Tag: Bob Baffert

Baffert Duo Headline Field of Five for Sham

With only a field of five newly turned 3-year-olds signed on, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert will saddle a pair of imposing runners in Saturday's GIII Sham S. going a two-turn mile at Santa Anita.

Rockefeller (Medaglia d'Oro) returns to the West Coast for Baffert after securing a front-running victory in Belmont's one-turn mile GIII Nashua S. Nov. 7. The $750,000 KEESEP yearling was previously fourth behind his unbeaten GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile-winning stablemate Corniche (Quality Road) in the GI American Pharoah S. Oct 1. Rockefeller is the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the Sham.

Baffert will also tighten the girth on sharp six-furlong Del Mar Nov. 28 debut winner Newgrange (Violence). The highly regarded second-place finisher that day Got Thunder (Arrogate) returns to action at Santa Anita Friday evening.

Baffert's most recent of seven Sham winners include: MGISW McKinzie (Street Sense) (2018), Horse of the Year Authentic (Into Mischief) (2020) and GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Life Is Good (Into Mischief) (2021).

A multiple stakes winner on turf and most recently a close third with a rough trip in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Nov. 5, Mackinnon (American Pharoah) returns to dirt. The Del Mar Juvenile Turf S. Sept. 6 and Zuma Beach S. Oct. 3 winner was a well-beaten fourth in his lone prior try on dirt on debut going 4 1/2 furlongs in Arcadia May 9.

A qualifying race for the 2022 GI Kentucky Derby, excluding horses trained by Baffert, the Sham winner will receive 10 qualifying points, with four to second, two to third and one to the fourth-place finisher. Churchill Downs banned Baffert for two years following the well-documented corticosteroid betamethasone positive of the late Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico).

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Friday’s Racing Insights: Bevy of Pricey, Well-Bred Runners Squeeze in ’21 Starts

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2nd-TAM, $26.5K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1m40yds, 1:08 p.m. ET
   While their other four competitors are a combined 0-for-37, late-debuting newcomers Aussie Pride (Curlin) and Mint (Bodemeister) sport huge pedigrees and in one case, a massive price tag. The former, who carries the Godolphin blue for trainer Bill Mott, was the second topper at the 2019 Keeneland September sale at a gaudy $4.1 million. He's out of New Zealand champion sprinter Bounding (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}), who is a half to G1 Investec Derby hero Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Mint's dam Flawless (Mr. Greeley), meanwhile, was a $4.1-million FTKNOV buyback last year one day after her son Authentic (Into Mischief) completed his Horse of the Year campaign with a GI Breeders' Cup Classic score. Arnaud Delacour trains Mint for breeder Peter Blum. TJCIS PPs

7th-GP, $54K, Alw, (S), 2yo, 7f, 3:29 p.m. ET
   Repole Stable and St Elias Stable's So Determined (Into Mischief) takes on a couple of stakes-placed runners in his first try against winners. The $875,000 Keeneland September yearling is out of a full-sister to SW Summer House (Tiznow) from the family of MGSW and successful Louisiana-based sire Custom for Carlos (More Than Ready). Second in his local unveiling Oct. 2, he broke through by 4 1/2 lengths going 5 1/2 panels Nov. 14. TJCIS PPs

4th-SA, $67K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 5:00 p.m. ET
   This first of two divisions of well-bred sprinting maidens features The Avengers' $625,000 Keeneland September buy McLaren Vale (Gun Runner). A $200,000 KEEJAN in utero seller and $325,000 Keeneland November weanling, the Bob Baffert trainee is out of a half-sister to the dam of Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year Justify. Richard Baltas pupil Balladeer (Distorted Humor), who cost $355,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Showcase, is out of a Galileo (Ire) half-sister to GI Belmont S. and GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Drosselmeyer (Distorted Humor). Several in here show solid running lines, including Doug O'Neill-trained last-out Del Mar third-place finishers Godsend (Midshipman, $80,000 OBSAPR {:20 4/5}); and B Dawk (Gormley, $425,000 FTMMAY {:10 1/5}). TJCIS PPs

6th-SA, $67K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 6:00 p.m. ET
   West Point Thoroughbreds and Talla Racing LLC's Got Thunder (Arrogate) will look to go one better here after finishing second at 19-10 to Newgrange (Violence), whose high-profile connections, nicknamed The Avengers, will be represented this time around by Wharton (Candy Ride {Arg}) and Armagnac (Quality Road). Got Thunder was a $155,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $750,000 OBSAPR grad off a :10 flat bullet breeze. He's half to MGISW turfer Heart to Heart (English Channel) and MGSP Lady Traveler (Quality Road). Click for Steve Sherack's 'Second Chances' feature on Got Thunder after his Nov. 28 unveiling at Del Mar.

