Bob Baffert | Horse Racing Free Tips

Gamine Tops Field Of Eight For Monday’s Great Lady M Stakes

Multiple Grade 1 winner Gamine heads a field of eight in the $200,000-guaranteed Great Lady M Stakes Monday at Los Alamitos.

A Grade 2, the Great Lady M is for fillies & mares (3-year-olds) and up at 6 ½ furlongs. It is the eighth of nine races on closing day of the Summer Thoroughbred Festival. Scheduled post time for the main event is 4:28 p.m.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert for Michael Lund Petersen, Gamine has won seven of eight and earned $1,286,500.

A 4-year-old Into Mischief filly out of the Kafwain mare Peggy Jane, Gamine has four Grade 1 successes in three different states on her resume. She has earned those victories – the Acorn at Belmont Park, the Test at Saratoga, the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland in 2020 and the Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs earlier this year – by a combined 33 ½ lengths.

Baffert, who has won the Great Lady M. previously with Fantastic Style (2015) and Marley's Freedom (2018-2019), also entered Qahira.

Idle since finishing a distant second behind Gamine in the Grade 3 Las Flores April 4, the 5-year-old Cairo Prince mare has won half of her 10 races for Baoma Corporation and banked $249,400.

Out of the Bates Motel mare Motel Lass, Qahira is 1-for-1 at Los Alamitos. She won an optional claimer as the 3-5 choice during the 2019 Summer Thoroughbred Festival.

Edgeway will be aiming for her third consecutive victory for Hronis Racing LLC and trainer John Sadler.

The 4-year-old Competitive Edge filly out of the Stormin Fever mare Magical Solution followed a win in an optional claimer Feb. 7 at Santa Anita with a stakes success in the Carousel April 10 at Oaklawn Park.

Edgeway has won four of six and earned $307,200. She was runner-up in the Grade 3 Dogwood as a 3-year-old in her only prior start in a graded race.

Hronis Racing and Sadler also entered Candura, a lightly-raced 5-year-old Into Mischief mare. The gray, who is out of the Candy Ride mare Halloween Candy, has won three of four and banked $162,945. She is 2-for-2 in 2021 with both victories coming at Oaklawn Park, the most recent April 25.

Her win in California came in her career debut Aug. 22, 2018 going five furlongs on the Del Mar turf.

A 4-year-old Shanghai Bobby filly out of the Richter Scale mare Lady Dynasty, Dynasty of Her Own will seek her first graded victory for Tommy Town Thoroughbreds LLC and trainer Jonathan Wong.

The Kentucky bred has won seven of 11 and earned $194,148. She has been away since capturing a $34,980 allowance over the Tapeta surface at Golden Gate Fields May 20.

Her only win in four tries on dirt came in the Borderplex Stakes at Sunland Park in New Mexico Jan. 26, 2020. In her lone graded stakes try, she finished fifth of six in the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks at 1 1/16 miles last year at Prairie Meadows.

Trained by Simon Callaghan for Kaleem Shah Inc., Bella Vita will be making her graded debut. A daughter of Bayern and the Storm Cat mare Queenie Cat, the 4-year-old is 2-for-8 with earnings of $181,790. The California bred has been worse than third only once in her career.

Owned D K Racing LLC, Radley Equine Inc., breeder Helen Alexander and Ramona and Perry Bass II and trained by Dan Blacker, Eyes Open broke her maiden in her seventh career start May 23. The 4-year-old Street Sense filly out of the Bernardini mare Delightful mare has banked $56,920.

Road Rager will be making her first start in nearly 10 months for Samantha Siegel's Jay Em Ess Stable and trainer Brian Koriner.

The 5-year-old Quality Road mare was last seen finishing third in an optional claimer last Sept. 6 at Del Mar. Out of the Aggressive Chief mare She Is Raging, Road Rager has won twice in 13 attempts and banked $128,162.

From inside out, the field for the Great Lady M Stakes:

Candura, Tyler Baze rides, 119 pounds
Dynasty of Her Own, Ricardo Gonzalez, 119
Qahira, Abel Cedillo, 119
Edgeway, Flavien Prat, 119
Gamine, John Velazquez, 119
Bella Vita, Juan Hernandez, 119
Eyes Open, Edwin Maldonado, 119
Road Rager, Jessica Pyfer, 119

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Field Of Five Sophomores Go Forward For Sunday’s Los Alamitos Derby

Runner-up behind the talented California bred The Chosen Vron in the Affirmed June 13, Defunded will try for his first stakes success in the $150,000-guaranteed Los Alamitos Derby Sunday.

