Yup. He had it coming. Still a surprise though.
Bet he’s angry. I wonder how long it will take him to sue.
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From TDN;
" Clark Brewster, who represented Bob Baffert in the Medina Spirit case, told the TDN : “This has nothing to do with anything that Bob has done or said. Bob simply has come forward and said he used this particular topical and that the rules permitted it. He felt that the rules dealing with betamethasone involved with injecting a horse within 14 days of the race. He’s been open and transparent and hasn’t been in any way accusatory. The words in this release are shocking and don’t deal with the reality in any way.”
Gee, I remember Baffert saying a heck of a lot more than that…
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But the rules don’t permit it. His creative interpretation is irrelevant.
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Baffert seems to think that what he believes is what matters.
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Apparently the attorney has an even shorter memory than I do.
I remember Baffert saying;
CDI board members of had it out for him because his horses might outrun the horses they had an interest in.
Medina Spirit was sabotaged.
Medina Spirit was never prescribed or treated with Betamethasone ever.
He (Baffert) was a victim of cancel culture.
Etc…etc… and so forth. He should have learned from his self sabotage, to shut up, and become more concerned with keeping the owners who are his bread and butter able to run in the Derby, rather than giving vent to his own inflated ego.
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I completely agree that Baffert should have taken his punishment and gone on with his life and the argument that the route of administration made the slightest difference was ludicrous but he already got a punishment that was about a year and 50 weeks longer than it should have been. He may have whined the whole time but he did do the time. I think arbitrarily adding a year plus on top of that is wrong.
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I don’t know. He didn’t take his punishment willingly, he bitched and whined and fought in court for years.
Baffert sullied 2 of CDI’s most prestigious races (KD and the Oaks.)
Can’t really blame them for losing patience.
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I have mixed feelings about this. I completely agree it seems excessive and even arbitrary to extend the suspension, but at the same time Churchill Downs has a tremendous amount to lose by more bad press, and Baffert brings more of exactly that. A not insignificant number of nonracing folk associate Baffert with cheating and/or the guy that drugs his horses, and having his face front and center in the most publicized events leaves a sour taste in the mouth of many. CDI stands to lose more face with the public if this highly recognized figure is associated with them, and they have a right to protect their brand. It’s an interesting situation in that respect.
I was turned off by Baffert’s gross talking points explanation on this year’s Belmont broadcast as it really showed he hadn’t learned a damn thing and showed no humility or contrition.
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Agreed.
How many times does anyone get smacked for wrongdoing, and take it happily? I do not think that Churchill should be able to dictate how he is supposed to comport himself while serving out their sentence…
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Well in prison your behavior only accounts for whether or not they let you out early. Unless you commit another crime when your sentence is up out you go. I understand this suspension wasn’t directly related to the positive tests as CDI themselves can’t suspend anyone for that but still seems arbitrary.
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Reading the CDI statement, Baffert signed an agreement with a private company that required a certain standard of behaviour. It was a voluntary agreement. Baffert was under no obligation to run his horses. The CDI is protecting its own reputation.
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Baffert wasn’t in prison. CDI is a private company. They can decide to not let someone run horses who is flashing his middle finger at CDI and the rules that he broke. Horsemen should be able to speak up about something they think is wrong, and to proceed with the administrative process to try to right it. But that’s not what BB has been doing. He’s been using his fame and money connections to pave over anything that gets in his way so that he can go on and do whatever he wants. This is a good course correction for the industry—you can’t behave like that.
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They’re not doing that. As you pointed out, they’re not able to.
They’re simply saying ‘since you’ve spent the past 2 years maligning us in the media and the courts, with no sign of quitting any time soon, we prefer that you keep your whiny butt off our private property.’
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I understand your point. However, while Churchill’s original suspension was warranted, this gives the appearance of a vendetta, and that’s not a great look for them, IMHO.
ETA- I also feel that Churchill is using Baffert, and his alleged n’er do well behavior, to try and divert attention from the dozen dead horses at their track. By suspending Baffert, they may believe that it appears that they are being extra special careful. News flash- clearly, none of those horses were trained by Baffert.
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I completely agree that this is a deflection of attention. I didn’t agree with his original ban and don’t agree with the extension. I understand it’s within their rights but I think it’s wrong. They rode the Baffert cash cow for a decade or more.
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I certainly don’t speak for CDI. But here they have a guy who has embroiled them in numerous lawsuits over the past 2 years. When he loses, he appeals or sues again in another court. He’s backed by an owner (Zedan) who’s been quoted as saying he’ll spend his entire fortune (billionaire) attempting to make his horse the Derby winner.
If this was your backyard, would you want Baffert playing in it? He’s a huge liability. Imagine how much money CDI has spent defending this DQ. Baffert’s excuses for the drug being in the horse’s system–and there have been many–add up to the equine equivalent of ‘the dog ate my homework’.
To me, this sounds less like a vendetta than a precaution.
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I think we’ll have to agree to disagree. Or not.
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Quite often. It’s called having the ability and the class to behave like an adult when you’ve broken the rules. It’s also called good sportsmanship.
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I understand. However, this is a significant issue for Baffert, who makes his living bringing along horses who have a shot at being triple crown winners. That means that they need to win the KY Derby first. Taking away the opportunity for him to do that is a significant shot.
I understand that no one likes him grumbling, or the lawsuits. However, Churchill knows damn well that in making this decision, that’s exactly what they’re going to get. Do they expect him to stand down, and accede to their dictum? Probably not.
Denial of reality is a thing these days, politically as well as in this situation. But if I was Baffert, I would probably fight this one, too.
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Won’t he have to prove that CDI’s persona non grata stance regarding him is severely affecting his business? Since he runs in California more than anywhere else I think that he would have a difficult time proving that CDI’s ban has severely affected his bottom line.
He has a right to argue about it. But trying to backpedal on his comments and saying that he only said that he thought the betamethasone rule applied to injections only, and that “He’s been open and transparent and hasn’t been in any way accusatory” is inaccurate, to say the least.
You’d think he’d have learned by now to rein in his ego and move on.
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