Wharton was a $475,000 September buy and is out of GISW sprinter Her Smile (Include), making him half to MGSW Pink Sands (Tapit). Armagnac, who cost $210,000 at the same auction, is out of turf stakes winner Kitty Wine (Lemon Drop Kid), who also set a track record on the Keeneland Polytrack over the Beard Course. TJCIS PPs

8th-OP, $120K, Alw, 2yo, f, 1m, 6:00 p.m. ET
   Muddy Waters Stables LLC's Hypersport (Blame) stretches out off a super-sharp and head-turning second-out score here Dec. 3 that earned an 87 Beyer Speed Figure and surely some phone calls to her connections. The $100,000 September yearling was previously runner-up at Keeneland Oct . 21. Three other fillies already own black-type: Brad Cox-trained Goldolphin homebred Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) was second in Churchill's Fern Creek S. last time Nov. 27; Benedict Canyon (Midnight Lute) was third in Santa Anita's Anoakia S. Oct. 24 and makes the move from Bob Baffert to Steve Asmussen off a fifth-place run in the GI Starlet S.; and value buy Red Hot Mess (Shackleford), upset winner of the White Clay Creek S. at Delaware Oct. 13, comes in off a far-back finish in Belmont's Tempted S. TJCIS PPs

The post Friday’s Racing Insights: Bevy of Pricey, Well-Bred Runners Squeeze in ’21 Starts appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Class-Action Bettors Urge Judge Not to Dismiss Derby Suit Against Baffert

Alleging that trainer Bob Baffert “is the Lance Armstrong of the horse racing world” because of a purported years-long pattern of racketeering activity related to the alleged “doping” of Thoroughbreds, a group of horse bettors who brought a class-action lawsuit seeking compensation for damages over the result of the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby urged a federal judge Wednesday not to grant Baffert's motion to dismiss the case.

The original version of the suit, led by Michael Beychok, the winner of the 2012 National Horseplayers Championship, was filed four days after Baffert's disclosure that now-deceased Medina Spirit (Protonico) had tested positive for betamethasone after winning the May 1 Derby.

Split-sample testing at two different labs approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) has since confirmed the betamethasone overage, but no (KHRC) ruling has yet been issued over those findings.

The plaintiffs and class members of the suit have alleged that they “have been cheated out of their property” because they placed wagers on other horses and betting combinations that would have paid off had “the drugged horse” not won the Derby.

“The Plaintiffs here are not asking this Court to determine the outcome of the Kentucky Derby,” Beychok, et al, argued in the Dec. 29 filing in United States District Court (District of New Jersey).

“The stewards of the subject race will be the ones to determine the outcome of the Kentucky Derby. Regardless of the stewards' determination, Defendants have still harmed the Plaintiffs and will continue to harm individuals through Baffert's racketeering scheme. The Court is being asked to hold the Defendants accountable for the racketeering enterprise,” the filing stated.

In addition to asking the court to consider the Derby's potential pari-mutuel payouts as an assessment of damages, the plaintiffs, among other demands, are also seeking an order from the judge stating that the Hall of Fame trainer must divest himself from the sport. Baffert, plus his incorporated racing stable, remain as the only defendants after Medina Spirit's owner, Amr Zedan, was dropped from the suit by the plaintiffs back on June 23.

When Baffert asked the court to dismiss the suit Sept. 1, his filing stated that the plaintiffs “are a group of disgruntled gamblers who placed bets on the 2021 Kentucky Derby and lost.”

