn his ban and the two sides went back-and-fourth for more than 18 months. They eventually halted the legal battle last July. Baffert dropped his suit. Churchill Downs dropped its ban.
Thus, this weekend’s return to the Kentucky Derby is not Bob Baffert’s first time back at Churchill Downs after the ban was lifted. He was there in November to watch his horse, Barnes, win a race and to tour the new paddock. This weekend is different. It’s the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports.
When asked about the mending of fences with Churchill Downs, Baffert chose not to provide any further information. “That’s a big secret,” he said with a grin.
Everybody’s been really nice to me. They say they are happy to see me, and I’m happy to be back.
— Bob Baffert
Bob Baffert has two horses in this year’s running of the Kentucky Derby. Rodriguez enters the race at 12-1. Citizen Bull is the other.
Citizen Bull was (and is?) expected to be Baffert’s best chance at a win. It was the fastest of the 15 horses that worked out at Churchill Downs on Monday.
However, Citizen Bull drew the dreaded No. 1 position. No horse has won the Kentucky Derby from Gate 1 since 1986. The horse’s odds immediately dropped to 20-1.
Baffert floated a conspiracy theory about the draw. He joked that there might be collusion involved with the No. 1 position! Did Churchill Downs rig the draw against him?
I wish I had a challenge flag. If I had it, I would have thrown it!
— Bob Baffert
Although Bob Baffert was joking, probably, there is no doubt that Churchill Downs was thrilled to see Citizen Bull end up in the worst position. His haters would agree.
To get a 17th win in a Triple Crown race this week, Baffert will likely need to rely on Rodriguez, winner of the Wood Memorial. It would be a giant middle finger to Churchill Downs if either of his two horses end up in the winner’s circle. It would be even more insane if Citizen Bull pulls it off from the No. 1 spot.