Thoroughbred Racing 2021

[skipaway]

Preakness Bingo

 

[Sylvia]

WOW! https://twitter.com/NBCSports/status/1393702501690580996

 

[Vagabond]

Aw! I always love it when a little horse wins a big race.

 

[genevieve]

That view from the front as they rounded the last turn and the 'story' was about Midnight Bourbon and Medina Spirit duking it out - and Rombauer is all I Can Haz Chzburger? as he toodles on by

 

[sk8pics]

Great video about Old Friends in this link. I know all the horses and people that are in this, with the exception of the vet.

A Kentucky home for retired racehorses

Since 2003, the non-profit Old Friends has provided a retirement home for thoroughbred racehorses, from the sport's champions to the less-heralded. Correspondent Mo Rocca travels to Georgetown, Ky., to meet founder Michael Blowen, a former film critic whose love of horses drew him to gamble on a...

www.cbsnews.com

 

[sk8pics]

Here’s a history lesson about the Preakness winner’s breeding and background. Very interesting. Should have known Secretariat would be in the mix, LOL:

Home - Secretariat.com

Your Classic Merchandise source for Secretariat photography, collectibles & original memorabilia.

www.secretariat.com

 

[Judy]

Here’s a history lesson about the Preakness winner’s breeding and background. Very interesting. Should have known Secretariat would be in the mix, LOL:

Home - Secretariat.com

Your Classic Merchandise source for Secretariat photography, collectibles & original memorabilia.

www.secretariat.com

I remember watching Secretariat’s races for the Triple Crown. The most amazing horse. My friend and I were screaming lol. I still re-watch the three races occasionally on youtube.

 

[genevieve]

Medina Spirit fails second test:

Positive Drug Test Confirmed for Kentucky Derby Winner Medina Spirit (Published 2021)

Churchill Downs suspended the colt’s Hall of Fame trainer, Bob Baffert, for two years, and the colt faces disqualification as the Derby winner.

www.nytimes.com

In a text message, however, Brewster said the laboratory did not test the blood or urine samples for the presence of other compounds, “which could prove the trace positive came from an inadvertent and materially inconsequential contamination sourced from a topical ointment used to treat Medina Spirit for a skin lesion on his hip.”

 

[Vagabond]

Medina Spirit fails second test:

Positive Drug Test Confirmed for Kentucky Derby Winner Medina Spirit (Published 2021)

Churchill Downs suspended the colt’s Hall of Fame trainer, Bob Baffert, for two years, and the colt faces disqualification as the Derby winner.

www.nytimes.com

“If it was inadvertent contamination, that should be taken into account,” Brewster said in a telephone interview. “We’re hopeful that reasonable minds and good-intentioned regulators can see what it is, and what it is not, and not have a draconian response.”

Baffert's team deliberately applied the ointment, which contained betamethsadone.

Did it say the label that the product contained betamethsadone? If so, there is no excuse.

If not, why not?

It's not as if post-race testing commonly detects betamethsadone. Presumably, other trainers know better than to apply it to a horse that will be racing soon.

ETA: Baffert has now been banned from Churchill Downs for two years.

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/250573/churchill-bans-baffert-after-split-sample-confirmation

He has also been banned from Belmont Park, Saratoga, and Aqueduct.

 

[skipaway]

He’s been effectively gutted for the next 2 years with regards to training young horses aiming for the Triple Crown. Will have to see if NY puts a time limit on their suspension as they were waiting on the B sample test results.

 

[sk8pics]

I was disappointed but not surprised to hear this. I think Baffert will get out of the business now, maybe retire or move to another arena. It’s not just the young horses but all of the horses. No major owner is going to stay with him. Neither he nor his employees can enter horses at Churchill and NY, and if California follows suit, I think he’s done. I also feel bad for his employees, especially Jimmy Barnes.

I am in no way in favor of doping racehorses (or people, for that matter), and maybe Baffert has done other things that were worse, but a two-year suspension like this for this particular violation seems like overkill to me.

I also feel very sad for Medina’s breeder, who was so excited and proud of him. And I’m sad for Medina, even though he has no idea what’s going on.

 

[Vagabond]

I am in no way in favor of doping racehorses (or people, for that matter), and maybe Baffert has done other things that were worse, but a two-year suspension like this for this particular violation seems like overkill to me.

It was a violation preceded by several other doping violations. Context counts for a lot here.

 

[Vagabond]

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/250785/judge-urges-resolution-over-medina-spirit-urine-sample

The judge isn't buying Baffert's arguments.

 

[skipaway]

WAPO Article on Baffert
Interesting on how Baffert has positioned himself throughout the Racing industry.

 

[sk8pics]

So many troubling things in that article @skipaway. The way Baffert is depicted and also the apparent effort by others to “dig up dirt“ on him to basically blackmail him into going along with them. smh. I agree, at the very least he is running a sloppy operation. At worst, he is actively breaking the regulations and killing his horses.

