I almost guarantee that you wouldn't know me even if I included my name; however, a few times weekly I am asked what horse racing is planning on doing about Bob Baffert, about doping, about horses breaking down and much more. I get to work with the amazing community in the City of Arcadia, and that gives me a somewhat unique perspective on horse racing.
Though I am no expert, I will sit and talk horses with anyone who wants to chat. I love and adore horse racing while hating all its faults. I understand horse racing is valuable for Arcadia, and I also know Arcadia takes great pride in this part of its history and loves having horse racing within its city limits. For Arcadia, it's not all about the money. Many community members see it differently, however, especially as Santa Anita continues to host the Bob Baffert barn, which many community-folk see as support of something they disapprove of: i.e., drugging horses.
Maybe I know more on horse racing than the average community member, maybe I don't, but I see both sides of this problem, and I am of the opinion that horse racing lives in a bubble. Horse racing, as a community in and of itself, sticks squarely to its bubble, and rarely leaves it. It's not easy to find folks who work in racing, from the backside employees to the owners, the trainers and beyond, who openly interact with the community at large, and that has a huge effect on how the community views horse racing overall. This leads to the citizens of Arcadia turning to people like me for answers. Except … I can only give opinions, because even though I flutter back and forth between both worlds, I can't get the answers the community deserves.
Arcadia folk perceive racing as an economic value for their city but deadly for the horses, and the question I think I get asked most is, “When do you think Santa Anita will ban Bob Baffert?” It doesn't matter how much they know about Lasix or betamethasone, because they've definitely heard about Medina Spirit. As long as the perception is that Medina Spirit was doped, Baffert will remain a black mark on the local public's view of horse racing, yet no one in racing steps into the limelight to speak with the Arcadia public who lives with a racetrack (some literally) in their backyard.
The long and short of this vein of public perception concerning Bob Baffert, as it has been communicated to me, is this: He broke the rules, he should be banned, and this goes for any trainer who does the same. It doesn't matter how or why or even if Medina Spirit tested positive for a banned substance on Kentucky Derby day. It doesn't matter how or why Medina Spirit died. What matters to those on the outside, those who might not even spend a minute at the racetrack, is the way they perceive horse racing overall, based on what they perceive as the actions of a single trainer, and based ever still on what they see on their social media or hear around town.
Never mind that some of these people have never heard of Jason Servis, Jorge Navarro or Seth Fishman, because none of those names have been in the forefront of their racing image.
That image in their head belongs to Bob Baffert.
I have no answers on how to change this perception; I'm nobody in the racing world. I just listen to their comments and complaints, but it isn't as if there is an 800 number they can call in order to direct their comments to the right person who will listen. There's no email address, no public relations person. So, I listen, folks know that, and their general perception is that trainers caught drugging horses, in any way, should go, for the safety of the horses. Rules are rules. You shouldn't get a free pass because you are a big money-making trainer.
There are terrible things going on in the world right now that deserve our attention, but the public still cares about the welfare of our horses.
Tomorrow will come, and I know my personal feelings toward racing won't change. Still, I know that, out there in my community, people will continue to alter their perception of racing from good to bad, as long as the image in their mind is of a white haired trained who may (or may not) have caused the death of a little black horse with a small white mark on his forehead, and there is no one in horse racing who is out there trying to ease their thoughts.
For horse racing in general, it might be time to listen to the community.
Name Withheld
Arcadia, Calif.
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