[ad_1]
For almost 20 years, Bob Baffert has been the face of American thoroughbred racing, a coach who has won a large number of fast races for Triple Crown races. His white hair made him distinctive and his silvery tongue made it memorable.
He was comfortable in front of the microphones and filled the journalists' notebooks in the mornings on the track, where he appeared at a known time from 8 to 9 o'clock, well after his rivals, who respected the schedule. Sunrise.
On Thursday, however, after the New York Times announced that Justify, the winner of the Baffert-trained Triple Crown 2018, had failed a drug test shortly before the Kentucky Derby, Baffert had let his lawyer talk. largely.
In a letter to the Times posted on social networks, Baffert Lawyer, W. Craig Robertson III, said Justify's positive test for the banned substance, scopolamine, was a result of "environmental contamination," and praised the California Horse Racing Board's treatment of the case. As stated by the Times, the commission apparently did not follow its own procedures and finally closed the investigation without ever disclosing to the public the positive test result.
Scopolamine may be naturally present in Jimson grass, which is sometimes found in horse feed or litter material. Robertson did not, however, provide any evidence of contamination; nor the regulators of California when offered the opportunity to respond to the Times before the publication of the article. According to experts, the drug can serve as a bronchodilator to clear the airways and optimize heart rate, making horses more efficient.
According to Dr. Rick Sams, who ran the drug treatment lab for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission from 2011 to 2018, the amount of drug found in Justify indicated that this was not the result of a contamination of feed or litter and was intended to improve performance.
In recent weeks, Baffert has refused several interview requests with The Times. The Hall of Fame coach again made it Thursday after the publication of the article.
"C.H.R.B. all parties, including the industry, were right " Robertson said in the letter, adding: "Horse racing is a great sport and Mr. Baffert behaves with honesty, class and character."
The revelation of the failure of the Justify test comes as horse racing is under siege. The industry has been reduced financially and lose its grip on sports fans in general for decades. Industry leaders aspired to an equine superstar capable of transcending sport during the decades when a series of supposed super-horses failed in their attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Then in 2015, under the direction of Baffert, The American pharaoh has managed the feat.
As he approached this breakthrough, Baffert was often sentimental and philosophical about his own rise from a third-ranked jockey on Arizona's bush lanes to one of the world's most prominent coaches.
Baffert also explained that a minor defeat in the 2012 Derby, caused by a horse named after his son Bode, had pushed him to seek inner peace.
While Justify followed in the footsteps of American Pharoah, horse racing seemed to have even more chances to revive life. But after 30 racehorses died of injuries at Santa Anita Park in California in the winter and spring, the industry found itself on the defensive. The Los Angeles County Attorney's Office has opened an investigation and California lawmakers and animal rights advocates have called for more regulation and transparency, particularly with respect to drugs and the safety of horses.
Baffert, 66 years oldwith his five winners of the Kentucky Derby and two champions of the Triple Crown, assumed a role of affable businessman. In May, following the deaths of Santa Anita, he was the main attraction of the horse racing industry in California, traveling to the State Capitol in Sacramento to defend his sport in front of lawmakers.
Baffert told them that these deaths had sensitized his colleagues.
"I think the trainers will do a better job of keeping the order themselves," he said.
On Thursday, however, others were forced to defend the sport because of an unflattering narrative in which Baffert was a central figure.
In a report, Kevin Flanery, the president of Churchill Downs, the Derby's host, said neither the runway nor the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission had come to know of the drug test's failure before the ## 147 ## ###################################################################### 39, Times article.
"We know that all pre-race and post-race tests for Kentucky Derby 2018 participants have returned without fail, including Justify," the statement said.
In order to qualify for the Kentucky Derby, Justify had to finish first or second in the Santa Anita Derby in April 2018. He had won, but a rule at the time would have required him to be excluded from the positive anti-doping test. , renouncing both the cash prize and the entry into the Derby, the first Triple Crown race.
Test results, emails and internal memos in the Justify case show that California regulators have not informed Baffert for nearly three weeks that his favorite Derby had tested positive at scopolamine. The commission then opened an investigation to determine whether Justify may have unintentionally ingested the prohibited substance.
Four months later – and more than two months after Baffert and the owners of the horse celebrated their victory at the Triple Crown in New York – CA California the inquiry during an in camera session.
Chuck Winner, chairman of the board, owned horses that Baffert trained. Winner recently stated that he had not yet withdrawn from the Justify investigation and that the trial attorney had not advised to do so.
W. Elliott Walden, general manager and racing director of WinStar Farm, which is part of the Justify ownership group, told the Blood Horse industry publication that he was aware of the positive outcome of the test conducted in April 2018. He had stated that he had entrusted the case to his lawyers, and then never heard of the regulators.
"It's a shame for Bob's reputation, Justify's reputation and our reputation," Walden told the publication.
[ad_2]
Source link