I’m grateful for Pharoah and the way he came through the Triple Crown. I’m grateful for Game On Dude who ran for Baffert for quite awhile and is the sweetest horse you can ever imagine; I need to give him a smooch next time I see him. And I’m grateful for Silver Charm, who allows me to scratch his back and chest now, and in return I chew up carrots for him. I know the fact that these 3 horses were with Baffert doesn’t mean he is not doping his horses; I just take some comfort in their presence.

 

[skipaway]

So many troubling things in that article @skipaway. The way Baffert is depicted and also the apparent effort by others to “dig up dirt“ on him to basically blackmail him into going along with them. smh. I agree, at the very least he is running a sloppy operation. At worst, he is actively breaking the regulations and killing his horses.

I’m grateful for Pharoah and the way he came through the Triple Crown. I’m grateful for Game On Dude who ran for Baffert for quite awhile and is the sweetest horse you can ever imagine; I need to give him a smooch next time I see him. And I’m grateful for Silver Charm, who allows me to scratch his back and chest now, and in return I chew up carrots for him. I know the fact that these 3 horses were with Baffert doesn’t mean he is not doping his horses; I just take some comfort in their presence.

I envy you…and they were spectacular horses.

 

[Doggygirl]

WAPO Article on Baffert
Interesting on how Baffert has positioned himself throughout the Racing industry.

This just breaks my heart...... I really feel for these animals. And also for the people in the sport who truly care about the horses and are trying to bring about meaningful change.

 

[sk8pics]

I envy you…and they were spectacular horses.

They still are! You too can visit them! Even Pharaoh! Coolmore participates in the horse country tours. And of course Dude and Silver Charm are at Old Friends, and you can visit there too. They won't let you smooch Dude, though, LOL. But usually he is on the tour, and Silver Charm is always on the tour, too.

Dude has such soft, intelligent eyes. And is such a nice horse. He and Little Mike have buddied up nicely. Mike doesn't push him around too much and they both get lots of attention. And I love a horse that answers to DUDE! when you yell it at his paddock.

 

[skipaway]

TOC Adds 2 to Board, Outs Baffert

 

[Vagabond]

Baffert is starting to lose horses to other trainers, and he remains banned from starting his horses in New York and at Churchill Downs.

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/251022/winstar-moves-country-grammer-from-baffert-to-pletcher

I hope that all these recent events mean that the tide is turning.

 

[skipaway]

Jockey Club Supporting NYRA regarding Baffert’s Ban

The Jockey Club "has access to information not necessarily available to the parties," Read wrote. "As a result, we believe that we are in a unique position to assemble material to assist the Court with issues of irreparable injury, balance of hardships and the public interest.

I wonder what the brief will say…hope it’s public.

 

[sk8pics]

Coolmore announced today that Galileo died. He was only 23.

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/251425/world-renowned-champion-sire-galileo-dies

 

[Sarah]

First Came Home, now Galileo. What a sad couple of days for these 20-something stallions.

 

[sk8pics]

First Came Home, now Galileo. What a sad couple of days for these 20-something stallions.

It’s always particularly sad to me when they die in their early 20’s.

 

[skipaway]

Baffert granted Injunction to Race at NYRA Tracks

 

[Sarah]

Baffert granted Injunction to Race at NYRA Tracks

I wish I could say I was surprised but…

 

[skipaway]

Bernardini Dies at 18 from Laminitis ?

 

[sk8pics]

Bernardini Dies at 18 from Laminitis ?

I saw that. I did not realize how successful he'd been as a sire. I met him a couple of times and he was quite calm and very handsome. Ironic that both he and Barbaro died from laminitis; they are forever linked in my mind and heart.

 

[skipaway]

I saw that. I did not realize how successful he'd been as a sire. I met him a couple of times and he was quite calm and very handsome. Ironic that both he and Barbaro died from laminitis; they are forever linked in my mind and heart.

Me too. Terrible disease.

 

[Vagabond]

Navarro Changes Plea to Guilty in Federal Court

The barred trainer Jorge Navarro cut a deal with federal prosecutors Wednesday in which he pled guilty to one count in a years-long Thoroughbred doping conspiracy in exchange for having a similar second count against him dismissed. Navarro now faces a maximum prison term of five years when he...

www.thoroughbreddailynews.com

Navarro now faces a maximum prison term of five years when he gets sentenced Dec. 17.

In addition, Navarro on Aug. 11 agreed to pay $25,860,514 in restitution to a list of victims whose identities won't be divulged until the government's final prosecutorial paperwork is due one week before the sentencing. Navarro admitted in court that amount is based on ill-gotten gains from the purse winnings of his trainees.

Incredibly, that massive dollar amount equates to nearly 75% of all the purse winnings Navarro's horses amassed during his 15-year training career.