Del Mar: Bayern status up in the air

DEL MAR, Calif. – Bayern will head to Santa Anita at the end of this meet and could race there this fall, but already there have been discussions between trainer Bob Baffert and owner Kaleem Shah about whether to go on with him, being as Bayern has not reproduced the strong form of 2014, when he won the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Bayern finished ninth in the Pacific Classic on Saturday, beating only Midnight Storm, who hounded Bayern through blazing early fractions.

“We were hoping the other guy wouldn’t go toe to toe with him,” Baffert said. “We’ll take him back to Santa Anita. That’s where he trains best. But there’s lots of interest in him as a stallion. We’ll see.”

Shah said he wasn’t sure what to do quite yet with Bayern, but admitted he was at least contemplating retiring him.

 Jockey Victor Espinoza was honored on Monday by the California State Assembly in Sacramento for being the first Latino jockey to win the Triple Crown.