Restricted to 3-year-olds and scheduled for 1 1/8 miles, the Grade 3 will go as the fourth of nine races. Post time Sunday is 1 p.m. Scheduled post time for the main event is 2:28 p.m.

Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman and trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Defunded has a win in five starts and earnings of $140,700. He had the lead in the stretch in the Grade 3 Affirmed, but was unable to withstand the closing surge of The Chosen Vron while finishing 11 lengths of the rest of the field.

A gelded son of Dialed In and the Touch Gold mare Wind Caper, Defunded will be trying to give Baffert his fifth consecutive victory in the Los Alamitos Derby and his sixth in the last seven years. His half-dozen wins in the race since 2014 include Gimme Da Lute (2015), West Coast (2017), Once On Whiskey (2018), Game Winner (2019) and Uncle Chuck (2020).

Baffert also entered Classier, a distant third as the 7-5 favorite in the Affirmed.

Owned by SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Golconda Stables, Siena Farm LLC and Robert Masterson, the Empire Maker colt out of the Bernardini mare Class Will Tell has one win in three starts and has earned $65,000.

Trained by Bob Hess, Jr. for Doug Gans, Gary Jacobs, Larry Katz and Kevin Riggs, It's My House returns to California after being eased over a sloppy surface in the $300,000 Texas Derby May 31 at Lone Star Park.

A son of Anthony's Cross and the Grand Reward mare Gerry's Reward, It's My House has won twice in six starts and banked $60,760. A second-out maiden winner Jan. 31 at Golden Gate Fields when trained by Jamey Thomas, the Florida bred cashed as the favorite in the Turf Paradise Derby March 12 for his other win in his initial race for Hess.

Owned by the Clarke M. Cooper Family Trust, Mia Familia Racing Stable and Wade Jacobsen and trained by John Sadler, who won the 2016 Los Alamitos Derby with Accelerate, Back Ring Luck will be seeking his first on the board finish in California.

The Malibu Moon gelding out of the Rahy mare Patti O'Rahy was eased in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby April 3, then was fourth and fifth in a pair of optional claimers May 15 and June 5 with the latter effort coming on turf.

Back Ring Luck won twice in five starts before shipping to this coast. He defeated $30,000 maidens at Churchill Downs last Nov. 13 when trained by W. Bret Calhoun, then won an optional claimer for trainer Al Cates March 5 at Oaklawn Park after being claimed out of his initial win.

A close fourth in the Snow Chief Stakes on turf June 19, Ingest will switch to the main track for owners Grant Alvernaz and Steve Ribeiro and trainer Doug O'Neill.

A son of Square Eddie and the Rock Hard Ten mare Octogarian, the gelding is 1-for-9 with a bankroll of $58,180. His lone win came at eight furlongs on turf last Sept. 26. He's yet to hit the board in three attempts on dirt.

From inside out, the field for the Los Alamitos Derby: Classier, Mike Smith rides, 122 pounds; It's My House, Edwin Maldonado, 122; Defunded, Abel Cedillo, 122; Back Ring Luck, Tyler Baze, 122 and Ingest, Juan Hernandez, 122.

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NYRA: Baffert Ban Necessary To Protect Horses, Riders And Ensure Integrity

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York should not grant Bob Baffert a preliminary injunction that would permit the embattled trainer to race or stable horses at tracks operated by the New York Racing Association, attorneys for NYRA and The Jockey Club argued in court filings submitted on June 30.

Baffert filed suit against NYRA on June 14, nearly a month after the racing association notified the Hall of Fame trainer that he was temporarily banned from racing or stabling at NYRA tracks while the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission conducts its investigation into the post-race drug positive for Baffert-trained Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first in the May 1 Kentucky Derby. Baffert is seeking a temporary and permanent injunction against the ban while claiming his 14^th Amendment Constitutional rights to due process were being violated.

As defendant in the case, NYRA filed a memorandum of law in opposition to Baffert's motion for preliminary injunction. The Jockey Club filed a brief as amicus curiae, or friend of the court, claiming that its role as keeper of the Stud Book gives it a “unique interest in ensuring that when Thoroughbreds enter the breeding shed (where they determine the future of the breed through progeny), they do so with records uninfluenced by the effects of medication.”

