Bob Baffert | Horse Racing Free Tips

Sept. 3 Insights: Pricey Juveniles Debut on Both Coasts

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency
6th-SAR, $105K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 2:51 p.m. EDT
Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's $725,000 KEESEP acquisition MINDTAP (Tapit) makes his career bow in this spot for trainer Todd Pletcher. Hailing from the same breeding program that produced unbeaten sensation Flightline (Tapit), the gray is a half to MGISW Curalina (Curlin), who summoned $3 million from Shadai Farm at the 2016 FTKNOV Sale. Summer Wind Farm's Jane Lyon purchased their Grade II-winning dam Whatdreamsrmadeof for $1.65 million at that same auction carrying a full-sibling to Curalina. The resulting colt, now named Curlingo, brought $900,000 at the 2018 KEESEP sale. Whatdreamsrmadeof is also a half to GSW Dream Spinner (Hard Spun). Rosedown Racing Stables Champions Dream (Justify) also debuts in this spot. A $25,000 KEESEP yearling buy, the son of GSW Dancinginherdreams (Tapit) developed into a $425,000 OBSMAR juvenile after breezing in :20 4/5. TJCIS PPs

8th-SAR, $105K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 3:58 p.m. EDT
Shug McGaughey unveils an expensive and well bred son of Medaglia d'Oro in JUAN VALDEZ. Picked up by Hoby & Layna Kight for $225,000 at KEESEP, the dark bay brought $900,000 from a partnership led by West Point and Woodford Racing at the FTFMAR sale after breezing in :10 flat. He is a half-brother to MGISW sire Constitution (Tapit), GSW Jacaranda (Congrats) and GSW Boynton (More Than Ready). His GSP dam Baffled (Distorted Humor) brought $3.5 million from Bridlewood Farm and Don Alberto at the 2016 FTKNOV sale carrying a full-sibling to Constitution. Don Alberto bought out that partnership for $1.8 million with Juan Valdez in utero at the 2019 renewal of that auction. Baffled is a half to GISW Emcee (Unbridled's Song) and a full to GSW & G1SP Surfer. Todd Pletcher unveils another expensive juvenile buy in Robert and Lawana Low's $550,000 EASMAY acquisition Fantasist, who is the most expensive offspring thus far for his freshman sire Always Dreaming. The $40,000 KEESEP buy breezed in :21 2/5 in Timonium and enters off a bullet work for Todd Pletcher in 1:00 flat (1/25) at this oval Aug. 28. He is out of SW Saritta (Indygo Shiner). West PacesRacing bought first timer Dubyuhnell (Good Magic) for $400,000 at KEESEP and breeder Stonestreet Stables stayed in as a partner. Barbara Banke's operation went to $1 million to acquire his MGSW & GISP dam Wild Gams (Forest Wildcat) at the 2008 KEENOV sale. She is responsible for GSW Cazadero (Street Sense) and SW Mt. Brave (Malibu Moon). TJCIS PPs

6th-DMR, $80K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2fT, 6:30 p.m. EDT
DON CORLEONE (More Than Ready) topped the OBS March Sale when summoning $1.2 million from Kaleem Shah earlier this year and he debuts in this spot for Simon Callaghan. Picked up by Ciaran Dunne on behalf of his Lehigh Bloodstock pinhooking group for $120,000 at KEESEP, the dark bay topped the year's first juvenile sale after breezing in a sharp :9 4/5. He is a half-brother to MSP Broad Approval (Carpe Diem). His second dam, SW & GISP Featherbed (Smart Strike), produced graded winners Dynamic Impact (Tiznow) and Mo Strike (Uncle Mo). The powerhouse ownership group dubbed “The Avengers” are represented here by first timer National Treasure (Quality Road). The $500,000 FTSAUG acquisition is out of a half-sister to SW & GSP Silver City (Unbridled's Song) and Elope (Gone West). The bay enters off a best-of-97 five furlongs in :59 flat at Del Mar Aug. 28 and gains the services of John Velazquez, who is in town to ride this colt's stablemate Country Grammer (Tonalist) in the GI TVG Pacific Classic. Hawker (Justify), who was recently featured in Steve Sherack's Second Chances column, makes his second start here after missing by a neck in his career bow going five panels at this oval Aug. 6. The $675,000 KEESEP buy is a half to MGSW & GISP Commissioner (A.P. Indy), GSW & GISP Laugh Track (Distorted Humor) and the dam of champion Vino Rosso (Curlin). TJCIS PPs

