Bob Baffert Races at Breeders’ Cup Trailed by Rivals’ Doping Suspicions

The leaders of the Breeders’ Cup, a Super Bowl of sorts for horseplayers, have been loud proponents of drug-free racing, but they have declined to ban Baffert from the event.

In fact, seven of its 14 board members employ Baffert as their trainer. Two of them, Gavin Murphy of SF Bloodstock, which is associated with the billionaire George Soros, and Elliott Walden, president of WinStar Farm, will send out a horse named Improbable as the favorite in the Classic.

None of the seven responded to phone calls and emails to comment on their business arrangements with Baffert.

“While these most recent charges are being adjudicated, Bob Baffert is not under suspension in any jurisdiction in the U.S., is not in violation of any Kentucky regulations or any existing Breeders’ Cup rules, and, as of now, is not prohibited from participating in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup World Championships,” Drew Fleming, the organization’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

The failure to act has angered some prominent players in the sport.

Until owners stop sending him horses “they will continue to be part of the problem. It’s a joke that isn’t funny,” tweeted Daisy Phipps Pulito, whose family has been among the most distinguished breeders and owners in the sport for generations.

In 2011, another well-known trainer, Rick Dutrow, who won the 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes with Big Brown, was punished for doping violations similar to Baffert’s. He was banned from racing in the United States for 10 years.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/sports/horse-racing/bob-baffert-breeders-cup.html