Two complicated princes of the sport of kings
Bob Baffert held the shaft reverently, as if attending a king’s cape, as he walked with the American Pharoah to his barn at Keeneland, a racetrack mansion in Lexington, Kentucky. Beside him, at his invitation, was Todd Pletcher, another prince of thoroughbred racing.
Four months earlier, on June 6, 2015, American Pharoah had jumped off the stretch amid the cathartic roars and wet cheeks of horse lovers to win the Belmont Stakes to become the first Triple Crown champion in 37 years. It was a much-anticipated moment of jubilation for a battered old pastime whose relevance to casual sports fans had long been waning.
Now American Pharoah was in Kentucky to participate in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. It would be the colt’s last race, and Baffert wanted Pletcher to absorb the majesty of what he considered a once in a lifetime horse.
“I just wanted to share him with my friends in the sport,” Baffert said at the time.
Since the two shared that moment eight years ago, the two trainers — both Hall of Fame members — have continued to rule the sport, for better or for worse.
Both Baffert and Pletcher have a gift for horses and their demanding owners. Their frequent trips to prestigious winning circles have attracted a steady stream of investors willing to spend tens of millions in the auction ring for well-bred horses that will eventually be worth hundreds of millions in the stallion stable.
At the same time, both men have achieved their astounding success by training horses hard and relying on vets’ skills to keep their horses on the track, sometimes against the rules and spirit of the sport.
In just the past 11 months, Pletcher-trained horses have failed six drug tests in three states, according to documents obtained by The New York Times and two people familiar with the handling of the cases. One of the horses, a colt named Forte, will face the Baffert-trained National Treasure and seven other Thoroughbreds in Saturday’s 155th running of the Belmont Stakes.
Baffert has its own long record of rule violations. Horses he trains have failed 30 drug tests in 40 years — most notably Medina Spirit, who won the 2021 Kentucky Derby but failed a test for a banned drug and was disqualified. That colt was only the second horse in the Derby’s 149-year history to have its win revoked due to a drug offence.
Months later, Medina Spirit died, possibly of a heart attack.
Pletcher declined to comment on Forte or any of the other five drug violations he has incurred in the past 11 months. Baffert did not call back to ask for comment.
During this Triple Crown season, a spate of racehorse deaths has further eroded the sport’s credibility with a public already concerned about the treatment of the animals and increasingly attracted to other forms of betting. This week, horse racing at Churchill Downs was suspended so state and federal regulators could continue to investigate the deaths of 12 horses — two of them on Kentucky Derby Day — at the track.
Three weeks ago, Baffert returned to the Preakness for the first time since being banned from the Triple Crown due to Medina Spirit’s disqualification. His horse National Treasure won the race, but only after another Baffert foal, Havnameltdown, tumbled to the ground in an undercard race with a leg injury and had to be euthanized on the track.
The deaths at Churchill prompted the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus to call for an investigation into the fatalities and animal rights activists to call for a complete ban on horse racing. The Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authorityoverseen by the Federal Trade Commission, has taken new security measures and pledged to be vigilant.
The authority was established to establish strict anti-doping rules and meaningful penalties for violations. It is also expected to streamline an arbitration process that varies from state to state and has often taken months or even years. It took over those duties last month.
Under the authority’s rules for dealing with drug violations, within weeks the public will know the name of the horse and trainer involved, as well as the drug detected. A finding will be made within four months and, if necessary, a penalty will be imposed.
“We need to get past the point where we rock from crisis to crisis and prove to the public that those responsible for running the sport are doing so with the highest possible standards of integrity and safety,” said James L. Gagliano, the president and chief operating officer of the Jockey Club.
Baffert and Pletcher learned how to make horses run fast as boys alongside their fathers. Both attended the Race Track Industry Program at the University of Arizona. Both spent time on the back roads of the sport – Baffert in Arizona riding quarterhorses before moving to California; Pletcher as an apprentice to Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas before starting his own business in New York.
Baffert has won the Kentucky Derby six times, been named coach champion four times and is third on the career earnings list with over $344 million in purses. Pletcher has two Derby wins and eight training titles and is the sport’s career leader with more than $460 million in purses.
Baffert and Pletcher rose to prominence at a time when drugs and lax regulation prevailed and regulatory transparency was non-existent.
