Bob Baffert | Horse Racing Free Tips

Derby Notes: Light Activity Under Snowy Twin Spires, Baffert Adds Hozier To Consideration

Six-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert indicated via text that Hozier, sixth in the Arkansas Derby (G1) in his most recent start, is under consideration for Kentucky Derby 147.

Owned by the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Golconda Stables, Siena Farm and Robert Masterson, Hozier is No. 21 on the Road to the Kentucky Leaderboard.

Hozier galloped a little bit more than a mile with Joel Osorio up over a sloppy track a little before 9:30 on a morning in which the news of the day was … wait for it … Snow!

Overnight Louisville picked up an April 21 record 1.8 inches of snow that left the Matt Winn Turf Course covered in a blanket of white inside the sloppy main track.

BOURBONIC, DYNAMIC ONE, KNOWN AGENDA, SAINTHOOD – Trainer Todd Pletcher sent his quartet of Derby 147 hopefuls out for 1 ¼-mile gallops Wednesday morning.

“We cut back a little bit today and sent them straight off (as opposed to backtracking to the front of the grandstand),” Pletcher said, “And got them back safe and sound.”

First to go out for Pletcher at 7:30 was Florida Derby (G1) winner Known Agenda with Hector Ramos aboard and Wood Memorial (G2) runner-up Dynamic One with Carlos Perez Quevedo aboard.

At 7:50, Wood Memorial winner Bourbonic was on the track with Ramos aboard along with Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) runner-up Sainthood with Amelia Green aboard.

Pletcher is leaning toward working all four on Friday.

“There is potential for rain all day Saturday and I would prefer Friday to pushing back to Monday,” Pletcher said.

Pletcher, who won the Derby in 2010 with Super Saver and 2017 with Always Dreaming, has riders lined up for all but Sainthood.

“We will wait until after the final breezes and monitor who is available,” Pletcher said.

HELIUM, SOUP AND SANDWICH – Live Oak Plantation's Soup and Sandwich, along with D J Stable's Helium, jogged two miles over the sloppy surface Wednesday at Churchill Downs.

Helium, ridden by Paolo Levi and Soup and Sandwich, with Gilbert Hernandez in the saddle, were both accompanied by stable pony Jack with Isabella Leslie aboard.

Both horses are likely to gallop Thursday, according to trainer Mark Casse's assistant David Carroll.

HIGHLY MOTIVATED – Klaravich Stables' Highly Motivated galloped a mile and a half under Peter Roman during the 7:30-7:45 training window for Derby and Kentucky Oaks horses.

Trainer Chad Brown plans to work the Blue Grass Stakes (G2) runner-up Saturday, a breeze that could be moved up a day because of weather.

HOZIER – Hozier, No. 21 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, galloped a little more than a mile before 9:30 under exercise rider Joel Osorio.

KEEPMEINMIND – Keepmeinmind had a spirited 1 ½-mile gallop over the sloppy track with Enrique Benitez aboard at 5:45.

Standing at No. 23 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, Keepmeinmind is scheduled to work Friday or Saturday for trainer Robertino Diodoro.

KING FURY – Lexington Stakes (G3) winner King Fury galloped 1 ½ miles under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. at 7:30.

Trained by Kenny McPeek, King Fury stands at No. 22 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with a work scheduled for Saturday.

MIDNIGHT BOURBON, SUPER STOCK – Winchell Thoroughbreds' multiple graded stakes-placed colt Midnight Bourbon jogged one mile at 5:30 a.m. with Wilson Fabian aboard alongside Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

Erv Woolsey and Keith Asmussen's upset Arkansas Derby (G1) hero Super Stock galloped about 1 3/8 miles with Juan Vargas aboard at 6:30 a.m. Super Stock is scheduled to work Saturday while Midnight Bourbon is slated to work Monday.

O BESOS – Barrett Bernard, Tagg Team Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds' O Besos was tentatively scheduled to work Wednesday morning but trainer Greg Foley opted to move the work to Thursday because of track conditions.

The Orb colt jogged one mile under rider Margarito Fierro.

“Horses like this give me the motivation to keep going in life,” said Fierro, who's worked for Foley for nearly 20 years. “He's still a baby but what I've loved about his galloping is he does it with class. He gets on the track with the pony, checks out his surroundings and when he's ready to start his gallop he's all business.”

O Besos will work at 5:15 a.m., according to Foley.

STARRININMYDREAMS – Stewart Racing and WinStar Farm's third-place Lexington Stakes (G3) finisher Starrininmydreams galloped about 1 ½ miles at 6:30 a.m. under exercise rider Emerson Chavez.

“We're still waiting to see what shakes down,” trainer Dallas Stewart said. “He looks unbelievable out there training but you never know what can happen with the horses in front of us. We'll be ready.”