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Baffert Returns to Stand for Sixth and Final DQ Appeal Session

Just a few days short of exactly two years after her third-place finish and eventual disqualification in the 2020 GI Kentucky Oaks, Gamine (Into Mischief) was brought to the forefront once again when Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert made his second appearance on the witness stand during the final session of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's appeal hearing.

Baffert originally filed the appeal that led to this six-day hearing to clear from his record a 90-day suspension that he has already served and to also reverse Medina Spirit (Protonico)'s disqualification from the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby.

While Baffert was present in the Frankfort, Kentucky court when he first testified on Monday, Aug. 22, he returned to the stand virtually on Tuesday.

Baffert's attorney Craig Robertson began his questioning of Baffert by tackling Gamine's Kentucky Oaks where in her post-race testing, she tested positive for betamethasone–the same corticosteroid that led to Medina Spirit's disqualification from the 2021 Kentucky Derby eight months later. As has been articulated already during the hearing, Baffert explained that Gamine was administered betamethasone via intra-articular injection 18 days before the race, which was outside of the 14-day suggested withdrawal time.

Robertson asked Baffert about his initial reaction upon learning of Gamine's positive test.

“I told my veterinarians at Santa Anita that I do not want the use of betamethasone in my barn,” the trainer said. “They were all aware that we would not inject these horses with betamethasone…I told them the science isn't right. Gamine should never have gotten in trouble…I didn't want any issues and we still got in trouble.”

Later on during the testimony, Robertson presented a similar question when he asked Baffert what his reaction was upon learning of Medina Spirit's positive test for betamethasone.

“It hit me so hard,” Baffert said. “It was chaos. I knew when I got that call that my whole life was going to change that day. I immediately called my veterinarian Vince Baker…to find out what happened. He explained to me that there was no scientific way, that [Medina Spirit] did not get injected with betamethasone.”

Later asked how he has been affected by the events that have transpired since Medina Spirit's positive test was first announced, Baffert said, “It's been tough on everyone because we felt that we didn't break any rules, yet the media was being hard on us. They did a lot of big pieces and used the word 'doping' and all that.”

Robertson's questioning of Baffert also covered the overturned ruling in Arkansas with Gamine and Charlatan, the presentation of a photo of Medina Spirit's skin rash that Baffert said led to the administration of the topical ointment Otomax, and also got into the details of how Baffert was informed of the news that Medina Spirit had tested positive for betamethasone and the events that followed.

When it came time for Jennifer Wolsing, the general counsel for the KHRC, to cross-examine Baffert, Wolsing turned the conversation back to Gamine. She first brought up a point she had made during Baffert's first testimony last week that while the suggested withdrawal time of 14 days for a betamethasone administration is in the case of a single injection, Gamine received injections of betamethasone in both hocks prior to her Kentucky Oaks performance.

“I rely on my veterinarians and I know he treated her 18 days out,” Baffert said in response.

Wolsing then referenced Baffert's previous statement of discontinuing the use of betamethasone in his barn after Gamine's positive. She read a portion of the drug label for Otomax, which included the corticosteroid betamethasone valerate.

“I have to rely on my veterinarians,” Baffert said again. “This horse had a skin rash that was getting ready to get out of control and they jumped on it right away.”