Both court filings struck the same note, countering Baffert's argument that he will suffer irreparable harm as a result of his ban from Belmont Park and the upcoming high-profile meeting at Saratoga in upstate New York where a number of graded stakes are run.

The Jockey Club produced statistics from Equibase showing that Baffert, during the period from 2011-20, made a total of 134 starts at NYRA tracks, representing 3.23% of his total 4,146 North American starts over those years. He's averaged five starts each year during the Saratoga meet.

The Jockey Club brief dismisses Baffert's claim that the NYRA ban has “damaged his reputation and prompted a 'mass exodus' of owners” from his stable because of their horses' inability to race at Saratoga while under his care.

“The source of damage to Mr. Baffert's reputation is not the NYRA temporary suspension; rather, the cause is a record of repeated drug testing failures, including most recently after American racing's most famous and highly visible race, the Kentucky Derby,” attorneys for The Jockey Club contend.

The Jockey Club brief also points out that Baffert's complaint only cites one owner transferring a horse or horses to another trainer and does not specify whether that transfer was a result of the NYRA ban, a two-year suspension imposed by Churchill Downs racetrack or “his record of substance violations.”

NYRA's filing states that Baffert balked after being given an opportunity to respond to a May 17 letter from David O'Rourke, the racing association's CEO and president, outlining the reasons for the racing and stabling ban. “NYRA expects to make a final determination regarding the length and terms of your suspension based on information revealed during the course of the ongoing investigation in Kentucky,” O'Rourke wrote. “If you wish to present to NYRA any information, data or arguments concerning this matter, please do so within seven business days from receipt of this letter.”

“Rather than avail himself of this opportunity,” the NYRA court document in response to the lawsuit states, “plaintiff filed this action nearly a month later and now moves for a preliminary injunction … plaintiff's nearly month-long delay in seeking this preliminary injunction undercuts the sense of urgency need to remedy his alleged harm.”

NYRA also counters Baffert's claim that the racing association is unable to suspend him from its tracks because it does not own the grounds on which the tracks are located. “Settled law holds that NYRA had both the common law and regulatory right to exclude anyone, including a licensed trainer, who engages in conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing,” the court filing claims. “Moreover, plaintiff's assertion that NYRA violated his due process rights is incorrect. NYRA was not required to provide plaintiff an opportunity to be heard before issuing a temporary suspension because NYRA's decision was based on probable cause that plaintiff's actions warranted suspension and was necessary to protect the safety of the racehorses and their riders, and required to ensure the integrity of the sport.

“NYRA is obligated to protect its investment, brand and reputation, and supervise activities at its racetracks in a manner that fosters the public's confidence in the safety and honesty of the sport.”

NYRA's response includes a statement from Robert Williams, an attorney and executive director of the New York State Gaming Commission, outlining the rights of exclusion by racetracks in the state and/or stewards working at those tracks.

A second declaration, from Professor Pierre-Louis Toutain, a PhD in pharmacology, states that betamethasone, the corticosteroid detected in Medina Spirit's post-race sample, has a “potent anti-inflammatory effect,” even at picogram levels (the original finding for Medina Spirit was 21 picograms per mililiter). Citing multiple scientific papers, Toutain concludes that “a plasma concentration of 21 pg/mL is significant for betamethasone, a substance which can locally or systemically increase the performance of a racehorse with or without clinical manifestation of inflammation.”

A hearing on the motion for injunctive relief is scheduled for July 12.

Jockey Club brief

NYRA memorandum

Baffert vs. NYRA complaint

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With Spa Meet in the Balance, NYRA Argues for Upholding Baffert Ban

With a July 12 federal court date looming to decide whether or not Bob Baffert's history of equine drug positives will keep him from entering horses at the upcoming and financially lucrative Saratoga Race Course meet, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) on June 30 filed a memorandum of law that opposes the Hall of Fame trainer's request for an injunction to lift the association's ban against him that has been in effect for the past six weeks.

NYRA told Baffert via letter May 17 that he was temporarily not welcome to stable or race at the association's three tracks (Saratoga, Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack) in the wake of his shifting explanations after Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive for betamethasone after winning the GI Kentucky Derby. The initial drug positive was confirmed by split-sample testing at a separate lab approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

No ruling has yet been issued over those findings, and NYRA explained to Baffert in that letter that a more precise determination regarding the length and terms of his suspension would be based on information revealed during the course of the ongoing investigation in Kentucky.

