Bob Baffert’s ban at Churchill Downs extended through 2024

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s suspension at Churchill Downs has been extended through 2024, the racetrack announced Monday.

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Churchill Downs Incorporated announced the ban’s continuation at the Louisville, Kentucky, track in a statement, citing “continued concerns regarding the threat to the safety and integrity of racing he poses to CDI-owned racetracks.”

Churchill Downs said Baffert continues to “peddle a false narrative” about Medina Spirit’s failed drug test after the horse won the 2021 Kentucky Derby. The company added that it will re-evaluate Baffert’s status after 2024.

“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,” Churchill Downs said in a statement. “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 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 ban means that Baffert will miss the 150th Kentucky Derby in 2024.

Baffert was initially suspended through the 2023 Spring Meet because of five drug-related violations over a 12-month period, the Louisville Courier Journal reported.

The suspension meant that Baffert was not allowed to enter a horse in the 2022 and 2023 Kentucky Derby races, WLKY-TV reported. He was initially suspended after Medina Spirit failed a postrace drug test after the 2021 Derby.

The horse was also stripped of his victory.

The drug test showed betamethasone in Medina Spirit’s system, the Courier Journal reported. The drug is legal as a therapeutic aid, but is banned on race days and in the days leading up to races due to its potential as a performance-enhancing drug, according to the newspaper.

Baffert, 70, has trained a record six Kentucky Derby winners. He also has won a record eight Preakness Stakes and three Belmont Stakes races.

National Treasure, trained by Baffert, won this year’s Preakness Stakes.

Baffert broke the all-time record for victories by a trainer at the Preakness by saddling his eighth winner. He broke a tie set in the late 19th century by Robert Wyndham Walden for most Preakness wins by a trainer.

Walden won seven times between 1875 and 1888.

The Preakness was held hours after a horse trained by Baffert was euthanized at the track after falling during the stretch run of the sixth race.

Havnameltdown was put down after suffering an injury to its left front ankle during the Chick Lang Stakes.