Churchill Downs, Inc. extended Bob Baffert's exclusion from racing horses at CDI-owned tracks in a late afternoon announcement July 3.
A release from Churchill Downs said the ban will extend through the end of 2024 and that the decision was made "based on continued concerns regarding the threat to the safety and integrity of racing he poses to CDI-owned racetracks."
“Mr. Baffert continues to peddle a false narrative concerning the failed drug test of Medina Spirit at the 147th Kentucky Derby (G1) from which his horse was disqualified by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in accordance with Kentucky law and regulations. Prior to that race, Mr. Baffert signed an agreement with Churchill Downs which stated that he was responsible for understanding the rules of racing in Kentucky and that he would abide by them," the release says in its opening words.
Baffert was initially prohibited by CDI from competing at its tracks through the end of its just-concluded 2023 spring meeting on June 2, 2021, following the confirmation in a split sample that Medina Spirit was positive for betamethasone, a substance prohibited on race day in Kentucky, during the running of the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards subsequently disqualified Medina Spirit from his first-place finish and suspended Baffert for 90 days. A hearing officer recently adopted the stewards' position in a recommendation to KHRC.
Baffert contested his setbacks with racing officials and Churchill Downs in court, and he has lost every step of the way. He was denied a stay of his 90-day suspension by multiple state courts, and a federal court judge on May 24 dismissed a lawsuit filed by Baffert against CDI over his initial ouster by the company, which lasted more than two years. The judge's decision was not appealed according to PACER, a federal court's website.
CDI cites as a basis for its decision what it describes as Baffert's ongoing disregard for regulatory compliance.
"The results of the tests clearly show that he did not comply, and his ongoing conduct reveals his continued disregard for the rules and regulations that ensure horse and jockey safety, as well as the integrity and fairness of the races conducted at our facilities," the release says. "A trainer who is unwilling to accept responsibility for multiple drug test failures in our highest-profile races cannot be trusted to avoid future misconduct. Mr. Baffert will remain suspended from entering horses at all racetracks owned by CDI through 2024. After such time, we will re-evaluate his status."
As a result of CDI's action, Baffert, who won the Kentucky Derby six times before 2021, sat out the Derby and Kentucky Oaks (G1) in 2022 and 2023. Assuming the extension of the trainer's ban holds, he will be unable to compete in 2024 as well.
A telephone call from BloodHorse to Baffert attorney Clark Brewster was not returned when this story was posted.
Bob Baffert responded to CDI's extended suspension via Twitter Monday evening.
"I am at a loss to understand Churchill Downs' latest action to suspend me," Baffert wrote. "From the moment I learned of Medina Spirit's post-race positive—now more than 2 years ago—I committed to find out how it occurred, given that we had never injected Medina Spirit's joints with betamethasone, which the veterinary records can confirm.
I have been open, honest, and forthcoming about these events. I have acknowledged that our treatment led to the positive and I informed the Kentucky Racing Commission that we had treated Medina Spirit this way.
I have been advised by my attorneys that use of Otomax is permitted under the rules, and this issue is presently being adjudicated by the Racing Commission in a case presently before them. In no way does this involve 'a disregard for the rules.'
In the interests of the sport we all love, I have made no pubic comment on this unfortunate episode for an extended period of time so the suggestion that I 'continue to peddle a false narrative' is patently false."
Joe Perez also contributed to this story.