At the close of her cross-examination, Wolsing noted that Baffert won the Los Alamitos Derby with High Connection (Connect) on July 9, 2022 immediately after serving the 90-day suspension.

“You did return and you returned triumphantly,” Wolsing said. “You can't say you're not doing extremely well right now.”

“I lost some really nice horses,” Baffert replied.

Also during Tuesday's hearing, Amr Zedan, founder of Zedan Racing Stable which campaigned Medina Spirit, took to the witness stand virtually from Jordan.

Craig Robertson asked Zedan about his background, how he got involved in U.S. racing and his relationship with Baffert. When asked if he has found Baffert to ever be untruthful or evasive, Zedan was quick to answer.

“To the contrary,” he explained. “And thank you for asking that question because everyone knows that I have a friendship with Mr. Baffert and the fact that I have a friendship is a result of all the good he has done for me and my family since day one…People confuse the person with the persona. People have stereotypes [in differentiating] the persona–with him being the face of the sport, which he actually is-from the person. The person is someone that is outstanding with his family and his friends.”

During his cross-examination by KHRC attorney Luke Morgan, Zedan took an opportunity to defend his trainer and said, “There's no upside for anyone here. The sport we all love has been tarnished. Bob Baffert has served his punishment and has been humiliated. His family's reputation has been dragged through the gutter because of all of this…And frankly speaking, Medina [Spirit] has proven to be the best horse in his crop. He's beaten the horses that competed against him over and over again. The horse, for God's sakes, died. Everyone has been punished. Let's just not punish the horse any further. That's all I ask.”

Tuesday's session concluded with closing arguments from both sides.

Brewster spoke first and opened with a list of 16 'Admitted Facts' that he said he believed all were without genuine dispute. Among them, he explained that betamethasone was ruled by the KHRC as a Class C medication on the basis of it being an intra-articular injection and said the KHRC was not presented with any study or basis for a decision to enact a rule related to a topical treatment that contained betamethasone valerate as a component.

“What we have here is an agency that has made no rule, has had no consideration and has made no decision whatsoever as to a topical ointment involving betamethasone valerate,” Brewster said.

While one of Brewster's main points was that the KHRC rules refer to only the injectable form of betamethasone, Wolsing began her closing arguments with a statement that suggested the opposite of the point that has been belabored heavily over the past 15 months.

“There has been a lot of testimony about ointments and injections and picograms,” she said. “I am here to suggest that we need a dose of common sense. Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone. The regulations and the science make no distinction between how the betamethasone got in the horse. If it's positive, it's prohibited…Ultimately under KHRC regulations, like the regulations of every other racing jurisdiction, Mr. Baffert is responsible for the condition of Medina Spirit.”

Using a dry erase board to present her points, Wolsing again brought up the case of Gamine to make the comparison between the events that transpired with both the positive betamethasone test for Gamine, and subsequently, the positive test for Medina Spirit.

“You have the same drug, the same response, the same amount of medication and, Your Honor, you also have the same sort of excuse: I relied on my vet,” Wolsing said. “Similarly, you have the same culprit. [You have] the same person who is held responsible for the medication positives: Mr. Baffert.”

Wolsing went on to explain that she believed Medina Spirit's positive test was “even more egregious” because Baffert had been made aware of the limit of detection rule and the 14-day stand down period for betamethasone after Gamine's positive test for the same corticosteroid.

Now that the hearing has concluded, hearing officer Clay Patrick will examine the case. Patrick said that he had 60 days from the time of receiving the transcript to arrive at a ruling that the KHRC may or may not choose to accept. Further appeals may proceed from there.

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Route of Administration Argument Continues in Day 5 of Derby DQ Appeal

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's hearing to address Bob Baffert's appeal came to a crossroad early in its fifth session on Monday in Frankfort, Kentucky following a three-day break over the weekend. After the KHRC closed their case at the start of the session, the appellants began their case by calling for a partial directive verdict in their favor based on their claim that the KHRC never proved how Medina Spirit (Protonico) received the betamethasone that led to his positive test and subsequent disqualification from his 2021 GI Kentucky Derby victory.