Starrininmydreams sits No. 24 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

SHAPING UP: THE KENTUCKY DERBY – Likely starters in the 147th running of the $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade 1) for 3-year-olds at 1 1/4 miles on Saturday, May 1 in order of preference (with possible jockey and trainer): Essential Quality (Luis Saez, Brad Cox); Hot Rod Charlie (Flavien Prat, Doug O'Neill); Super Stock (Ricardo Santana Jr., Steve Asmussen); Like the King (Drayden Van Dyke, Wesley Ward); Known Agenda (Irad Ortiz, Todd Pletcher); Rock Your World (Joel Rosario, John Sadler); Bourbonic (Kendrick Carmouche, Todd Pletcher); Medina Spirit (John Velazquez, Bob Baffert); Midnight Bourbon (Mike Smith, Steve Asmussen); Mandaloun (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox); Caddo River (TBA, Brad Cox); Highly Motivated (Javier Castellano, Chad Brown); Helium (Julien Leparoux, Mark Casse); Soup and Sandwich (Tyler Gaffalione, Mark Casse); Dynamic One (Jose Ortiz, Todd Pletcher); Sainthood (TBA, Todd Pletcher); Hidden Stash (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver); O Besos (Marcelino Pedroza, Greg Foley); Get Her Number (TBA, Peter Miller).

Possible starters within the Top 20 on the preference list: Dream Shake (TBA, Peter Eurton).

Next up in order of preference: Hozier (TBA, Bob Baffert); King Fury (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek); Keepmeinmind (David Cohen, Robertino Diodoro); Starrininmydreams (TBA, Dallas Stewart).

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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: $1,000 Derby Dreams Ignite For Breeder Gail Rice

She's been the wife of racehorse trainer Wayne Rice, the mother of one of the country's top apprentice jockeys in Taylor Rice, and the mother-in-law of Eclipse Award-winning jockey Jose Ortiz. This year, however, Gail Rice is finding herself in the limelight, earning well-deserved recognition for her role as the breeder of a Kentucky Derby contender.

“It's kind of fun, now people are coming up to Taylor and saying, 'Oh your mom, she bred a nice horse,'” Rice said, laughing. “I just can't ask for a dream to come true any better than this.”

Rice, who turns 60 this year, bred Santa Anita Derby runner-up Medina Spirit. The 3-year-old son of $5,000 stallion Protonico is out of the winning Brilliant Speed mare Mongolian Changa, trained by her former husband. While it isn't until the fourth dam that a stakes winner can be found on Medina Spirit's page, Rice — and small-time breeders everywhere — know that black type is just not the most important factor when it comes to how a horse will perform on the track.

“The mare was just beautiful, even though she had no pedigree,” Rice said. “She bowed a tendon, but she was a really good racehorse. That's something that you know from the inside, but you can't see it on paper. When you have the animal in your hands, though, you can see it.

“I kept telling people, 'This horse can run!' Just his body and his leg, and the intelligent attitude he had, I always thought he was special.”

Medina Spirit is the first foal out of Mongolian Changa, and his entry into the world on April 5, 2018 wasn't nearly as smooth as Rice would have preferred.

“She was overdue and didn't build her bag of milk at all,” said Rice. “I was watching her thinking, 'She's gonna show signs, get her milk, and be all good.' Then one afternoon I drove in the driveway and she was down in the field, and I saw feet sticking out!

“All I was thinking was, 'But she doesn't have any milk!'”

Luckily, Rice had prepared ahead of time. Her only other broodmare at the time, Scribbling Sarah, was a great milker with strong colostrum, so she'd frozen some of that when she'd had her foal a month before.

The new-to-the-world Medina Spirit got his first dose of colostrum courtesy the milk of Scribbling Sarah, and Mongolian Changa started to produce her own milk about four to five hours after delivering the colt.

Mongolian Changa lost her 2019 foal, and Rice ended up giving the mare away when she made the decision to get divorced later that year. Her colt, the future Medina Spirit, was sent to the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company Winter Mixed Sale, bringing just one bid for the bottom-dollar price of $1,000. The colt would later bring $35,000 at the OBS July sale in 2020 before heading to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

Rice let him go; she really had no choice. She could only keep one horse at the time due to the divorce, and she'd decided on Scribbling Sarah since the mare's filly by Mr. Speaker brought $65,000 at the 2018 OBS Winter sale.

That filly, named Speech, would go on to win the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland in July of 2020, then ran third in the Kentucky Oaks held in September. Rice sold Scribbling Sarah right after the Ashland victory, but still has her 2-year-old colt by Unified and is pointing him to the OBS June sale this year.

