Baffert pledges to 'raise the bar' in his barn
Bob Baffert, the Hall of Fame trainer who is currently facing potential penalties for four medication violations over the past seven months, released a statement Wednesday morning pledging to “raise the bar and set the standard for equine safety and rule compliance” in his barn operations.
Baffert, who has three horses entered in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday, said in the statement that he intends to hire Dr. Michael Hore, a veterinarian at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Kentucky, “to add an additional layer of protection to ensure the well-being of horses in my care and rule compliance.” Hore is a specialist in radiography and lameness, according to a bio on Hagyard’s website.
Baffert also said in the statement that he will be “increasing the training and awareness of all my employees when it comes to proper protocols” and that he is “personally increasing my oversight and commitment to running a tight ship and being careful that protective measures are in place.”
In May, two stakes-class horses trained by Baffert, Gamine and Charlatan, both tested positive for lidocaine, a regulated medication. Baffert was handed a 15-day suspension for the positives, but he has appealed that ruling, contending that the horses’ positive tests were due to a patch worn by an employee to treat back pain.
Two months ago, Gamine tested positive again, this time after a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks for betamethasone, a regulated corticosteroid. Baffert’s attorney, who has acknowledged the positive, has argued that the medication was administered 18 days prior to the race, outside the recommended withdrawal time of 14 days. A split-sample test has not yet been returned.
Then, last week, Baffert had a horse test positive for dextrorphan, a prohibited substance that is a common ingredient in over-the-counter cough medications. Baffert’s attorney has argued that the dextrorphan positive also was caused by contamination, through a stable employee who was taking two cough suppressants after returning to work following recovery from a COVID-19 infection.
The string of positives occurred at the same time that a case from 2018 involving Triple Crown winner Justify, also trained by Baffert, began to be re-adjudicated. In that case, Justify tested positive for scopolamine, a substance found in jimsonweed, after his win in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby. The positive was initially thrown out by the California Horse Racing Board, but the CHRB filed a formal complaint in the case two months after reaching a settlement in a lawsuit filed by the owner-trainer of a horse that finished second in the Santa Anita Derby. The hearing into the re-opened case was conducted last week.
Baffert said in his statement that he is cognizant of the negative perceptions surrounding his barn because of the string of positives.
“For those of you that have been upset over the incidents of this past year, I share in your disappointment,” he said. “I humbly vow to do everything within my power to do better. I want my legacy to be one of making every effort to do right by the horse and the sport.”