On June 14, Baffert filed a civil complaint against NYRA, alleging that the association's ban violates his Fourteenth Amendment constitutional right to due process.

In the June 30 filing in United States District Court (Eastern District of New York), attorneys for NYRA wrote that the association believed it had to act swiftly to bar Baffert, lest his presence jeopardize the integrity and reputation of the GI Belmont S., the third jewel of the Triple Crown and the premier race of the year in New York.

“Plaintiff is a well-known Thoroughbred trainer, whose horses have won numerous significant races,” the filing stated. “But, over the course of Plaintiff's career, his horses have been cited for drug-related violations at least 30 times. In fact, over the 12 months preceding this year's Kentucky Derby, Plaintiff has been fined four times for drug-related violations.”

Medina Spirit at Churchill Downs | Coady photo

Two of those violations were for lidocaine, one was for dextrorphan, and another, like in Medina Spirit, also for betamethasone. Three of Baffert's five most recent drug positives came in Grade I stakes—the Arkansas Derby and Kentucky Oaks in 2020, plus the 2021 Kentucky Derby. The two findings at marquee events at Churchill Downs led the gaming corporation that owns the track to bar Baffert from the entire family of Churchill-affiliated tracks for a period of two years.

The NYRA filing continued: “Although Plaintiff did not then have any horses entered in races or stabled at [NYRA tracks], it was likely, if not certain, that Plaintiff would attempt to enter Medina Spirit in the Belmont scheduled for June 5, 2021.

“Given Plaintiff's history of drug-related violations, Medina Spirit's positive test, Plaintiff's contradictory statements, Plaintiff's [then-temporary] suspension from Churchill Downs, and the fact that the Belmont was fast approaching, NYRA took the only sensible action under the circumstances—it temporarily suspended Plaintiff from entering and stabling horses at its Racetracks.”

The filing also pointed out that the May 17 letter had advised Baffert that if he wished to present to NYRA any information or arguments that might make the association reconsider its ban, he had seven business days in which to do so.

Yet according to NYRA, “Plaintiff never availed himself of this opportunity to be heard or raise any objection with NYRA. Instead, nearly a month after NYRA imposed the temporary suspension, Plaintiff commenced this action…and now moves for a preliminary injunction.”

The NYRA filing outlined three chief legal reasons against granting Baffert the court ruling he seeks to resume racing at NYRA tracks:

“First, Plaintiff fails to demonstrate that he will suffer irreparable injury in the absence of emergency relief. Rather than allege any actual or imminent injury or irreparable harm warranting a preliminary injunction, Plaintiff offers only conclusory assertions of potential harm, speculates that he may lose unidentified clients of the suspension is not lifted, and fails to submit any evidence demonstrating that the speculative loss of clients would substantially damage his business.

“Even if the Court were to consider Plaintiff's potential client loss, such an injury could be remedied through money damages, rendering preliminary injunctive relief inappropriate. Furthermore, Plaintiff's nearly month-long delay in seeking this preliminary injunction undercuts the sense of urgency needed to remedy his alleged harm.

“Second, Plaintiff fails to establish that he is likely to succeed on the merits of his claims. Contrary to Plaintiff's unsupported assertion that NYRA could not temporarily suspend Plaintiff from its Racetracks because it does not own the grounds on which they are located, settled law holds that NYRA had both the common law and regulatory right to exclude anyone, including a licensed trainer, who engages in conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing.

“Moreover, Plaintiff's assertion that NYRA violated his due process rights is incorrect. NYRA was not required to provide Plaintiff an opportunity to be heard before issuing a temporary suspension because NYRA's decision was based on probable cause that Plaintiff's actions warranted suspension and was necessary to protect the safety of the racehorses and their riders…. Plaintiff also fails to allege facts sufficient to show that he is likely to prove that NYRA's temporary suspension of Plaintiff was 'state action'—as required to implicate due process concerns.

“Third, the public interest and balance of equities weigh clearly in favor of NYRA. NYRA is obligated to protect its investment, brand and reputation, and supervise activities at its Racetracks in a manner that fosters the public's confidence in the safety and honesty of the sport.

“Plaintiff's speculative assertions that his business might suffer or that his temporary suspension could last for a significant period of time cannot override NYRA's compelling interests in upholding the integrity of horse racing…. Accordingly, Plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction should be denied.”

Craig Robertson, an attorney representing Baffert in this case, did not reply to an emailed request for comment on Wednesday.

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