Speech winning the Ashland Stakes under Javier Castellano

“His nickname is '9 and 4,' so I hope it comes true,” Rice said. “You gotta call it, you gotta speak it; you gotta speak it to have it. It's funny because his sister is Speed, (Niall) Brennan has the Upstart, named Uphold the Law (in training with Michael Stidham, won debut on March 18), and I named this one 'Disruptive.' He's a really fun horse and does little things that make you laugh, like dumping the water tank, curls his lip up when you touch him. He's just incredibly smart, really sweet, and nothing bothers him.”

Thinking back to the fact that Medina Spirit benefitted from the colostrum of a Grade 1 producer, before going on to become a Grade 3 winner himself, Rice is still a bit shell-shocked.

“It's just crazy to think about,” she said. “I haven't had many broodmares in my whole career, only ever one or two at a time, just playing around. And to have this happen in back-to-back years? It's crazy.”

The daughter of a schoolteacher and a carpenter, Rice was born in Pennsylvania and actually went to school with her future husband. The pair met back up when she was 21 and she started learning about racehorses at Penn National, and has been hooked ever since.

The pedigree side of the business is especially fascinating, Rice said, though she enjoys being hands-on with the young horses as well.

“I love doing the matching,” said Rice. “I might need to make that my new business, but I also like to be outside! It just gets me excited to see the crosses, A.P. Indy here, Storm Cat, Unbridled… it's like craziness and it's nuts and then I don't sleep!”

Sleep will also be hard to come by next Friday night, before the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit steps into the 20-horse starting gate for the 2021 Kentucky Derby.

“Maybe this is when the bridesmaid becomes the bride,” Rice joked, referring to Medina Spirit's trio of second-place finishes in graded stakes company. “If anybody can get him there, though, Baffert can.”

Medina Spirit (inside) fought off Roman Centurian and Hot Rod Charlie the length of the stretch to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes

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Arkansas Commission Upholds Stewards’ Rulings But Rescinds DQs, Suspension For Baffert

Following two days of testimony and legal arguments, the Arkansas Racing Commission voted unanimously to uphold three stewards' rulings from the 2020 Arkansas Derby race card, but also to modify the penalties in those rulings. Two rulings dealt with lidocaine positives from Bob Baffert trainees Charlatan, who won one division of the Arkansas Derby, and Gamine, who won an allowance race on the Arkansas Derby undercard. Originally, stewards disqualified both horses and ordered the purses from those races be redistributed. The commission's decision Tuesday will rescind those disqualifications and purse redistributions without actually voiding the drug positives.

The third ruling had been a 15-day suspension for Baffert as a result of the two positives. That suspension was also rescinded and replaced with one $5,000 fine per positive.

“We're not here to question anyone's integrity,” said commission chair Alex Lieblong. “We get rules thrown at us and those are the rules.

“We're all under the microscope because whatever we come up with, it will be controversial. That's the state of the game right now. I know it's not healthy, but like I say the federal government sounds like they're riding to the rescue to straighten it all out.”

Tuesday's decision by the commission is appealable.

Although Baffert's legal team had said Monday he likely would not take the witness stand, he did so on Tuesday. Baffert recounted his distress over the unexpected positives.

“I feel like we run a pretty tight ship and I'm very proud of my operation,” he said. “We all know we can't keep anything like [lidocaine in the barn.] California is pretty strict. Everything is labeled. There is no lidocaine in the barn … my vets don't even carry lidocaine.”

Initially, Baffert had attributed the horses' positives to an over-the-counter pain patch being used by his longtime assistant, Jimmy Barnes. Later though, he said he heard one of Charlatan's competitors also had levels of lidocaine in a post-race test, although those levels were within legal limits.

“It's one of those things where I don't know if we'll ever know what happened but those horses I feel were contaminated that day,” he said. “Jimmy didn't wear the patches the day of the race. He had no reason to lie to me; he actually didn't have to say anything. It's been very emotional. Those horses ran so hard and for something like this to happen, it's tough.”

Baffert was also asked about the post-race positive Gamine picked up in Kentucky for betamethasone after the Kentucky Oaks later in the year. He said in that case, he was advised to give the drug no more than 14 days prior to racing and actually gave it as part of a hock injection 18 days out even though he said the filly wasn't lame. He didn't appeal a stewards' ruling on that positive.

“I don't think they have the science right,” he said. “I think the trainers are lab rats. With the atmosphere that's going on in racing, they test us harder than Olympians.”

Monday's testimony had focused primarily on errors by Truesdail Laboratories, which was contracted to perform post-race drug testing for Arkansas in 2020. Truesdail lost two accreditations in the spring, making it ineligible to continue testing for Arkansas, so it began sending samples on to Industrial Laboratories. Baffert's attorneys raised questions about the chain of custody of the post-race samples from the two horses, which were shipped from the track to Truesdail, logged into the computer system, and sent on to Industrial for testing. The samples from Charlatan were also marked by the track as coming from a colt, but marked by Truesdail as coming from a gelding. On Tuesday, Baffert's lawyers pointed out that it was curious then that Industrial didn't find anything strange about the sample besides lidocaine, since it certainly would have contained more testosterone from an intact colt than the lab should have expected to find in a gelding.

