Baffert, Pletcher Discuss Industry Issues at Symposium

After watching their horses duel on the racetrack during their award-winning careers, trainers Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert met in a different setting Dec. 11 at the University of Arizona's Global Symposium on Racing in Tucson, Ariz., reflecting on their profession and the challenges affecting the industry.

Chatting in a sit-down discussion called "A Personal Perspective of Racing's Past, Present and Future" with Amy Zimmerman, vice president and director of broadcasting for The Stronach Group, the two trainers, graduates of the university's Race Track Industry Program, spoke on a variety of subjects, including some of the more pressing topics in the sport. During the hour-and-a-half discussion, both trainers backed the elimination of race-day medication, including Lasix, a medication used to control respiratory bleeding, which some peers and racetrack veterinarians feel still has valid use in racing.

Although Pletcher acknowledged he has horses bleed in their lungs after breezes and races, he believes eliminating race-day medication is good from a public perception standpoint. He said that when things happen like what has happened over the last year, it's important to be able to tell the public the horses are not medicated. He noted that under current racing rules, the sport doesn't have the luxury of that message.

This year has been one of negative publicity, beginning with a rash of breakdowns at Santa Anita Park during the winter, then capped by a fatality to Mongolian Groom in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) there Nov. 2. Starting in the spring, widespread safety and medication reforms have been enacted in California, either by TSG, which owns Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields in the state, or by the California Horse Racing Board.

"It was like a wildfire that got out of control, and we didn't know how to put it out. All we did was point fingers at everybody," Baffert said. "Now I think we've got it a little bit better contained."

More headlines occurred in September, when the New York Times reported that 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify , trained by Baffert, failed a post-race drug test for scopolamine after his 2018 Santa Anita Derby (G1) victory. The CHRB, and Baffert, attributed the test results to contamination, and decided not to issue any rulings or disqualification.

Years earlier, the CHRB issued warnings that the presence of jimson weed in horse bedding could lead to scopolamine contamination.

Medication changes have spread to other jurisdictions this year, pushed by support from the newly created Thoroughbred Safety Coalition—which includes TSG, Churchill Downs Inc., Del Mar, the New York Racing Association, the Breeders' Cup, and other entities. Some tracks in the mid-Atlantic, such as Colonial Downs, have already undertaken dramatic medication restrictions, and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission endorsed a series of reforms in a Dec. 9 meeting, paving the way for changes in 2020. Among those initiatives in Kentucky, California, and other locations is a phaseout of Lasix, beginning with 2-year-olds of next year.

"I'm so tired of hearing about it. I'm like, get rid of it," Baffert said of Lasix.

The trainers emphasized that meaningful medication and equine-welfare reform extends beyond the racetrack. Asked by Zimmerman about the use of bisphosphonate administration in young racing prospects intended for sale at public auction, Pletcher said it was concerning.

"Bob and I and the other trainers, we are the end-users, and ultimately we are responsible when the horses go out there and get injured, but transparency needs to start well before that—when the horses are bred, when they're born, when they're foaled, when they're weaned, when they're at a 2-year-old in-training sale," Pletcher said. "We are the ones taking the inherent risk at the end of the day because we are the ones putting them on the track, but a lot of things have been done to some of these horses that we're not aware of."

Baffert directed attention toward the breeding industry, noting that so many horses are bred to sell, rather than race.

"All the money is in the sales ring now," he said. "They bake their pie—they sell it. They don't want to eat any of their pie afterwards."

The discussion between Zimmerman and the two trainers wrapped up with Pletcher and Baffert talking about career moments and looking toward the future. 

Pletcher fondly recalled the victory of Rags to Riches in the 2007 Belmont Stakes (G1), in which she defeated Curlin  and other talented colts. Baffert said he would love a "do-over" in his training of American Pharoah  before the colt's defeat in the 2015 Travers Stakes (G1) when the Triple Crown winner was upset by Keen Ice .

Baffert said he went into a two-month depression after American Pharoah was retired, wondering how he was going to recover from that colt's retirement, only to have Arrogate —the 2016 Breeders' Cup Classic winner and champion 3-year-old—step up for him.

Both trainers continue to be on the lookout for upcoming prospects. Pletcher stated he trains 175 horses, which he called a comfort level, while Baffert pegged his numbers at 110, split between divisions at Santa Anita and Los Alamitos Race Course.

Pletcher said he still loves the "constant challenge of trying to figure out horses," mentioning conformation analysis of a young horse at a sale to be the ultimate puzzle.

Having trained a couple of Triple Crown winners in American Pharoah and Justify, Baffert continues to be on the lookout for the next great horse.

"Once racing gets in your blood, there is no rehab to get out. You have to die," the Hall of Famer said.