Baffert's argument stated that the bettors “attempt to do what courts across the country have routinely rejected: they seek to recoup their gambling losses through a myriad of frivolous claims. No matter how creatively the Plaintiffs attempt to craft their pleadings, they cannot escape the fact that every single court which has looked at gambling losses associated with sporting events has held that no claim can be maintained as a matter of law.”

The class action members begged to differ in Wednesday's filing.

“[Baffert] would have the Court believe that there is no injury because Medina Spirit has yet to be disqualified. The disqualification of Medina Spirit is inconsequential to Plaintiffs' causes of action. The [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act] violations occurred regardless of Medina Spirit being disqualified. As alleged, Baffert entered Medina Spirit illegally [and] the Baffert enterprise has already successfully harmed Plaintiffs. Once again, Baffert has profited while the Plaintiffs have been robbed of their day at the track.”

The Dec. 29 filing continued: “Plaintiffs have stated causes of action that do not rely upon the horse racing regulations but instead are independent claims existing under federal and state statutory law and state common law. These claims are allowed whether they are allowed under the regulations or not. Defendants argue that Plaintiffs were obligated to follow the rules but side-step any obligation of Baffert's accountability.

“Baffert suggests to the Plaintiffs that if they don't like the rules they don't have to bet. But more to the point, if Baffert doesn't want to be held accountable under the laws set forth by the federal and state legislatures, then he shouldn't conduct an illegal enterprise of racketeering and fraud,” the filing stated.

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Third In Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, Mackinnon Will Try Out For Derby Trail In Saturday’s Sham

A multiple stakes winner on turf and most recently a close third in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, Doug O'Neill's Mackinnon transitions to dirt as he heads a group of five newly minted sophomores going a flat mile in Saturday's G3, $100,000 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita. A qualifying race to the 2022 Kentucky Derby, the Sham winner will receive 10 qualifying points, with four to second, two to third and one point to the fourth place finisher.

Owned by Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson's ERJ Racing, LLC, Madaket Stables, LLC, out of the Scat Daddy mare Scat Means Go, Mackinnon will try the main track for the first time since a fourth place finish going 4 ½ furlongs in his debut six starts back on May 9 here at Santa Anita.

Third, beaten 1 ¾ lengths by Modern Games in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Nov. 5 at Del Mar, Mackinnon is a colt that has always trained well on dirt and will thus be given an opportunity to the early Derby waters on Saturday. Easily the leading money earner in the field with $327,860, Mackinnon has three one mile turf wins to his credit and is 6-3-1-1 overall.

A recent G3 stakes winner going a one turn mile in New York, Bob Baffert's Rockefeller will no doubt contend for favoritism in what will be his fourth career start.

A 2 ¼ length first-out maiden winner going six furlongs at Del Mar Aug. 28, Rockefeller was a well beaten fourth by his stablemate and eventual Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Corniche in the G1 American Pharoah Stakes going 1 1/16 miles here on Oct. 1. Sent to Belmont Park for his third start, Rockefeller, who is by Medaglia d'Oro, out of the Speightstown mare Dance to Bristol, was off as the 4-5 favorite in the G3 Nashua Stakes and responded with 2 ¾ length win accomplished in gate to wire fashion.

Owned by SF Racing, LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, LLC, Stonestreet Stables, LLC and Robert Masterson, Rockefeller, who was purchased for $750,000 out of the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, will be ridden by Flavien Prat.

Baffert will also be represented by Newgrange, a first-out maiden winner going six furlongs on Nov. 28 at Del Mar. By Violence out of the Empire Maker mare Bella Chianti, he's owned Golconda Stable, Madaket Stables LLC, SF Racing LLC, Siena Farm LLC, Starlight Racing, Stonestreet Stables, LLC, Waves Edge Capital LLC, and partners and will be ridden back by John Velazquez.

THE GRADE 3 SHAM STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 7 of 10 Approximate post time 3 p.m. PT

  1. Mackinnon—Juan Hernandez—124
  2. Oviatt Class—Kent Desormeaux—120
  3. Newgrange—John Velazquez–120
  4. Rockefeller—Flavien Prat—124
  5. Degree of Risk—Umberto Rispoli–120

First post time for a 10-race card, which will include four graded stakes on Saturday is at 12 noon. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Third In Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, Mackinnon Will Try Out For Derby Trail In Saturday’s Sham appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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