One expert witness testifying on Baffert's behalf also raised questions about the relative amounts of lidocaine and lidocaine metabolites in Gamine's sample, which could have indicated Gamine had an exposure to lidocaine within minutes of the sample being taken. This was not true of Charlatan's sample, however. Nadal, another Baffert trainee who won the other division of the Arkansas Derby that day, did not have any lidocaine in his system.

Most witnesses agreed that lidocaine probably isn't something trainers turn to in order to get an edge because of how easily it's detected.

Byron Freeland, counsel for the commission, argued that regardless of how or why the lidocaine got into the horses' systems, it was found in levels elevated above the regulatory threshold and due to the absolute insurer rule, Baffert was responsible for those findings. He also stressed that the sample cups and vials of urine and blood were still sealed when they arrived at Industrial for testing and at the University of California-Davis for split sample testing. That split sample testing also revealed elevated levels of lidocaine.

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Charlatan, Gamine DQs Overturned

The disqualifications of Charlatan (Speightstown) and Gamine (Into Mischief) from May 2, 2020 wins at Oaklawn Park have been overturned, and Bob Baffert's 15-day suspension has been waived after a two-day hearing in front of the Arkansas Racing Commission.

Charlatan was the winner of the GI Arkansas Derby, while Gamine won an allowance race the same day. Oaklawn announced lidocaine positives for the pair, disqualified them from the victories, and redistributed purse money last year.

Tuesday, at the conclusion of the hearing, Baffert's attorney, W. Craig Robertson, said, “The ruling is that Charlatan and Gamine's wins are reinstated. There will be no suspension for Bob. There will be a $5,000 fine for Bob for each horse, for a total of a $10,000 fine.”

Robertson had argued that the positives were a result of Baffert's assistant, Jimmy Barnes, inadvertently contaminating the horses because he was wearing a Salonpas patch, and that the lidocaine was transferred from his hands to the horses. Moreover, he argued that the trace amounts of the drug were so low that they couldn't have been performance-enhancing.

Of the hearing, Robertson said, “There wasn't a whole lot of discussion. But basically, as I understood what they were saying, they felt like there were problems with the testing, and that it was clear that at these levels, there would have been no pharmacology in the horse, so no performance-enhancing effect on the outcome of the race.

“I told them that there were seven reasons why they needed to dismiss the matter,” Robertson continued. “In broad strokes: there were a lot of admitted errors in the testing and with the testing laboratory, and broadly, my argument was that you could not rely upon the test results given all the admitted errors and mistakes. An additional argument was that there was no pharmacology and so they needed to consider all the factors.”

Robertson said that he was relieved for Baffert, who lived with something of a cloud over his head in 2020 due to the disqualifications and to the revelation that Justify had incurred a scopolamine positive in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby. A complaint by trainer Mick Ruis in that case was dismissed by the CHRB.

“I'm elated,” said Robertson. “I'm mostly happy for Bob, because this has been hanging over his head, and I feel it's been hanging over his head unfairly. We felt all along if we could get in front of the commission and present all of the facts and all of the evidence, that we had a compelling case. Now that doesn't mean you're always going to get the result you want, but this time we did and I'm thrilled.”

Reached as he was boarding a plane to return to California, Baffert said, “I'm happy with the result and it has really been wearing on us–on Jimmy and us–and us and it's nice to see that the horses were rewarded for their performances. They need to have this conversation about the testing. They need to be more precise about it. I feel like trainers are sitting ducks. These contamination levels, they're testing at these levels, and it's tough. It's been a very demanding year.”

Baffert said that because the public only gets part of the story, there's often an immediate presumption of guilt when the initial story is published.

“We weren't at fault, but public perception doesn't know that because they don't know what's going on,” he said. “I don't want to be painted with that brush. You just have to be careful it doesn't happen again, but racing regulators need to figure out the science.”

He referenced Gamine's disqualification from the GI Kentucky Oaks after she tested positive for betamethasone, a permitted medication in Kentucky, but with a mandated two-week withdrawal time. Craig Robertson said she was given the drug 18 days before the race.

“With Gamine and the betamethasone, we did everything by the rules and we still got in trouble,” said Baffert.

Robertson said that he was relieved to put this behind them and move on.

“The two big issues that were hanging over him were Justify and Charlatan and he has been exonerated in both cases,” said Robertson. “It's the just result and I'm really just thrilled for him. I'm grateful that the Arkansas Racing Commission stewards took the time and carefully considered the evidence and rendered a fair decision.”

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