Some of 2024’s best horses will miss the Kentucky Derby as Churchill’s feud with Bob Baffert lingers

This year’s historic 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville will, once again, be absent of the biggest name in modern horse racing.

Cameron Drummond | Lexington Herald-Leader (TNS)

LEXINGTON, Ky. — This year’s historic 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville will, once again, be absent of the biggest name in modern horse racing.

Bob Baffert — the 71-year-old trainer who is tied for the most Derby wins by a trainer (six) in history — is once again barred from saddling a horse in the sport’s biggest event.

This will be the third straight Kentucky Derby without Baffert being the trainer of record for any horse in the field. But Baffert’s name has been ever present in horse racing while he’s been suspended from Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) tracks for the last three years.

For anyone who could have possibly forgotten, here are the highlights from the last few years:

— In June 2021, Baffert was suspended from CDI racetracks through the end of Churchill’s 2023 spring meet after his horse, Medina Spirit, tested positive for a substance banned on race day after winning the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Medina Spirit was disqualified, and the 2021 Derby was awarded to the second-place finisher, Mandaloun.

The win by Medina Spirit initially gave Baffert a record-setting seventh Kentucky Derby victory as a trainer. Medina Spirit died in December 2021 in California. A necropsy on the horse showed no definitive cause of death.

— Last July, CDI extended the suspension of Baffert through 2024. CDI said, in part, that the suspension was extended “based on continued concerns regarding the threat to the safety and integrity of racing (Baffert) poses to CDI-owned racetracks.”

— Baffert sued Churchill Downs. In late January 2024, Baffert announced that he asked his attorneys to dismiss the appeal of Medina Spirit’s 2021 Derby disqualification.

— Last week, a Jefferson County Circuit Court judge denied a request for a temporary injunction that would have allowed a horse trained by Baffert, Muth, to enter this year’s Kentucky Derby. Owner Amr Zedan (Zedan Racing Stables) filed a lawsuit against Churchill Downs to try and get Muth, who won the Arkansas Derby, into the Derby field. Zedan also was the owner of Medina Spirit.

Baffert was not a party to this lawsuit. An appeal in this case was filed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. On April 24, a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge upheld the original decision: Muth won’t be allowed to race in the Kentucky Derby.

This is a shorthand recap of a litigation-filled period for Baffert and CDI.

All the while, horses trained by Baffert haven’t been eligible to race in the Kentucky Derby. Horses saddled by Baffert that earned qualifying points in Kentucky Derby prep races vacated those points.

Workarounds were found, though.

Ahead of both the 2022 and 2023 editions of the Kentucky Derby, horses that were under Baffert’s guidance were transferred to one of his former assistant trainers, Tim Yakteen. With Yakteen as the trainer of record, several former Baffert horses were able to accumulate qualifying points toward and race in the Kentucky Derby.

But this year, none of Baffert’s horses were transferred to Yakteen, or another trainer, in the hopes of making the Derby.

Owners stuck with Baffert despite his suspension. In a show of solidarity, other trainers didn’t take on his horses.

So when as many as 20 horses load into the Kentucky Derby starting gate on May 4 and prepare for the 1 1/4-mile trip around the main track at Churchill Downs, a Baffert trainee won’t be participating.

But, clearly, Baffert will still play an outsized role in one of the biggest events in horse racing history.

Despite suspension, Baffert has been active on Kentucky Derby trail

The latest legal action taken by Zedan to try and get a Baffert horse into the Kentucky Derby was connected to Muth, a 3-year-old son of 2018 Kentucky Derby runner-up Good Magic.

Muth rolled to victory by 2 lengths on March 30 in the Arkansas Derby, a 200-point Derby qualifier. Between that performance, a win in the American Pharoah Stakes last October at Santa Anita Park and a second-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last November at Santa Anita, Muth would have accrued 125 Derby qualifying points.

That would place Muth in a tie for third on the Derby qualifying leaderboard, firmly in the field and among the race favorites.

In the moments immediately following Muth’s impressive Arkansas Derby win, the Fox Sports broadcast of the race interviewed legendary 88-year-old trainer D. Wayne Lukas after his horse, Just Steel, finished second and earned enough Kentucky Derby qualifying points to make the race.

Lukas’ comments during the interview weren’t about his horse, or the prospects of potentially winning a fifth Kentucky Derby himself. Instead, he lamented the fact that Baffert wouldn’t, and couldn’t, bring Muth to horse racing’s showcase event.

Over the last three years, the scene that played out at Oaklawn Park in late March — a Baffert horse running well and earning Derby qualifying points that were then vacated — has happened frequently.

In 2021-22, horses with Baffert as the trainer of record “earned” 103 out of a total of 2,363 qualifying points (4.4%) that were on offer in the 37 American Road to the Derby prep races. Baffert-trained horses occupied 12 of the 148 total finishing positions (8.1%) that awarded qualifying points in those Derby prep races.

Two of Baffert’s horses from that year’s 3-year-old group — Taiba and Messier — were transferred to Yakteen during the prep season and earned enough points under his guidance to qualify for the Derby gate.

Taiba ran 12th and Messier 15th in the 2022 Kentucky Derby.

In 2022-23, Baffert horses “earned” 137 of the 2,938 total qualifying points (4.7%) offered across 37 American Road to the Derby prep races. Baffert-trained horses occupied 21 of the 184 finishing positions (11.4%) that gave out qualifying points in that year’s prep circuit.

One of Baffert’s horses from that year’s 3-year-old group — Reincarnate — was also transferred to Yakteen and earned enough points to make the Derby field. Reincarnate finished 13th in the 2023 Kentucky Derby.