“Although we heard the testimony of a veterinary pharmacologist and three analytical chemists, none of the KHRC experts testified that Medina Spirit received an intra-articular injection of betamethasone within 14 days of the race or ever,” said Baffert attorney Joe DeAngelis.

The route of administration that was used when Medina Spirit received the betamethasone has already been a thoroughly-debated point since Baffert first filed the appeal to clear from his record a 90-day suspension (which he has already served earlier this year) and reverse Medina Spirit's disqualification. While Baffert's team of attorneys have said there is no evidence that Medina Spirit received betamethasone via injection and that he instead received the medication topically to treat a skin lesion, the KHRC argues that the route of administration does not matter as betamethasone is a Class C, prohibited substance in any form.

The attorneys volleyed back and forth on this subject, but ultimately hearing officer Clay Patrick opted to deny the partial directive verdict motion and proceed with further witnesses.

While Baffert was present in court for the hearing last week, he was not present in the hearing room on Monday. He is set to appear back as a witness on Tuesday via Zoom, along with Medina Spirit's owner Amr Zedan.

Over a seven hour span on Monday, three scientific experts took to the stand, all virtually, to discuss the details of Medina Spirit's test result findings.

The first witness of the day was Dr. George Maylin, the director of the New York State Equine Drug Testing Lab which was responsible for the court-approved outside testing of Medina Spirit's urine sample last summer. Taking the stand virtually, Maylin's questioning was frequently interrupted due to technical difficulties, but it went on for over two hours.

Baffert attorney Craig Robertson asked Maylin about the procedure used to test Medina Spirit's sample and the results that were found. Maylin reported that the substances found included betamethasone 17-valerate, clotrimazole and a metabolite of clotrimazole. He concluded that all three were components of the topical ointment Otomax. Later asked by Robertson if the injectable form of betamethasone contains clotrimazole, Maylin replied, “Not that I'm aware of.”

Maylin was cross-examined by Jennifer Wolsing, general counsel for the KHRC. Wolsing's questioning focused in on the fact that betamethasone acetate and betamethasone phosphate, which would be found in an illegal injection of betamethasone, were not directly tested for.

“Had there been more urine and more time, more could have been done,” Maylin said. “But the judge wanted an answer in a hurry.”

When the examination was redirected to Robertson at the end of Maylin's time on the witness stand, Maylin concluded that he was confident in the test results and that he believed there was no injected betamethasone in Medina Spirit's system.

After a break for lunch, the Baffert team brought Tom Lomangino to the witness stand. Lomangino has previously served as the Director of the Maryland Racing Commission Laboratory and the Director of USEF Equine Drug Testing and Research Laboratory.

Lomangino worked under Maylin for a brief stint at Cornell University and categorized Maylin as, “Very dedicated. Consummate technician. Good person to work for.”

Brewster asked Lomangino about the Standard Operating Procedures (S.O.P.) that were used for the original testing conducted by Industrial Laboratories of Colorado. When asked if he believed that the original test followed these procedures, Lomangino said, “No. I read something that said the analyst guessed…What we're talking about here is analytical chemistry. You're going to have certified reference material of the exact compound you're trying to find and you're going to compare that to the unknown.”

Lomangino's time on the witness stand went into the details of the S.O.P. for both the initial test through Industrial Laboratories and the second test conducted by the University of California, Davis. Lomangino said he was not confident that S.O.P were followed for either test.

While Wolsing's cross-examination went into Lomangino's qualification as a lab technician and started a deep dive interpreting the graphs from Medina Spirit's UC Davis test, the examination was cut short due to a medical appointment Lomangino had to attend. He will return to the witness stand tomorrow.

