With two contenders, Baffert marks return to Kentucky Derby
- Bob Baffert returned to the Kentucky Derby on May 3, 2025, saddling two horses after a four-year absence at Churchill Downs, Kentucky.
- His return followed a suspension that began in June 2021 after Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone, a steroid not allowed on race day despite being legal therapeutically in Kentucky.
- Baffert, a 72-year-old trainer with a record-tying six Derby wins and the 2015 Triple Crown, expressed he has two horses likely to place in the top five or top 10 this year.
- He told The Associated Press that he is ready to enjoy himself now that the past is behind him, adding that he never denied the positive test and accepted full responsibility for it.
- Baffert’s return is welcomed by some rivals and highlights his continued role in racing, conditioned on his enjoyment and attracting quality owners amid precarious times for California racing.
63 Articles
63 Articles
Commentary: Controversy will never be behind him, but Bob Baffert is back where he belongs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bob Baffert looks a little thinner to me, but maybe that’s because we haven’t seen him in a while. Not in person, anyway. There are a few more wrinkles on his 72-year-old face, but there’s still the…
Bob Baffert is back at the Kentucky Derby after serving a 3-year suspension
By BETH HARRIS | AP racing writer Bob Baffert is back at the Kentucky Derby for the first time in four years, having served his punishment for Medina Spirit’s failed drug test and coming to the place where he’s won a record-tying six times. He’s settled in at his old Barn 33, the signs boasting of his Churchill Downs triumphs again hanging on the outside wall. “I’m going to have fun now that everything is behind me,” Baffert told The Associated …
Famed Alleged Horse Drugger and Race Cheater Bob Baffert Makes His Shameful Return to Kentucky Derby Following 3-Year Suspension
Disgraced trainer Bob Baffert returned to the Kentucky Derby after a humiliating drug scandal and three-year suspension — but the controversy still follows him to Churchill Downs.
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