Suspension Extended, Bob Baffert is an Enemy of the State

The public flogging of Bob Baffert will continue for at least another year at Churchill Downs.

The historic racecourse provided a pre-holiday news dump Monday afternoon, announcing the extension of Bob Baffert’s suspension through 2024 at all Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) operated tracks.

“Mr. Baffert continues to peddle a false narrative concerning the failed drug test of Medina Spirit at the 147th Kentucky Derby from which his horse was disqualified by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in accordance with Kentucky law and regulations,” CDI said in a statement.

This suspension will sideline the world’s most well-known horse trainer for a third straight Kentucky Derby. There are a few reasons why CDI is taking such drastic steps.

Bob Baffert and Horse Racing Health Concerns

First and foremost, Baffert’s lack of contrition is bad for the sport. As we learned with Forte’s failed drug test, the lack of universal rules allows for horsemen to plea ignorance in any drug related manner. They can drag their feet and appeal and appeal until the matter is old news. Churchill Downs is trying to set a precedent that holds horsemen accountable, particular ones that refuse to accept any fault.

Secondly, CDI had to move half of its spring meet away from its most profitable track to a small outpost in Western Kentucky. You think they wanted to miss a month of racing at their home track? Of course not, but because the industry is looked down upon for its health and safety standards, Churchill Downs must make drastic steps to change that narrative. Allowing its most famous offender, only the second drug-related DQ in Kentucky Derby history, to return to the scene of the crime a year after a dozen horse deaths would be foolish and hypocritical.

Kentucky Derby 150

Last but not least, allow me to remind you what is happening in 2024. It’s Kentucky Derby 150. That may not seem like a big eal to some, but Churchill Downs is making sure it’s a big damn deal.

CDI released merchandise and a new logo for Kentucky Derby 150 even before Mage won this year’s edition of the Kentucky Derby. They are pouring $200 million of concrete into the paddock to completely transform the racetrack’s public meeting place. If all goes according to plan, it will serve as a celebration of the sport’s endurance throughout the decades.

Unfortunately, the NBC broadcast will be obligated to remind its viewers that racing was removed from the track because the sport is on shaky ground. Bob Baffert personifies the problem with horse racing. His silver hair is a reminder of everything that’s wrong with the sport. Giving him a microphone to play victim, as he did in his triumphant return to the Preakness, is not a punishment fit for the crime of Public Enemy No. 1 in the state of Kentucky.