Baffert returned to the winner’s circle in a big way during the 2023 Triple Crown season: He won the 2023 Preakness Stakes, the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, with National Treasure.

That horse began his 3-year-old season under Baffert’s care, before being transferred to Yakteen and then back to Baffert’s barn ahead of the Preakness.

“It’s good to be back,” Baffert said in an emotional interview on NBC after that win, which was his first Triple Crown win since the 2020 Derby (Authentic) and his record eighth Preakness Stakes win as a trainer.

“I love Pimlico (Race Course). I love Baltimore. I love these horses,” Baffert said. “That’s why we get through these tough times together.”

A few hours before National Treasure’s win, another Baffert-trained horse, Havnameltdown, suffered a catastrophic injury during an undercard race at Pimlico. This was part of a particularly deadly and prominent horse racing period: Last year, at least one horse died following racing incidents at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day, at Pimlico Race Course on Preakness Stakes Day and at Belmont Park on Belmont Stakes Day.

Ahead of this year’s Kentucky Derby, Baffert horses have “claimed” 303 of 2,918 total qualifying points (10.4%) offered from 36 American Road to the Derby prep races. Baffert trainees occupied 13 of the 179 total finishing positions (7.3%) with qualifying points attached.

In addition to Muth, Baffert would also have been in position this year to have two other potential Kentucky Derby runners.

Imagination won the San Felipe Stakes and finished second (by a neck) in the Santa Anita Derby. He would have earned 100 Derby qualifying points, which would have put Imagination in a tie for sixth on the Derby qualifying leaderboard.

Assuming that both Muth and Imagination were in the field, Wine Me Up would have been one of the first also-eligible horses for the race. Wine Me Up would have had 42 qualifying points after finishing among the top four runners in four different Derby prep races.

And this is to say nothing of Nysos, a Baffert trainee who may be the best 3-year-old in this year’s class. Nysos has won all three of his races (including two graded stakes) by a combined 26 3/4 lengths. The horse was pulled out of training in March for one month due to a “minor” setback, and Baffert recently said Nysos won’t be able to run in the Preakness Stakes on May 18.

Over the course of his three-year Kentucky Derby suspension, horses with Baffert as the trainer of record have “accumulated” 543 out of a possible 8,219 qualifying points (6.6%) toward Derby qualification from 110 total races in the American qualifying pathway.

Baffert-trained horses have occupied 46 of the 511 total finishing positions (9%) that offered qualifying points from those races.

With Baffert still able to run horses at non-CDI racetracks, and therefore run horses in Kentucky Derby prep races, some embarrassing moments have occurred with relation to the Derby prep calendar.

— In the 2022 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita, Baffert-trained horses finished first, second, third and fourth. Only one of the 20 Derby qualifying points on offer was awarded.

— In the 2023 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita, all four horses in the race were trained by Baffert. Qualifying points toward the Derby are normally awarded to the top five finishers in that race, so none of the potential 40 Derby points were actually given out.

— During this year’s Derby prep season, a Baffert-trained horse won five of the 36 races (13.9%) that were part of the American Road to the Kentucky Derby. This includes Muth’s romp in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, which was by far the most prominent Derby prep win for Baffert during his suspension from the race.

Baffert also had the 1-2 finishers with Imagination and Wine Me Up in last month’s San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita, another race that normally gives out Derby points to the top five finishers. Only four horses ran in the race, and only 25 of a possible 100 qualifying points were actually awarded.

What does the 2024 Kentucky Derby field look like without Baffert horses?

The last time the Kentucky Derby didn’t have a Bob Baffert connection was in 2017, when the famed trainer didn’t have a horse in the field.

Baffert’s inseparable legacy with the Derby — he’s tied with Ben Jones for the most wins by a trainer with six — makes it an odd dynamic to have such a celebrated and historic edition of the race without Baffert involved.

Will the quality of the race suffer?

Even without Muth, Imagination, Wine Me Up or Nysos in the field, several quality horses and compelling storylines will be on offer in this year’s Derby.

Qualifying points leader Sierra Leone (155) won the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland with a dominant run from the back of the field. He’s aiming to become the first Blue Grass winner to double up with the Derby since 1991 (Strike the Gold).

The Todd Pletcher-trained Fierceness eviscerated the Florida Derby field last month, winning that prep race by more than 13 lengths.

Forever Young (JPN) is a perfect 5 for 5 in his racing career and is looking to become the first horse with ties to Japan to win the Derby, as well as the first former UAE Derby runner to finish in the money in the Kentucky Derby. Trainer Larry Demeritte, a native of The Bahamas, is set to saddle West Saratoga: Demeritte will be the first Black trainer with a horse in the field since 1989.

“There are plenty of fast horses in there,” said Chad Brown, Sierra Leone’s trainer, following his big win last month at Keeneland.

“To me, Fierceness and Sierra Leone kind of stand out among what I’ve seen in the U.S. horses,” added Larry Collmus, a longtime horse racing announcer who calls the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Breeders’ Cup for NBC Sports.

“Forever Young is the big question mark, the Japanese horse. … Catching Freedom (a Brad Cox trainee who won the Louisiana Derby) is so consistent. He’s a horse that makes that late run every time.”

When post time arrives at Churchill Downs on the evening of May 4, and 20 horses load into the starting gate, Baffert’s lack of presence will fade away, at least for the two minutes it takes for the race to be run.

But if recent history is any indication, it won’t be long until thoughts shift toward the 2025 Derby, and Baffert’s long-awaited return.

©2024 Lexington Herald-Leader. Visit kentucky.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.