Bob Baffert returns to the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Here's what you need to know.

New York Times

02-05-2025

Bob Baffert is among the most decorated and recognizable horse trainers in the world. His horses have won the Kentucky Derby a record-tying six times.
The total would be seven, but Baffert's horse Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first in the 2021 Derby, was later disqualified for having a banned substance in his system. It is one of only two times in the Derby's long history that a winner was disqualified for a drug-related offense. The incident also resulted in a three-year ban from the race.
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For his return Saturday, Baffert was set to have two horses running in this year's Derby, with Citizen Bull starting at post one and Rodriguez at post four. But on Thursday, Baffert pulled Rodriguez, a top-3 favorite, from the race. He told The Athletic that Rodriguez might compete at The Preakness Stakes in two weeks, but the 3-year-old colt was not ready to run this weekend due to a bruised foot.
Here's why Baffert's return to Churchill Downs is so notable.
Medina Spirit's disqualification came after the horse tested positive for betamethasone, a corticosteroid, a week after the 2021 Derby. Baffert was adamant the result was a mistake.
On May 9, 2021, the day after his lawyer announced the positive test, Baffert appeared on a series of television and radio shows, denying any wrongdoing and saying he had no idea why Medina Spirit tested positive.
'It did not happen. That horse has never been treated with [betamethasone],' Baffert said during a Fox News interview. 'Actually, it's a legal therapeutic medicine, and the amount that was in it wouldn't have any effect on the horse anyway.'
He added, 'That horse was never treated with that, and so that's the disturbing part of it.'
During his media appearances, Baffert also said he was hiring a private investigator and complained that he was a victim of 'cancel culture' fighting for his reputation.
Baffert soon changed his explanation, however. He acknowledged Medina Spirit had dealt with a rash that his team treated with antifungal ointment called Otomax, which contains betamethasone. He said he was not aware at the time that the lotion had the banned substance in it, but he maintained that the testing process did not account for incidental, inconsequential exposures.
In a statement following the positive test result, Churchill Downs Inc., which owns the Kentucky Derby, said Baffert had repeatedly fielded horses that later tested positive for banned substances, including in September 2020, when Gamine, Medina Spirit's stablemate, also tested positive for betamethasone after finishing third in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.
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Gamine's violation of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's drug policies was the 28th of Baffert's career. That count now stands at 30.
'(Churchill Downs Inc.) has consistently advocated for strict medication regulations so that we can confidently ensure that horses are fit to race and the races are conducted fairly,' the company's CEO Bill Carstanjen said in June 2021. 'Reckless practices and substance violations that jeopardize the safety of our equine and human athletes or compromise the integrity of our sport are not acceptable and as a company, we must take measures to demonstrate that they will not be tolerated.'
When a second test of the same samples confirmed Medina Spirit's positive result a week later, CDI officially suspended Baffert and his trainers from its tracks for two years.
Baffert fought the suspension in court, but a federal judge denied his request for an injunction. Criticisms he made during the case, alongside the remarks he made in the immediate aftermath of the first positive test, led Churchill Downs to extend his suspension by another year in 2023.
'Mr. Baffert continues to peddle a false narrative concerning the failed drug test of Medina Spirit … his ongoing conduct reveals his continued disregard for the rules and regulations that ensure horse and jockey safety, as well as the integrity and fairness of the races conducted at our facilities,' CDI said in its announcement of the extension. 'A trainer who is unwilling to accept responsibility for multiple drug test failures in our highest-profile races cannot be trusted to avoid future misconduct.'
After several years of back and forths, Baffert ended his appeal of Medina Spirit's disqualification from the 2021 Derby in January 2024. (Medina Spirit died following a workout, five months after the Derby.) In July 2024, he released a statement addressing the situation.
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'I accept responsibility for Medina Spirit's positive test in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. I am responsible for any substance found in the horses that I train, and I have paid a very steep price with a three-year suspension and the disqualification of Medina Spirit's performance,' Baffert said. 'I understand and appreciate that Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission took steps to enforce the rules that they believed were necessary to protect the safety and integrity of horse racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby.'
CDI rescinded Baffert's suspension the same day.
'We are satisfied that Mr. Baffert has taken responsibility for his actions, completed a substantial penalty and is committed to running in full compliance with the rules and regulations going forward,' it said in a statement. 'All parties agree that it is time to bring this chapter to a close and focus on the future.'
Betamethasone is an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid that is legal for trainers to use on horses before the Derby in certain amounts. The topical version of the drug typically treats skin conditions like eczema and fungal infections, and Medina Spirit's trainers used it to treat the horse's dermatitis.
Medina Spirit tested positive for 21 picograms of betamethasone in the first post-race analysis of his samples. The legal limit was 10 picograms.
Baffert has pushed back on claims his team was 'doping' its animals. He said Medina Spirit was never injected with betamethasone, and that the topical ointment the horse tested positive for had no performance-enhancing effects.
The type of ointment Medina Spirit tested positive for is legal to use until race day, but horses must have the steroid fully out of their systems by the time they take their post-race drug tests. As an injection, however, the anti-inflammatory drug can mask pain and injuries that could otherwise prevent a horse from competing.
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Injections of betamethasone, which come in a form called betamethasone acetate, are allowed up to 14 days before a race. If the injection is for a horse's fetlock joint — a joint somewhat analogous to the human ankle — injections cannot happen within 30 days of a race.
The sport of horse racing has faced a reckoning in recent years over numerous instances of horses being injured and having to be euthanized, leading some to question in certain cases whether the horses should have been running in the first place.
Seven horses died at Churchill Downs during the week of the 2023 Kentucky Derby, including two that ran in races on Derby Day. A few weeks later, one of Baffert's horses was injured and euthanized at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore hours before another one of the trainer's horses won the Preakness on the same track.
Last year, The New York Times, citing data from the California Horse Racing Board, reported that at least 77 horses have died while under Baffert's care since 2000.
The federal government created the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) in 2023 to oversee the sport in response to the recent deaths.
In his past criticism of horse racing's drug testing rules, Baffert argued that post-race drug testing picks up therapeutic substances at needlessly small concentrations. But he has since embraced HISA, which is under the Federal Trade Commission's oversight.
Lisa Lazarus, the CEO of HISA, told The Athletic that a single positive test for betamethasone would not result in an automatic suspension. First-time violations carry a fine of up to $500, the disqualification of race results and a 1.5 point penalty.
'It is not doping,'' she said.
She also noted Baffert's horses have not had any HISA violations since its creation.
'Bob Baffert is one of the few high-profile trainers who has not had a blip under the HISA rules,'' Lazarus said. 'No overages, nothing. He has done an excellent job following the rules.''