LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The backstretch at Churchill Downs is a magical place during Kentucky Derby week. Big-name trainers talking to well-heeled owners, media haplessly standing around hoping to grab a quote or a quick stand-up interview. Yet the most important part of this annual carnival of horsedom is that one of the occupants will be the next winner of the Kentucky Derby.
Not all of the 1,500 horses stabled are eligible to race in the Kentucky Derby. In fact, only 20 of them make the starting gate and you only get one chance — when they are a 3-year-old.
But if you are looking for a special place, look no further than Barn 33. What makes it stand out is that’s where way too many people congregate, hoping to either talk to, snap a picture with or interview the most famous person in racing, trainer Bob Baffert.
If you’re unsure it’s Baffert’s barn, just look at the exterior wall of the barn where six signs hang, one for each of Baffert’s Derby wins: Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998), War Emblem (2002), American Pharoah (2015), Justify (2018) and Authentic (2020).
Those signs have been in storage for the last three years after Baffert was banned from all Churchill Downs-owned tracks after 2021 winner Medina Spirit — subsequently disqualified — tested positive for a legal substance that is not allowed on race day. Baffert was reinstated after he accepted responsibility for the positive test and all legal challenges were exhausted.
“I’m so happy to be back and be here,” Baffert said after the crowd had dispersed and all that was left were two reporters. “And I’ve gotten a warm welcome from everybody, especially from this town, everywhere I go. And it’s good to see the signs back up, all my greatest achievements are on this wall in here. It’s good to see all that.”
It wasn’t Baffert’s first time back. He showed up unannounced on Nov. 27 to see one of his then 2-year-olds, Barnes, run his first race.
If there is any lingering resentment toward Churchill Downs from Baffert, you couldn’t tell it from his comments.
“It’s a very important race,” Baffert said. “It’s a bucket list kind of race and so it’s very important that the Derby is a success and that people show up and watch it. It keeps the game going. I can’t imagine racing without a Kentucky Derby. It’s our Masters. It’s the race that defines your career.”
The first two years of the suspension, Baffert transferred his most promising horses to Tim Yakteen, his former assistant. But Churchill kept moving the goalposts on when the transfer had to take place. In the third year, Baffert’s biggest owners decided just to skip the Derby in support of him.
“I think we found out last year that the Derby’s going to be a success with or without Bob Baffert,” the trainer said. “It’s all about the horses. It’s about 20 horses running, and a lot of people don’t even know [who is or isn’t in the race]. But the locals know.”
The source of all the trouble was a medication called betamethasone, which Baffert has steadfastly argued was administered in an ointment for a rash on Medina Spirit’s hindquarters. The rules appear to have been written for injections, not ointments. And that was the crux of the issue.
“There’s a rule that it just cannot be in [the horse on race day] no matter what,” Baffert said. “So, unfortunately, that’s why we tested it and they found out the stuff was in the ointment. What’s that phrase that I hate? Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, you can’t put it back in. Until they figure that out … that damn toothpaste got us.”
Asked what he would have done different four years ago, Baffert offered an Occam’s razor kind of answer.
“I wish I had left that damn ointment at Santa Anita and then everything would have been fine,” he said. “That’s what we would have done. I don’t know how we missed that, but we missed it.”
Baffert believes that kind of mistake wouldn’t have happened today since horse racing medication is now regulated by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA).
“If HISA had been in place, it would have never happened because now you have to really be so careful,” Baffert said. “If HISA would have been in place, it would have never gotten on him because we would have gone through everything, and we just missed it then. I just took my eyes off the ball for just a minute and we all missed it. It was a ridiculous, unnecessary positive.”
For about a week, Baffert was the only trainer to win the Kentucky Derby seven times, having surpassed Ben Jones, who won his last one in 1952. So, Baffert is again tied for the all-time record.
He has two horses in Saturday’s race. There is Citizen Bull, who has the unfortunate first post, and Rodriguez, who isn’t too far away in the fourth post. Citizen Bull (20-1 morning line) has won four of his six races including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He was also won the Eclipse Award for best 2-year-old male. Expectations were high until he ran a disappointing fourth in the Santa Anita Derby.
Rodriguez (12-1) has won two of five but made his mark with an effortless 3 ½-length win in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. It would not be a surprise to see Rodriguez on or near the lead in the 1 ¼-mile race, especially with Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith aboard.
Baffert’s influence can also be found in the breeding for this race with six having been sired by horses that Baffert has trained. There are two American Pharoahs (Luxor Café and Publisher), a Justify (American Promise), an Authentic (Rodriguez), a McKinzie (Baeza, if he makes the field) and a Drefong (Admire Daytona).
“I’ve had a lot of horses that were good horses but you just don’t know if they’re going to be sires or not,” Baffert said. “That’s the beauty of this game, nobody’s figured it out. There’s no book, there’s no figuring it out.”
If Baffert, at 72, hasn’t figured it out, it’s unclear if anyone has all the answers. But, he’s still going to be searching with no retirement on the horizon.
“It’s the challenge that keeps me going,” he said. “I feel like the glasses are still half full. So, as long as I keep enjoying it, I’ll keep doing it. When it makes me bitter, then I’ll let you know.
“Racing has changed. It’s different now. It’s being really regulated, and so we have to be really careful with everything. You’re always worried. I never had to worry about a test until now. And HISA is doing a better job. To me, if there’s intent [to cheat], boom, get them out of here. If there’s no intent, it’s contamination levels, which ours was, and they actually raised [the number] a little bit, so [the Medina Spirit sample] wouldn’t be a positive today, so that’s good. So, good things will come out of it.”
Of course, he’s hoping something good comes out of Saturday’s race. And, maybe there will be a seventh sign on his barn wall.