He's Baaack! Bob Baffert Could Make Triumphant Return to the Kentucky Derby

“Who’s the bad guy now?” “I’m the one who knock-knocks.” “Either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain.”

Bob Baffert may be practicing some of those lines ahead of his return to Churchill Downs. The Hall of Fame trainer from the West Coast has a chance to do something that would make Hollywood producers blush.

America loves to tear down public figures, then build them back up. This spring, Bob Baffert is preparing for the ultimate comeback story.

Baffert is one of two people to ever train multiple Triple Crown Winners. American Pharoah ended a 37-year drought in 2015. Just three years later, Justify repeated the seemingly impossible feat. Authentic raced to victory in the 2020 Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic, tying legendary trainer Ben Jones for the most Kentucky Derby victories ever by a trainer.

The face of the sport of horse racing was on a heater of all heaters. That’s when he lived long enough to become the villain.

Historic Disqualification

Bob Baffert was invincible. With 15-1 odds, Medina Spirit shocked the horse racing world by out-running Essential Quality and Mandaloun to win the Run for the Roses in 2021, giving Baffert a record-breaking seventh Kentucky Derby victory. That victory only stood for a day.

A post-race drug test revealed 21 picograms of betamethasone. Medina Spirit was treated for dermatitis with an ointment leading into the race. It contained just enough trace elements for the banned substance to show up in the drug test.

A lengthy legal battle ensued. Ultimately, it resulted in Medina Spirit’s disqualification, giving Mandaloun the 2021 Kentucky Derby crown despite finishing a half-length behind Medina Spirit on Derby day. Lawyers debated semantics for years while Churchill Downs dropped the hammer on the Hall of Fame trainer. They were out to make an example out of Baffert. Cheating would not be tolerated.

Baffert was suspended from being on the grounds or racing horses at tracks owned by Churchill Downs Inc. Even after the trainer dropped a lawsuit against the racetrack, that two-year suspension was extended in the summer of 2023, preventing Baffert from making an appearance at Kentucky Derby 150. The ban was lifted last summer, allowing Baffert to return for this year’s Run for the Roses.

Baffert Plays Nice Publicly

The initial suspension from Churchill Downs was harsh. Extending it a year was over the top. It was clear that the racetrack didn’t want to mar the historic 150th running of the race with Baffert’s return as the primary storyline. None of us would be surprised if the trainer took that as a personal slight.

Upon his reinstatement, Baffert took full responsibility for Medina Spirit’s disqualification. He returned to Louisville in November and had only nice things to say about Churchill Downs.

“Everything’s behind us,” he said. “As a trainer, you have to focus on what’s in front of you. Live and let live. I’m glad to be back. I appreciate being here.”

He’s playing nice, but let’s be honest, nothing would make Bob Baffert happier than by sticking it to Churchill Downs with a victory on May 3.

Three Potential Kentucky Derby 151 Entries

Over the next 2.5 weeks, many contenders will drop out of the Run for the Roses. As of Tuesday, Bob Baffert has three horses in the field for Kentucky Derby 151.

Rodriguez: The son of Derby-winner Authentic failed to catch Citizen Bull from off the pace. The tactic didn’t work against Journalism, the likely Derby favorite, either. Baffert shipped the horse to New York where it punched its Derby ticket by running from the front in a Wood Memorial win.

Citizen Bull: The two-year-old champion in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Citizen Bull is a frontrunner who went wire-to-wire to win the Robert B. Lewis, but failed in the Santa Anita Derby with a fourth-place finish.

Madakeet Road: After falling to Citizen Bull in the Lewis, Baffert shipped the horse from California to wrack up points on the Road to Kentucky Derby leaderboard. It improved to second in the Rebel Stakes before adding a few points with a fourth-place finish in the Florida Derby.

We all love when horses like Rich Strike or Mystik Dan make majestic moves from the back of the pack to hit the wire first, but it’s extremely difficult to navigate through the crowded field of 2020. There will be no shortage of frontrunners fighting for the early lead. A good break could position Rodriguez to follow in his father’s footsteps and deliver a satisfying win for the maligned trainer.

The tinted glasses and silver hair marked him as a villain. America loves a great comeback. A record-breaking seventh Kentucky Derby win for Bob Baffert in his return to Churchill Downs would be the perfect bookend for horse racing’s greatest comeback story.