Over the decades, cobra venom, Viagra, blood doping drugs, and cancer drugs have been used by riders looking for an edge. Last year, Jason Servis pleaded guilty to his role in acquiring, distributing and directing others to administer performance-enhancing drugs to racehorses, one of more than 20 trainers and vets charged on such charges. Servis trained Maximum Security, the colt who crossed the finish line first at the 2019 Kentucky Derby, but was disqualified for interference.
The violations of Baffert and Pletcher most often involve injections of corticosteroids and anti-inflammatories. Therapeutic drugs — especially pain relievers — pose a harmful risk because they can mask injuries, especially at higher doses, making pre-race examinations less effective. If a horse can’t feel an existing injury, it may run faster than it otherwise would, putting additional strain on the injury.
“Instead of resting horses, there is a recourse to anti-inflammatories that ensure that any degree of lameness cannot be detected by the examining veterinarian,” said Dr. Tom David, a former chief veterinarian for the Louisiana Racing Commission, in an interview.
Forte, the Pletcher horse, was the favorite heading into the Derby, but punters may have had cause for concern. Two weeks before the Derby, Forte was put on the vet’s list, meaning his trainer or regulatory vets had declared him unfit or he had received a joint injection, which is allowed at least 14 days before a race in Kentucky.
There was no way for the public to know what was wrong with the horse because the reason why he was on the list was not disclosed.
“We’re publishing the veterinarian’s list without comment,” said Kentucky Horse Racing Commission veterinarian Bruce Howard. “Horses come on the vet’s list for a variety of reasons.”
Pletcher declined to say why Forte was on the list. The colt’s co-owners — Mike Repole, who made his fortune in the beverage industry, and Florida Panthers owner Vincent Viola — also declined to comment.
Under the new rules from the horse racing authority, the reason why a horse is on the vet’s list will be public. On Derby Day, Forte was scratched with a bruised hoof.
Three days after the Derby, The New York Times revealed that Forte failed a drug test in September after winning the Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, NY. controlling pain and swelling, according to the New York State Gaming Commission. The drug, widely prescribed for the treatment of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, is not approved in the United States for the treatment of racehorses in training.
While the case was ongoing but not yet public, Forte won his next four races, including two key events for the Derby: the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November and the Florida Derby in April.
The Breeders’ Cup requires competitors to disclose previous drug offenses when entering the championships. Neither Pletcher nor the owners have, said Drew Fleming, president and chief executive of the Breeders’ Cup. The colt was named horse racing’s 2-year-old male champion, a title that greatly increased his value as a potential stallion to his owners.
On May 10, eight months after the failed test, New York regulators held a hearing, resulting in a 10-day suspension and a $1,000 fine for Pletcher. Forte was disqualified from the Hopeful Stakes, meaning that Repole and Viola will not cash the $165,000 check for first place.
In a text message, Repole said that Forte was the victim of environmental pollution. “He was NEVER on Meloxicam,” he wrote, adding several exclamation points.
Pletcher’s other violations in the past 11 months include a positive for phenylbutazone, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, in a horse named Capensis on July 30 in Saratoga, according to two people familiar with the matter.
In Pennsylvania, hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic, was discovered in Mind Control after winning the $200,000 Parx Dirt Mile. In Florida on Dec. 10, two of Pletcher’s horses failed drug tests — the ulcer medication omeprazole sulfide was discovered in Ari Gold after the colt won the Pulpit, and Ok Boomer tested positive for the corticosteroid dexamethasone after winning his debut race, according to reports from the Florida Gaming Control Commission Division of Parimutuel Wagering.
On February 3, elevated levels of two anti-inflammatories, ketoprofen and phenylbutazone, were found in a horse named Six Minus after a win. In Florida, it is an offense to have more than one nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug above certain levels.
On Saturday, Baffert returns to Belmont Park for the first time since June 2018, when Justify earned him his second Triple Crown. Baffert’s suspension from the New York circuit for “conduct prejudicial to the interests of thoroughbred racing” ended in January.
Pletcher will also be with Belmont, where he has been the lead trainer for 14 meetings. In the feature race he will saddle Forte and the favourite, Tapit Thrice, giving him a shot at a seventh win in a Triple Crown race, potentially adding to his legend. At some point after that, he will be heard in his drug offense cases, none of which have gone to trial.