Baffert Feels the Love in Kentucky

Trainer Bob Baffert was back in Kentucky on a cool Nov. 2 morning in Lexington. 

Not that he had been away for long. He had been there earlier in the fall.

"I've been here a lot for sales," the Hall of Famer said.

Yet this time it was something different. He was in the stable area at Keeneland, overseeing the training of the five horses he entered in Breeders' Cup races there Nov. 4-5. Though he ran a couple horses during Keeneland's fall meet, Wednesday marked the first time Baffert himself was back in the Bluegrass State preparing his horses for a race since May 2021 and the fallout from the eventual disqualification of Medina Spirit  from a victory in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

"I love Kentucky," Baffert said. " I love it here. I love going to the farms here and the people here. So I don't feel awkward or weird or anything like that because the fans are happy to see me and everybody is happy to see me. There's been a lot of well-wishers. It feels normal to me."

Baffert's legendary career has indeed been returning to normal bit by bit in recent months. A 90-day suspension imposed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for Medina Spirit's failed drug test ended July 2. The New York Racing Association's ban is scheduled to end in less than three months, on Jan. 25. That would leave the suspension by Churchill Downs and its network of tracks that will run through this summer—and prevent him from running a horse in the 2023 Kentucky Derby—as the final hurdle to clear before he can fully resume his profession without any of the restrictions and inherent stress that he has faced for the last year and a half.

Being in Kentucky Wednesday, Baffert was as jovial and sharp-witted as ever in discussing his own situation and assessing his horses' chances.

"I've always had a fan base (in Kentucky) and always gotten a good reaction since I got here. I came to the sales and people are behind me and a lot didn't like what happened to me. But it's one of those things you just deal with it. There are a lot of good people out there. It was tough on the family. I knew when I got that call (about Medina Spirit's failed drug test) my life was going to change, but you have to deal with it. We're here. We're healthy and that's important.

"It was a salve (on Medina Spirit)," he added. "If you could run it back, I didn't handle it well. I knew something was wrong. It was crazy, but you learn from it. In this game you win or you learn."

Baffert said the pressure of the court battles and suspensions became easier to handle thanks to the horses he sees every day in his barn.

"The thing about these horses, they are the best therapy you can have, and they bring us hope," said Baffert, who is still teaming with owner Amr Zedan in a court battle to have Medina Spirit's disqualification overturned. "They give us hope. I love to be around them. I am very attached to them. I am horse crazy and once you get the bug, you can't get rid of it. There's no rehab for it. You have to die, like I tell people. And when you're horse crazy, you love being around them, and I love competing at the highest level. I just stay focused. You surround yourself with these great horses and really great clients. They are my friends and they stuck with me."

Baffert also expressed gratitude to his staff for maintaining the stable during his 90-day suspension.

"I have a great team and while I was gone they did a great job," Baffert said. "I didn't know what I was going to come back to and that was really scary, but I have a great team and we're just happy to be here."

Baffert arrived at the Breeders' Cup doing about as well as ever with a 29% winning percentage this year. Winner of 18 races at the World Championships—the second-highest total in Breeders' Cup history—his starters this weekend include one of the series' biggest favorites in the 2-year-old colt Cave Rock .

A son of the Baffert-trained Arrogate , Cave Rock is undefeated in three starts and won both the Runhappy Del Mar Futurity (G1) and American Pharoah Stakes (G1) by identical 5 1/4-length margins for the ownership group of Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman.

"There's no telling how good he can be," Baffert said about the son of the Bellamy Road  mare Georgie's Angel  who was bred by Anne and Ronnie Sheffer and bought for $550,000 from the Gainesway consignment at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

"He's been unbelievable."

Cave Rock was pegged as the odds-on 4-5 favorite in the Nov. 4 $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1).

Joining Cave Rock in the Juvenile will be National Treasure , who was second in the American Pharoah. A son of Quality Road   bred by Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds and bought for $500,000 from the Bridie Harrison consignment at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's New York Sale of Select Yearlings, he drew post 10 for his consortium of owners.

"National Treasure hasn't caught up with them, but he will," Baffert said. "He's still growing up."

Baffert will also send out Pennsylvania Derby (G1) winner Taiba  to tackle 3-5 choice Flightline  in the centerpiece $6 Million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 5.

Baffert is hoping the prospect of an intense speed duel between Life Is Good   (6-1) and the undefeated Flightline could boost the chances of a 3-year-old with some late kick such as Taiba.

"When (Flightline) passes the 5/8ths pole, he will go into full flight and that's when they are going to be churning it up," said Baffert, who is approaching the 42nd anniversary of his first stakes win as a trainer. "So, if I can just draft behind them a little bit. Taiba likes a target and he couldn't have two better targets (in Flightline and Life Is Good). I just hope he can keep contact with the field. I'd like to see him beat those other 3-year-olds."

Owned by Zedan, Taiba drew the rail for the 1 1/4-mile Classic and was pegged at 8-1 odds. The son of record-breaking stallion Gun Runner   bred by Bruce C. Ryan, the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner was purchased for $1.7 million from the Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds consignment at The Gulfstream Sale, Fasig-Tipton's Florida Sale of Select 2-Year-Olds in Training.