The last witness of the day was Dr. Steven Barker, the former head of the laboratory that tests horse samples in Louisiana. Barker was supportive of the results Maylin discussed earlier in the day.

“Let's keep something in mind,” he said. “Dr. Maylin was asked to do the analysis from three different companies. He did not have an existing method before any of the three. He was asked to, in a very short time, develop an analysis for betamethasone valerate, clotrimazole and gentamicin. Those are not typically monitored in equine horse samples…There's nothing routine about this.”

Barker also criticized Dr. Scott Stanley, who, in his testimony last Thursday, said he did not believe that Medina Spirit got betamethasone from a topical ointment.

“Dr. Stanley made a number of egregious errors in interpreting the data and results,” Barker said.

Robertson later asked if Barker had an opinion as to whether the findings reported by the KHRC were the result of an ointment or an injection.

“The evidence clearly shows that it was as prescribed by the veterinarian,” Barker replied. “It was a topical administration of Otomax that contained the [betamethasone] valerate, clotrimazole, and the clotrimazole metabolite. Yes, this had to have been–with the levels in the urine and with the other facts–from a topical administration.”

With the possibility of the hearing meeting its end on Tuesday, the upcoming session is expected to see virtual appearances by Baffert and Zedan, along with Baffert's veterinarian Dr. Vince Baker. From there, Patrick can arrive at his ruling that the KHRC may accept or reject. Hearing officers hired by racing commissions typically take months to issue a written report and recommended findings.

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The Week in Review: 32 Years Ago, a Spark of Kismet at Saratoga

It was a relatively quiet Thursday last week when jockey John Velazquez registered his 1,000th victory at Saratoga, extending his record as the winningest jockey in Spa history.

Sifting through the archives to get a feel for what was going on in the sport when Johnny V. won his first career race at Saratoga back on Aug. 5, 1990, yields a heady mix of nostalgia tinged with kismet.

Although not considered a truly “historic” day of racing at the Spa, there are enough intriguing nuggets buried within the charts and news clippings from that day to earn it “historical footnote” status.

The date was a drizzly Sunday on the opening weekend of what would end up being the last four-week race meet at Saratoga. A throng of 51,769 would be announced as the second-largest crowd in Spa history, but that was just the turnstile count. You own a very rare collector's item if you still have the souvenir T-shirt from that afternoon's giveaway.

Velazquez, who had only started riding on the New York circuit earlier that year, was under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Angel Cordero, Jr., who is credited with first recognizing and then helping to develop the talent of the then-18-year-old.

But as fate would have it, Velazquez's first win at Saratoga came in a race in which Cordero got slammed to the grass course back-first when his mount veered in toward the hedge at the three-eighths pole in a turf route.

Velazquez, who was pressing the pace when the spill happened well behind him, ended up winning by a neck at 5-1 odds aboard a filly named Color Blue. The young apprentice's post-race celebration must have been muted, with his 48-year-old mentor prone on the course and being attended to by the ambulance crew.

Cordero ended up walking away from the scary-looking accident even though he was down for a good 12 minutes. Published accounts stated that he flashed the “OK” sign to onlookers, and was seen peering at a program while being assessed for injuries. Perhaps liking the mounts he saw later in the day, the wily veteran missed only the next race on the card before returning to action.

Another item that stands out from that first Spa score for Velazquez is that the race featured no fewer than seven (out of a field of 10) eventual Hall-of-Fame jockeys.

Beyond Velazquez and Cordero, the others in the second race on Aug. 5, 1990, were Craig Perret, Eddie Maple, Chris Antley, Jerry Bailey and Mike Smith.

That's quite a collection of race-riding royalty–all at varying rising and falling points on their career arcs–competing in a $25,000 claimer.

Bug-boy Velazquez, the youngest of that bunch, roared right back in Race 6, pouncing from off the pace to steal a maiden turf route by a nose with Busy as a Bee, igniting the tote board with a $127.60 winner.

