Latest news with #USClassic
Daily Mirror
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Bob Baffert returns to Kentucky Derby after three-year exile - 'It's like I never left'
The six-time winner of the world famous horse race made his first appearance at the meeting since being disqualified by the track after Medina Spirit tested positive for a banned substance One of the world's most famous racehorse trainers ended a three year exile from the Kentucky Derby on Friday. Bob Baffert, the joint most successful trainer in Kentucky Derby history with six successes, is challenging for the race for the first time since Medina Spirit finished first past the post in the 2021 running of the US Classic. Eight days later Baffert revealed the colt had tested positive for a substance, which came from an ointment but which must not be present in a horse's system on raceday. Medina Spirit was disqualified by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and runner-up Mandaloun was awarded victory. Baffert was then banned from having runners at all Churchill Downs-owned racecourses which prevented him from having any runners in the Kentucky Derby until this year's edition which will be run on Saturday, May 3. The California trainer had an appeal against disqualification rejected and then fought a lengthy battle through the courts, which he eventually abandoned. With the ban having subsequently been lifted, the 72-year-old has returned to Churchill Downs with two challengers, Rodriguez, winner of the Wood Memorial, and Citizen Bull, who captured last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile. 'It's nice to be back here, back to the old barn,' he told media. 'This is like the Masters, it lasts a week. Everything has to go so well. So far all the horses got here in great shape and we're happy. 'It feels great to be back. Coming into the stable gate everybody was nice to me and welcomed me back. It's like I never left.' Baffert is tied with Ben Jones with most wins in the Kentucky Derby, his six including two Triple Crown winners in Justify and American Pharoah. Asked if he had any hard feelings over his exile, he said: 'We never denied that there was a positive. We were hoping it would be dropped to a class D [category offence] when we knew what it was. 'I don't feel that way. In racing as a trainer, I'd be mad every week, every time we got beat. I never look back and turn the page. I accepted it and we move on.'
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘Invincible' Malinin repeats as world champion with six quadruple jumps
Ilia Malinin of the US reacts after winning his second world championship title on Saturday in Boston. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters He's been called the Quad God, skating's great innovator, the next Olympic champion. On Saturday night, in front of a roaring crowd at TD Garden, Ilia Malinin made it official: he is once again the best figure skater in the world. Advertisement The 20-year-old American delivered another unforgettable free skate to drop the curtain on the world figure skating championships, landing six quadruple jumps to claim his second straight world title. His total score of 318.56 put him more than 31 points clear of Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov, who took silver, and Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, whose took bronze despite a mistake-laden routine that saw him drop from second after the short program. Related: Alysa Liu left figure skating behind. She came back better than ever | Bryan Armen Graham It was a defining night for the sport and for Malinin, who has not lost a competition since 2023 and now adds another gold medal to a résumé that already includes a Grand Prix final title, multiple quad-jump records, and an ever-growing legend. Skating last to I'm Not a Vampire by the American post-metalcore band Falling in Reverse, Malinin opened with a quadruple flip, the quad Axel, a quad lutz, a quad loop, along with a quad toe and quad Salchow, both in combination. Advertisement The qual axel – heart-stopping four-and-a-half-revolution jump that has proven beyond the reach of the sport's most ambitious talents – has been landed only 15 times in competition after Saturday, all of them by the northern Virginia native, since he first pulled it off at the US Classic two years ago when he was 17. It was a defining night for the sport and for Malinin, who has not lost a competition since 2023 and now adds another gold medal to a résumé that already includes a Grand Prix final title, multiple quad-jump records, and an ever-growing legend. The US won three of the four events at a world figure skating championships for the first time in history: Malinin in men's singles, Alysa Liu in women's singles and Madison Chock and Evan Bates in ice dance. Full report to follow.
The Guardian
30-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Invincible' Malinin repeats as world champion with six quadruple jumps
He's been called the Quad God, skating's great innovator, the next Olympic champion. On Saturday night, in front of a roaring crowd at TD Garden, Ilia Malinin made it official: he is once again the best figure skater in the world. The 20-year-old American delivered another unforgettable free skate to drop the curtain on the world figure skating championships, landing six quadruple jumps to claim his second straight world title. His total score of 318.56 put him more than 31 points clear of Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov, who took silver, and Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, whose took bronze despite a mistake-laden routine that saw him drop from second after the short program. It was a defining night for the sport and for Malinin, who has not lost a competition since 2023 and now adds another gold medal to a résumé that already includes a Grand Prix final title, multiple quad-jump records, and an ever-growing legend. Skating last to I'm Not a Vampire by the American post-metalcore band Falling in Reverse, Malinin opened with a quadruple flip, the quad Axel, a quad lutz, a quad loop, along with a quad toe and quad Salchow, both in combination. The qual axel – heart-stopping four-and-a-half-revolution jump that has proven beyond the reach of the sport's most ambitious talents – has been landed only 15 times in competition after Saturday, all of them by the northern Virginia native, since he first pulled it off at the US Classic two years ago when he was 17. It was a defining night for the sport and for Malinin, who has not lost a competition since 2023 and now adds another gold medal to a résumé that already includes a Grand Prix final title, multiple quad-jump records, and an ever-growing legend. The US won three of the four events at a world figure skating championships for the first time in history: Malinin in men's singles, Alysa Liu in women's singles and Madison Chock and Evan Bates in ice dance. Full report to follow.
