Barnes headed back to California with sights set on a return to Kentucky

Barnes, the exciting, and expensive, 2-year-old colt trained by Bob Baffert, is scheduled to return to California in the coming days after a hard-fought win in his debut at Churchill Downs on Wednesday.

Barnes, who races for Amr Zedan, could be back at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby on May 3, if he meets expectations through the winter and early spring.

On Thursday, Baffert said that he will form a plan in the near future for an early 2025 campaign for Barnes.

“He’s coming back this weekend,” Baffert said. “We’ll give him plenty of time and figure something out.

“We’ll figure out something and work back from the Derby.”

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Named for Baffert’s longtime assistant, Jimmy Barnes, Barnes was a narrow winner on Wednesday in a maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs.

Ridden by Martin Garcia, Barnes broke from post 3 in a field of 10. After an alert start, Barnes stalked pacesetter Innovator around the turn and into early stretch before gradually catching that stubborn leader in the final strides.

Barnes won by a head, and was timed in 1:02.97. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 87.

“That was exciting,” Baffert said. “I was concerned with the post. I knew he’d have to break well.

“Going 5 1/2, it’s pedal to the medal. I think he got a good education out of it.

“He was in tight and he handled that. He got behind a horse and tipped out. In that long stretch, he was sort of lost out there.”

Barnes, by Into Mischief, was purchased for $3.2 million at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale, the second-most expensive hip of the prestigious auction.

Innovator, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, was starting for the fifth time, and for the first time since a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga on Sept. 2. Innovator was 10 1/2 lengths clear of third-place finisher Sinister Smile.

“That was a really good horse of Wayne’s,” Baffert said. “Those are two good colts.”

For Baffert, Barnes was his first runner at Churchill Downs since May of 2021.

The track suspended Baffert after Medina Spirit failed a post-race test after he finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Medina Spirit, who races for Zedan, was eventually disqualified. The case was the subject of several lawsuits.

Baffert has won the Kentucky Derby six times, from 1997 to 2020, but did not have any runners in the world-famous race from 2022 through earlier this year.

In July, Churchill Downs lifted the ban on Baffert. Baffert said on Thursday that he was delighted to return to the track.

“It was exciting and it felt good to be there,” he said. “I got a warm welcome.”

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