Despite all of it — the drama, the doping accusations, even the deaths — there are no shortage of multi-millionaires eager to give their high-priced Thoroughbreds to Bob Baffert.
Why? Because after a two-year ban from the Kentucky Derby, Baffert quickly returning to the Triple Crown winners’ circle was the best bet in sports. And just like that, he’s back.
In a Preakness that was short on quality horses but electrifying at the end, Baffert’s National Treasure surged past Blazing Sevens after a stretch duel, while Derby winner Mage settled for third.
It was the kind of result that helps explain why every year Baffert gets a new barn full of the best 2-year-old prospects in North America. Even with a horse who was just 1-for-5 and finished fourth in the Santa Anita Derby, Baffert delivered his 17th Triple Crown race win. If you want to win one of those three classics, the numbers say he’s the man most likely to get it done.
More:Bob Baffert’s National Treasure wins Preakness, Kentucky Derby winner Mage finishes third
But for the larger ecosystem of horse racing, the Preakness was not a day to feel good about the state of the sport. After a Kentucky Derby week marred by seven horse deaths, there was no relief in Baltimore when Havnameltdown broke down and had to be euthanized in an earlier race on the Preakness card.
That would have been a tragedy no matter which barn Havinameltdown came from. But for those who believe Baffert’s highly-publicized list of doping violations makes him a danger to the horses he trains, the breakdown of Havinameltdown seemed like evidence that the penalties he received in 2021 didn’t go far enough.
“This business is all twists and turns, the ups and downs,” Baffert said on NBC immediately after the Preakness. “It’s been a very emotional day.”
Baffert is right that this is the duality of horse racing distilled into one afternoon. In the span of a few sentences on television, he is fighting back tears for Havnameltdown while also celebrating with owners who are overjoyed at winning one of the most important races in the world.
To most people who don’t follow the sport closely that might seem callous and inappropriate. But that’s kind of the reality of horse racing, especially for someone like Baffert who has lots of horses to train and lots of owners to keep happy. The show goes on.
Of course, the problem is that we see both sides of that emotional coin quite a bit — and far too much of the sadness — when it comes to Baffert.
More:Animal rights groups condemn Bob Baffert, call for change after another racehorse dies
A Washington Post report in 2021 revealed that Baffert’s stable had 8.3 horse deaths per 1,000 starts in California since 2000 — the highest rate among the state’s 10 trainers who had the most catastrophic breakdowns.
That’s an inexcusable number, but because of Baffert’s charisma and success training Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify, it wasn’t at the forefront of very many discussions.
But that all changed in 2021 when Baffert’s would-be seventh Derby win with Medina Spirit was overturned due to a positive post-race drug test for betamethasone. Baffert’s argument that it was a topical ointment for a skin condition and not a performance enhancer fell on deaf ears. It was in the horse’s system when it wasn’t supposed to be. When Churchill Downs banned Baffert for two years, it cited not just what happened with Medina Spirit but his career-long history of drug violations: “Mr. Baffert’s record of testing failures threatens public confidence in Thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby.”
Though Baffert has claimed legally and in his public comments that his reputation has been sullied unfairly, the entire ordeal with Medina Spirit did not significantly change the core aspect of his business: Attracting owners who thirst to win Triple Crown races.
Even the last couple years, Baffert’s barn has been loaded with some of the most expensive and well-bred colts on the planet. Those who were good enough to make the Derby cut were temporarily transferred to other trainers so they would be eligible to run, but it’s clear Baffert had plenty waiting in the wings.
National Treasure is probably not even among the four or five best in his barn. Earlier on Saturday, Baffert won a stakes race with Arabian Lion, who might have been the best horse in the field had he run in the Preakness.
And as the 2-year-olds are arriving and beginning to train for their debuts, there’s no doubt Baffert has already identified 10 or 12 of them as legitimate Derby prospects for next year, when he’ll make his triumphant return to Churchill Downs.
Whether the sport likes it or not, that reckoning is coming. And Baffert is going to be there with an undoubtedly strong hand, because at his level it’s a numbers game that he starts with the best and the most.
But no matter how many break down, how many get injured or how many drug violations he has on his record, losing is the only thing that would stop owners from sending Baffert their horses.
Saturday’s Preakness showed why that isn’t going to happen any time soon.
