The following statement from trainer Bob Baffert was released through his attorney on Wednesday morning:
2020 has been a difficult year for everyone. It has been no exception for my family, my barn, and me. I am very aware of the several incidents this year concerning my horses and the impact it has had on my family, horse racing, and me.
I want to have a positive influence on the sport of horse racing. Horses have been my life and I owe everything to them and the tremendous sport in which I have been so fortunate to be involved.
We can always do better and that is my goal. Given what has transpired this year, I intend to do everything possible to ensure I receive no further medication complaints. As such, I want to announce that, beginning immediately, I plan to implement the following procedures in an effort to make my barn one of the leaders in best practices and rule compliance:
- I am retaining Dr. Michael Hore of the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute to add an additional layer of protection to ensure the well-being of horses in my care and rule compliance.
- I am increasing the training and awareness of all my employees when it comes to proper protocols.
- I am personally increasing my oversight and commitment to running a tight ship and being careful that protective measures are in place.
I want to raise the bar and set the standard for equine safety and rule compliance going forward. For those of you that have been upset over the incidents of this past year, I share in your disappointment. I humbly vow to do everything within my power to do better. I want my legacy to be one of making every effort to do right by the horse and the sport.
Baffert has been the subject of public criticism following a series of positive post-race tests for therapeutic drugs in his barn this year. The most recent came when the California Horse Racing Board reported a finding for dextrorphan in a Baffert trainee post race. Previously, news broke that initial testing after the G1 Kentucky Oaks found a positive for betamethasone in Gamine after her third-place finish. Stewards have not yet ruled on the dextroprhan overage in California, and a split sample test has not yet been completed for the betamethasone. Earlier this year, Gamine and Charlatan tested positive post-race for lidocaine in Arkansas, for which Baffert was suspended for 15 days. He is appealing that suspension. Last week, CHRB stewards held a hearing to determine whether Justify should be disqualified from his 2018 Santa Anita Derby win due to the presence of scopolamine in a post-race test.
Hore is a surgeon at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, which is based in Lexington, Ky. According to Hagyard's website, he specializes in digital radiographs, sales work, lameness, and angular limb deformities and practices in Kentucky, Florida, Maryland, New York, and Europe. Hore is credited with being part of the team that shortlisted Charlatan, Authentic, and Justify for SF Bloodstock. He was also among the veterinarians who signed a settlement agreement with the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners last year after self-reporting for misdating radiographs ahead of public auction.
The post In The Wake Of Controversial Drug Positives, Baffert Issues Pledge To ‘Raise The Bar’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
