The Kentucky Derby is a tradition that’s never been canceled.
Postponed once by World War II and again by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, America’s greatest race has rolled on since 1875.
At Churchill Downs on Saturday, 20 horses will compete to wear the garland of red roses in the 149th edition. But the race will again be without the sport’s best known and hugely successful figure for nearly three decades.
Bob Baffert trained American Pharoah to the first Triple Crown sweep in 37 years in 2015. He repeated the feat with Justify in 2018. In all, the white-haired trainer has won 16 Triple Crown races. Yet Baffert is still serving a two-year suspension from Churchill Downs.
“I’ve just moved on,” the 70-year-old Hall of Fame trainer told The Associated Press recently, declining to elaborate.
His reverence for the Derby is obvious: “There’s no more exciting moment when you have a horse that has a chance to win the Derby,” he said, having officially won it a record-tying six times.
Baffert will sit out for a second straight year. Read on to find out why.
WHY IS BAFFERT STILL BANNED FROM THE DERBY?
Churchill Downs Inc. prohibited him from entering horses at any of its tracks for two years after his 2021 Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a post-race drug test. The horse was later disqualified from that victory in a ruling handed down last year.
Medina Spirit tested positive for an anti-inflammatory medication. It’s considered a Class C drug, with a lesser potential to influence performance, but any level of detection on race day is a violation. Medina Spirit died after a workout in 2021.
Baffert already has served a 90-day suspension by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission because of medication violations involving his horses. The suspension caused him to miss all of the 2022 Triple Crown series.
DID BAFFERT CHALLENGE HIS PUNISHMENTS?
Yes, on several fronts.
He made multiple attempts in Kentucky to overturn the track’s ban and his suspension. He also was unsuccessful in suing Churchill Downs Inc. in federal court, with a judge denying his injunction.
Baffert was suspended for a year by the New York Racing Association for repeated medication violations, although none occurred in that state. That penalty expired in January.
