Bob Baffert, one of the biggest trainer’s associted to the Triple Crown, will not be present for its first draft, the Kentucky Derby, which will be held in full capacity on May 7. The six-time winner at Churchill Downs has been banned from the premises after his horse – Medina Spirit – tested positive for a banned substance, betamethasone, following the race last year. 

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Baffert will enjoy the Kentucky Derby from home with his family, his attorney Clark Brewster, said on Wednesday in an emailed statement to the Wall Street Journal. 

Medina Spirit, who won at the Churchill Downs last year, died after a workout in California’s Santa Anita Park on December 6. Altough Baffert said that the horse suffered a heart attack, the necropsy report was inconclusive. Kentucky Horse Racing Commission suspended the trainer for 90 days. Now, he can’t have his horses in in races in the state. He has also been suspended from the track for two years, which means none of his horses will compete until 2024 at the earliest. 

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Bob Baffert will also miss the second leg of the Triple Crown – Preakness Stakes – after the Maryland Racing Commission announced that he is banned due to drug violations. 

How is Bob Baffert still not out out of Kentucky Derby?

Two of Baffert’s horses, Taiba and Messier, in April were moved to his former assistant Tim Yakteen’s barn. The former won the  Santa Anita Derby last month while the latter was  2 ¼ lengths behind in second

Baffert will be rooting for his colts. 

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“It’s going to be flat, and he’ll be missed. He was unjustly beat up on and he was literally the face of racing here this week. That will be a big void. Whether you like him or you don’t, he was here and he was a part of it. You have to accept the fact that he was a big part of it,” trainer D. Wayne Lukas said ahead of race day, as per the Courier Journal. 

Taiba could become the first horse since 1883 to win the Derby with two or fewer previous starts. Baffert-trained Justify won it on the way to sweeping the Triple Crown in 2018 after racing just three times before the first Saturday in May.