Bob Baffert keeps his mind on horses over legal hassles

Normally, these are the days erstwhile trainer Bob Baffert is sorting retired each his apical 2-year-olds for a imaginable tally astatine the Kentucky Derby.

Baffert has won a grounds 7 Derbies, pending the ineligible battles being waged implicit Medina Spirit’s drug-tainted triumph successful this year’s Derby connected May 1.

There’s a unreality hanging implicit the 68-year-old Baffert’s caput these days, and he’s trying his champion to abstracted what happens connected the contention way and what transpires successful the courtrooms.

It’s not easy, but he’s making the champion of it.

Baffert trains Corniche, a $1.5 cardinal acquisition who won past weekend’s Grade I American Pharoah Stakes astatine Santa Anita to tally his grounds to 2-0 and stamp himself arsenic 1 of the aboriginal favorites for the 2022 Run for the Roses.

But again, there’s that cloud. If Churchill Downs’ two-year prohibition sticks and Baffert is not allowed to participate horses successful the Derby, Corniche’s owners, Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner, volition person nary prime but to power barns if they privation to triumph America’s astir celebrated equine race.

Same goes for different Baffert 2-year-olds that aboveground betwixt present and adjacent May. Owners volition person decisions to make.

“I conscionable absorption connected these horses time successful and time out,” Baffert said. “I’ve got a batch of responsibilities. I’ve gotta interest astir horses. I person a batch of employees that number connected me. It’s a batch of pressure. Training horses is not easy. Keeps my caput disconnected (legal stuff). I conscionable absorption connected these horses and marque definite they amusement up connected the close day.”

It was vindication of sorts Saturday erstwhile Medina Spirit won the Grade I Awesome Again Stakes astatine Santa Anita.

“I’m conscionable blessed for (owner) Amr Zedan and what we’ve each had to woody with,” Baffert said successful the winner’s circle. “Our absorption is connected the horses. We enactment focused connected that, and the different worldly volition conscionable play itself out.”

Medina Spirit tested affirmative for the anti-inflammatory steroid betamethasone aft his Derby victory, prompting Churchill Downs officials to contented the two-year prohibition connected Baffert.

Retired Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye believes the athletics needs to cleanable up its act, but that large reforms are needed successful the country of drugs.

“The mode things are close now, with atrocious tests and truthful forth, that needs to beryllium cleaned up,” Delahoussaye told Santa Anita publicity. “They should reconsider the usage of therapeutic medicine being measured successful picograms and nanograms, which are truthful tiny it’s astir retired of a horse’s system. Either we bash with it oregon we bash without it.

“If you bash without it completely, we won’t person racing because, let’s look it: shot players, shot players, they each usage therapeutic medicine. As agelong arsenic it’s not a stimulant to heighten show and it’s conscionable to assistance them bash what comes naturally, it should beryllium used.

“Get escaped of the clenbuterol that enhances their performance. Lasix is simply a diuretic and is not an enhancer, yet they privation to bash distant with that. There are a batch of astute radical retired determination and a batch of science. They tin enactment their heads unneurotic and bash it right.”

Delahoussaye, 70, was forced to miss past weekend’s Eddie D. Stakes for the 2nd consecutive twelvemonth due to the fact that of COVID-19 and Hurricane Ida, which ravaged overmuch of Louisiana.

“We got lucky,” said Delahoussaye, who lives successful Lafayette, Louisiana. “People connected some sides of america got deed the worst. We were close successful the mediate and had winds and rains, but thing serious. Baton Rouge and astir of the seashore lines truly got blasted.”

Eddie D, 1 of the astir fashionable jockeys to ever thrust astatine Santa Anita, is inactive progressive successful the bloodstock concern and is simply a caller subordinate of the Louisiana Racing Commission.

“A spouse and I person a mare and (wife) Juanita and I person different mare with immoderate babies coming in,” Delahoussaye said. “One’s successful grooming close present and different we’re putting successful a 2-year-old successful grooming sale. I’ve been connected the racing committee for astir a year, truthful it each keeps maine busy.”

Follow Art Wilson connected Twitter @Sham73