LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bob Baffert was back at his barn in the Churchill Downs stable area Wednesday, and even though he wouldn’t have the favorite for Saturday’s 145th running of the Kentucky Derby until later in the day, the throng of media and onlookers around him was considerable.
It’s partly because Baffert, at age 66, is outspoken and entertaining, a quote-machine. He realizes he has a role in this sport as a two-time Triple Crown winning trainer.
And it’s partly because he has become that increasingly rare figure in horse racing, someone whose celebrity has escaped the bounds of the sport. If winning the Derby, as any trainer or jockey will tell you, changes your life, winning a couple of Triple Crowns means a daily double in terms of recognitions and photo or autograph requests.
“In the airport, they used to say, ‘Hey, you’re the horse guy,’ “ Baffert said. “Now, they say, ‘Hey, there’s Baffert.’ I guess that’s something.”
Here’s something else. Whenever people find out you’re a horse trainer, or jockey, or really any job to do with horses, the next question is always the same.
“They ask if you’ve won the Kentucky Derby,” Baffert said. “I always say I have. I don’t say, ‘Yeah, I’ve won five.’ That seems like a bit much.”
But Baffert has, in fact, won five, and on Saturday will have a chance to become only the second man to win six. The other is “Plain” Ben Jones, who ruled the Derby from 1938 to 1952, winning the race six times in 15 years, with just 11 starters. Like Baffert, he also won a pair of Triple Crowns, with Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948.
Let this be known right away, nobody will call him “Plain” Bob Baffert if he wins No. 6 this weekend. In fact, Baffert doesn’t even like to talk about Jones, or the possibility of No. 6.
“Ben Jones, the golfer?” Baffert asked, smiling. “I just know what I’ve read and heard about him. Different era. I don’t like to think about things like that because then I get super-jinxed. I never thought I would be lucky enough to win one Derby, let alone win five. I go into every Derby like this is the first one I’ve been in, that way I don’t lose my focus.”
Baffert is particularly busy this year. He has three Grade 1 winners coming into the race. A month ago, he had the No. 1, 2 and 3 picks in a media poll conducted by HorseRacingNation.com. Even now, he has two of the top five.
But Game Winner, his 2-year-old champion, has finished second in both his races this year, beaten by Omaha Beach in the Rebel Stakes in Arkansas, and by stablemate Roadster in the Santa Anita Derby.
Roadster, known as Baffert’s “TMZ Horse” because he shouted Roadster’s name at a TMZ reporter when asked who his next big star would be last fall, was sidelined by throat surgery but may be rounding into form.
And there’s Improbable, who likely would’ve been the Derby favorite if not getting worked up in the gate after a long wait at the Arkansas Derby, then having to overcome a sloppy track. Still, he lost to Omaha Beach by only a length.
“I think any one could win it,” Baffert said. “You have to get the trip, and the post is important. Last year we came in with Justify, and he was a man amongst boys, and American Pharoah. This year is different. With them I knew I had the horse and felt like I needed a little luck. Now I’ve got three nice horses, and there’s a lot of parity. It’s wide open.”
Especially after Derby favorite Omaha Beach was scratched late Wednesday afternoon with a breathing problem. Baffert’s three entries promptly moved to the top of the morning line.
Baffert has won the Derby five times but could’ve won more. He’s been a very close second three times, with Cavonnier in his first Derby in 1996, with Pioneerof the Nile, upset by a late run from Mine That Bird in 2009, and beaten with the favorite Bodemeister in 2012. He also ran fifth with favored Point Given in 2001.
“I never thought I’d lead another one up that good,” Baffert said. “Now, I’m just happy to be here. Ever since Cavonnier when he got beat, I never thought I’d be back.”
The pressure, as they say, is off. There’s nothing left to accomplish. But when Baffert gets to Churchill Downs, that ache to win always returns.
From 1997 to 2002, he won the Derby three times. It looked like he might obliterate every training record in the race. Then he went 13 years before winning it again with American Pharoah, another three years ahead of Justify.
Now, he’s rolling again. But he knows that guarantees nothing. He also knows that he can’t view success in terms of Triple Crowns. He does, however, view it in terms of Kentucky Derby wins.
“The Kentucky Derby is still the one,” Baffert said. “To me, it’s still the most important race. The Triple Crown is great. But the Derby, there’s something about it. I could win the Derby and just go home. All the classics are exciting and emotional. It’s fun to be involved with them if you’ve got a good horse. ... It’s amazing what a good horse does for your soul. It puts some pep in your step. When you have a horse that has a chance to win the Derby, it’s a totally different feeling. You can’t wait to get up.”
For Baffert, there’s been plenty of beauty lately. And he’s hoping for more.
The Block News Alliance consists of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Blade of Toledo, Ohio, and television station WDRB in Louisville, Ky.
First Published: April 30, 2019, 3:26 p.m.
