Churchill Downs extends Bob Baffert’s suspension until 2024

Churchill Downs on Monday extended the suspension of Kentucky Derby coach Bob Baffert through 2024, claiming he was unwilling to accept responsibility for the failed post-race drug test of Medina Spirit, the 2021 Derby winner, showing that Baffert “cannot be trusted. to prevent future misconduct.”

The suspension also applies to other circuits owned by Churchill Downs.

In a statement CDI Inc., the company organizing the Derby, cited Baffert’s long record of rule violations and his repeated claim that he had done nothing wrong as reasons for extending the ban.

The company said it will reevaluate Baffert’s status in 2025.

“Mr. Baffert continues to spread a false story about Medina Spirit’s failed drug test,” the statement said. Medina Spirit finished first in the 2021 Derby but was disqualified by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission after testing positive for betamethasone, a powerful corticosteroid used to reduce pain and inflammation.

According to the statement, Baffert had signed an agreement before the race saying he would abide by Kentucky racing rules. “The results of the tests clearly show that he was not up to par, and his continued behavior reveals his continued disregard for the rules and regulations that ensure the safety of horses and jockeys, as well as the integrity and fairness of the races held at our facilities .” said the statement.

In a statement posted to social media Monday evening, Baffert argued that he had not violated the rules and could not spread false narrative because he had not made any public comments for “a long time”.

“I cannot understand Churchill Downs’ latest move to suspend me,” he said.

Baffert is one of the most accomplished and controversial trainers in thoroughbred history. His horses won the Kentucky Derby six times and he became champion trainer four times. He ranks third on the career earnings list with over $344 million in purses.

Baffert also has a long track record of rule violations. Horses he trains have failed thirty drug tests over the past forty years, most notably Medina Spirit. That colt was only the second horse in the Derby’s 149-year history to have its win revoked due to a drug offence.

The trainer has fought against Churchill Downs and Kentucky regulators in state and federal courts. Betamethasone can be injected into the joints of horses to reduce pain and swelling. Baffert said the drug was in Medina Spirit’s system because the horse had been given a topical ointment for a skin lesion.

Other Triple Crown tracks honored Churchill Downs’ suspension of Baffert in 2021 and 2022, but Baffert returned to the Triple Crown at Baltimore’s Preakness Stakes this year. 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 incident further marred a troubled Triple Crown season in which a spate of racehorse deaths eroded the sport’s credibility with a public already concerned about the treatment of the animals and increasingly attracted to other forms of betting.

Last month, 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 over a five-week period.