Report: Details Emerge on BC Monitoring of Baffert
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Photo: Amy Gaskin
Trainer Bob Baffert with jockey John Velazquez in the paddock before the 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita Park
Expanded screening procedures for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and his horses at the Breeders' Cup Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar will include observation from security officers with body cameras and abandoning usual withdrawal times for legal medications, according to an Oct. 25 report in the Los Angeles Times.
Last week, Breeders' Cup announced Baffert would be allowed to participate under strict conditions.
BLOODHORSE: BC to Require Enhanced Testing of Baffert's Horses
The leading trainer in Breeders' Cup history by purse earnings ($35,985,000) and second only to D. Wayne Lukas (20) by wins (17), Baffert faces the possibility of fine or suspension by Kentucky regulators after Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirit tested positive for the prohibited race day presence of betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory, after his first-place finish in the May 1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs. The colt could also be disqualified from the Derby, pending a decision by stewards following a yet-to-be-scheduled hearing. Baffert's lawyers contend the positive test in the Derby was caused by an ointment used to treat a skin rash on the colt.
Medina Spirit is a prospect for the Nov. 6 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).
The monitoring procedures, which include expanding drug testing next week at Del Mar, started last week in Baffert's barn at Santa Anita, reported John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times. According to the Times, two investigators, three security officers, and a Breeders' Cup executive are to watch Baffert's barn, and the trainer has agreed to scratch any horse if it tests positive for a legal but controlled medication.