Kentucky Derby: Baffert owners take a stand; don't transfer horses by deadline

Owners who have 3-year-olds with trainer Bob Baffert that were nominated to the Triple Crown did not move those horses to other barns by Monday, meaning they will not be eligible to run in the Kentucky Derby on May 4.

Baffert is still under suspension by Churchill Downs Inc. for the post-race positive incurred by Medina Spirit who crossed the finish line first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, but was disqualified after testing positive for a therapeutic substance that is not permitted to be in a horse’s system on race day.

As a stipulation from Churchill Downs Inc. for running in the Derby, any horse trained by a suspended trainer had to be moved to another barn by Monday, which was the first Triple Crown nomination deadline. Baffert, who has won the Kentucky Derby a record-equaling six times, confirmed that his owners nominated 18 horses to this year’s Triple Crown, but declined to comment further.

Those horses will be eligible to compete in the Preakness on May 18 at Pimlico and the Belmont Stakes on June 8 at Saratoga.

The decision not to move those horses from Baffert was a sign of support by owners such as Amr Zedan, SF Racing and its partners, and Edward Allred and Jack Liebau, among others.

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Among the horses owned by Zedan that are Triple Crown nominated is Muth, the Grade 1 American Pharoah winner who kicked off his 3-year-old campaign with a victory in the Grade 2 San Vicente on Jan. 6.

“We’re not moving, we have our full trust in our trainer,” Zedan said in a phone interview. “Everything he has done has been in the best interests of our horses. He’s our man.”

Zedan was the owner of Medina Spirit, and he and Baffert fought vigorously in court to have the Derby disqualification overturned. On Jan. 22, Baffert announced in a social media post that he and Zedan were dropping any remaining litigation related to the Medina Spirit case. Despite that, Churchill Downs Inc. said it will not lift the suspension of Baffert, at least for this year’s 150th running of the Derby.

“Would we love to run in the Derby? Absolutely, yes,” Zedan said. “Would we love to run, especially this being the 150th Derby? Absolutely, yes. Are we hoping to run in the Derby? Absolutely, yes. Do we think we will be there? It’s in God’s hands.”

In 2022, the Zedan-owned Taiba finished 12th in the Kentucky Derby after being moved from Baffert to Tim Yakteen.

“Horses have a routine and an environment and we wouldn’t want to disrupt their routine and move them from one stable to another stable, it’s not good for the horse,” Zedan said. “If you focus on the well-being of the horse, you have results.”

Other 3-year-olds Zeydan owns that were nominated to the Triple Crown include Coach Prime, third in the Los Alamitos Futurity; Maymun, a recent 7 1/2-length maiden winner; and a pair of unraced colts, Taif and Collmus.

Tom Ryan, the racing manager of SF Racing, which, along with its bevy of partners, won last year’s Preakness with National Treasure, confirmed that his partnership kept their horses with Baffert.

“We’ll let our actions do the talking,” Ryan said.

In 2022, SF Racing and partners moved Messier to Yakteen and he finished 15th in the Derby. Last year, that outfit’s Reincarnate was moved from Baffert to Yakteen and he finished 13th in the Derby.

SF Racing and partners own Prince of Monaco, the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity winner who finished fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. That horse has not worked since.

Other horses from that outfit nominated to the Triple Crown include recent maiden winners Cornell and Imagination.

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Wynstock, owned by Edward Allred and Jack Liebau, won the Los Alamitos Futurity and is entered in Saturday’s Grade 3, $800,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Liebau had said after the Los Alamitos Futurity, that he was not going to move the horse away from Baffert.

Nysos, a son of Nyquist owned by the Baoma Corp. of Susan and Charles Chu who has won his first two starts by 19 1/4 lengths, is another top 3-year-old trained by Baffert.

In other Derby-related news, Churchill Downs is requiring that all starters and also-eligibles be stabled at Churchill Downs by 11 a.m. on April 27, one week before the race. Churchill Downs plans to have the draw for the Derby and Oaks take place that day as well.

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