Is Bob Baffert's Ban Impact The Quality Of Kentucky Derby 2022?

The build-up to the 2022 Kentucky Derby has been dominated not by the incredible racehorses who are set to compete in one of the world's most prestigious races but on an ugly fallout between famed trainer Bob Baffert and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC).

Baffert is serving a 90-day suspension and has been fined $7,500 in relation to his horse, Medina Spirit, testing positive for banned levels of betamethasone immediately following his victory in the 2021 Derby.

What ensued was a lengthy legal battle and a round of appeals until the Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld the Commission's original decision on April 1 which means Baffert will certainly be absent from Churchill Downs.

As a result of the Court's final verdict, Baffert's ban is also being honored by all 38 racing states in the US, including the California Horse Racing Board, prohibiting the trainer from racing his horses at his home track at Santa Anita – although one Baffert horse, Shaaz, did win at the track on April 2, and the victory has been upheld. Baffert is also banned from the Preakness Stakes, the second race in the Triple Crown.

With the 2022 Derby taking place on May 7, Baffert will of course not be in attendance at Churchill Downs for the race, and neither will any of the horses officially under his guidance.

However, despite his vehement claims of innocence, Baffert – perhaps realising he is running out of legal options as the race fast approaches – has transferred three of his Derby hopefuls over to Tim Yakteen and one to Rodolphe Brisset, so the horses can be eligible for prep races and strive to earn enough points to qualify for the Derby.

McLaren Vale, Messier, and Doppelgänger have moved to Yakteen, who was formerly Baffert's assistant, while Blackadder will now run for Brisset.

"These are all good horses and they deserve to go," Baffert told the L.A Times. "It's just such a great race, both the Kentucky Derby and Oaks. It's great for the fans and the sport. The fans deserve to see these horses run."

All four horses, which are all owned in part by SF Racing, are in with good shouts of booking their places at the Derby and should qualify if they win or place second in their final prep races.

"We are grateful for Bob's outstanding training effort with them," said Tom Ryan of SF Racing LLC. "We salute Bob for making the tough but necessary decision that will allow [the horses] to prove themselves as top talents in racing this year."

The decision by Baffert to transfer his Derby hopefuls in order to protect the quality of the field should therefore not impact the race too much. Had the trainer not made that decision, the absence of Messier, in particular, could have impacted the quality of the race as the horse is among the early favorites to win the Run of the Roses.

However, the continued legal ramblings and verbal back-and-forth between Baffert and Churchill Downs is a bigger concern and threaten to overshadow the Derby.

In addition to the suspension handed down by KHRC, Baffert was served a two-year ban by Churchill Downs Inc which banned the trainer from all CDI properties for two years. In response, Baffert is suing Churchill Downs Inc, its chief executive, and board chairman.

Baffert accused Churchill Downs Inc of a "malicious" attempt to "destroy" his career and described the decision to suspend him from their facility as "absurd". In response, Churchill Downs issued a statement describing Baffert's claims as "meritless and consistent with his pattern of failed drug tests, denials, excuses and attempts to blame others and identify loopholes in order to avoid taking responsibility for his actions."

Therefore, this whole sorry saga involving one of horseracing's most successful trainers and one of the sport's most important venues could take the spotlight away from the race and onto the off-track drama and threatens the credibility of the sport.

Baffert is, after all, the most decorated trainer in Kentucky Derby history. His six victories (1997, 1998, 2002, 2015, 2018, 2020) are level with Ben A Jones as the most ever at the race, and for a brief time last year, Baffert moved ahead on seven before Medina Spirit's disqualification.

That all being said, when race day eventually arrives, the Kentucky Derby will no doubt take center stage. Race fans have far more interest in actual horseracing than legal disputes between a trainer and a venue.

Right now Epicenter is favored, according to Bovada, to win the Kentucky Derby 2022, but the odds are always changing and we are just a couple of weeks away from the big event.

Baffert's aura and presence at the track might be missed but it won't detract from what is a major sporting spectacle.

Thankfully, Baffert's decision to transfer his Derby hopefuls to other trainers will ensure that race fans will be treated to the best quality field possible at Churchill Downs. The big hope now is that another doping-related scandal does not engulf the 2022 race the way it did in 2021. Horseracing as a sport deserves better.

(Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)