Despite a two-win afternoon and the massive mutuel, the rookie rider's first trips to the Saratoga winner's circle (then still a ring of chalk drawn on the main track near the finish) didn't merit a mention in the press.

The racing coverage that day was devoted to the featured GII Jim Dandy S. (in which Johnny V. didn't have a mount), plus sidebars about Cordero's spill.

For anyone believing today that four-horse fields in Saratoga graded stakes are an entirely modern phenomenon, or that slow-paced tactics are frustratingly novel to 21st Century race-riding, we have Steve Crist's New York Times description of a “bizarrely weak” renewal of the Dandy to set us straight:

“Only four starters turned up, and their riders were apparently so worried about their mounts' being able to go the distance–a mile and an eighth–that they virtually walked most of the way,” Crist wrote. “The slow early fractions [:26.22 and :51.73] reduced the race to a three-furlong sprint to the wire.”

Chief Honcho (Smith aboard) was the winner of that dawdling Dandy in a final time 1:51.74.

Jennie Rees of the Louisville Courier-Journal seemed to be the only turf writer who noticed that “the victory was the first in a Saratoga stakesa” for Chief Honcho's trainer, a 37-year-old up-and-comer from the Midwest named Bill Mott.

It's doubtful that anyone in 1990 recognized those same-day accomplishments for Velazquez and Mott as the launch-pad milestones they would prove to be.

Over the next three decades, both jockey and trainer would become well-respected synonyms of Saratoga success, both on and off the track.

So it was fitting that when Velazquez rode Precursory (Kantharos) to victory for his 1,000th Spa win on Aug. 25, 2022, Mott was the trainer.

Travers Takeaways…

The ceremonial maroon and white paint wasn't yet dry on the GI Runhappy Travers S. canoe Saturday when speculation about the next start for Winchell Thoroughbreds colorbearer Epicenter (Not This Time) began to swirl.

With little doubt that the GI Breeders' Cup Classic is the ultimate season-ending goal, the main post-Travers question was whether or not Epicenter (112 Beyer Speed Figure) would have another race in the 10-week interim until the Classic. Trainer Steve Asmussen didn't commit either way in the immediate aftermath of the win, but he did indicate such a layoff wouldn't be considered problematic.

The marquee for the Classic is already being prepared as a highly anticipated Epicenter-vs.-Flightline (Tapit) showdown, but the undefeated 4-year-old 'TDN Rising Star' must first sail through Saturday's GI Pacific Classic at Del Mar before his Breeders' Cup status is confirmed.

Now that Saratoga's so-called Midsummer Derby is in the books, there's not much debate over Epicenter being at the top of the totem pole among sophomores aiming for two-turn glory. He manhandled the GI Kentucky Derby, GI Preakness S., and GI Haskell S. winners in the Travers, meaning the best chances for a late-summer bloom within the 3-year-old division now rest with 'TDN Rising Stars' Charge It (Tapit) and Taiba (Gun Runner).

Charge It ran second in the GI Florida Derby, then was a no-impact 17th when wide in the Kentucky Derby. But the Todd Pletcher trainee rebounded with a gaudy 23-length win in the GIII Dwyer S., and was aiming for the Travers before a foot abscess derailed his training last week. The GI Pennsylvania Derby Sept. 24 could end up being his next start.

Taiba was a surprise nomination for the Pacific Classic, but trainer Bob Baffert said Saturday that the GI Santa Anita Derby winner will probably not go in the race. After eating a ton of dirt and running into a wall of horseflesh on the far turn of the Kentucky Derby, Taiba rallied with interest in the Haskell, coming up just a head short for the win.

“I nominated him just in case,” Baffert said. “Things happen and you never say never, but the complexion of the race would have to change.” (Read: Flightline would have to go missing in action prior to the draw on Tuesday.)

Taiba is also nominated for the ungraded Shared Belief S. on the Pacific Classic undercard.

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