Exodus goes forward: Ky. Derby prospects leave Baffert

The possibility that owners will have to move their Kentucky Derby 2023 prospects out of Bob Baffert’s stable became a reality this weekend whenfour colts were nominated in the names of two other trainers for a Derby pointsprep next month in New York.

Highly regarded maiden winner Hejazi, fourth-place Robert B. Lewis (G3)finisher Arabian Lion and Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) runner-up Carmel Road werelisted with trainer Tim Yakteen for the Gotham Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct. SanVicente (G3) third-place colt Fort Warren was nominated under the name of BrittanyRussell for the same March 4 race.

The transfers would not be completed until passing through the entry box, and it was not clear Sunday whether any of the four horses would line up in the Gotham.

Reincarnate, who won the Sham (G3) for Baffert, was transferred to Yakteen in time to be entered for the Rebel (G2) on Saturday at Oaklawn.

The die was cast Friday when a federal judge in Kentucky ruledagainst the Baffert’s call for a preliminary injunction that would have setaside the final 4 1/2 months of a two-year suspension from Churchill Downs Inc.All this stemmed from a disputed drug test that the late Medina Spirit failedafter finishing first in the 2021 Derby. That victory eventually was stripped by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

Not taking a chance on the uncertainty of the Sixth CircuitCourt of Appeals in Cincinnati slamming the legal brakes in the next nine days,some of the most highly regarded 3-year-olds in the country are being movedaway from Baffert in order to meet a new Feb. 28 eligibility deadline for theDerby.

Amr Zedan owns Hejazi and Arabian Lion. He also has ArabianKnight, the consensus Las Vegas futures favorite best-priced at 7-1 to win theDerby. Last year a concurrent, 90-day suspension of Baffert that was enforcednationwide forced Zedan to transfer Taiba to Baffert’s former assistant Yakteen to get in the Derby.

In an affidavit filed in the Louisville federal case by attorneyClark Brewster, Zedan was one of three owners who said they were backed into acorner by the Churchill Downs punishment of Baffert.

“If CDI’s suspension continues, I will not be able to entermy horses in races necessary to qualify for the 2023 Kentucky Derby withouttransferring my horses to another trainer,” Zedan said Dec. 11 in his sworn affidavitsigned in Saudi Arabia. “If I do not have certainty on whether Bob Baffert canenter my horses now in select races to obtain Kentucky Derby eligibility, Iwill be forced to move my horses or else lose the unique opportunity to run inprestigious races on CDI tracks.”

During last year’s Derby, Yakteen also looked after Messier,who is owned by a big partnership led by SF Racing. The same owners have CarmelRoad and Fort Warren among 16 horses they nominated for the 2023 Triple Crown. Untilnow, they all had raced for Baffert.

“Requiring transfer of our horses to a different trainer,potentially at a different training or racing facility, would be contrary tothe best management of our horses, not in the best interest of our horses andsignificantly disruptive to SF Racing’s racing program,” SF Racing managerGavin Murphy said in his own Dec. 12 affidavit, all but promising a transfer.

Reincarnate, who breezed Sunday forBaffert at Santa Anita, is owned by the SF Racing partnership. So, too, is Hejazi. Baffert won the Rebel a record eight times, most recently two yearsago with Concert Tour.

Mike Pegram, another owner loyal to Baffert, has his owndecision to make with two-time Grade 1 winner Cave Rock, the runner-up in the Breeders’Cup Juvenile. In his affidavit, Pegram did not bring up the possibility of atransfer.

“The CDI suspension-ban relating to Bob Baffert would denyBob, my horses and me the opportunity to race in the 2023 Kentucky Derby,” hesaid Dec. 8. “The denial of the right to race in the 2023 Kentucky Derby andthe opportunity that awaits the winner to participate in a potential TripleCrown achievement would have a damaging impact that is inestimable in monetaryloss. ... Such a loss would be irreparable.”

All the affidavits were filed weeks before the new Feb. 28transfer deadline that was written into the Triple Crown application wasbrought to light by Daily Racing Form.

The four horses moved for a possible run in the Gotham werenot the first defections of current 3-year-olds from the Baffert barn. Canada-basedowners Mike Kimel and Jeremia Rudan moved Harlocap to Steve Asmussen in timefor Saturday’s Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds, where the Justify colt finishedsixth.

Baffert claimed in his affidavit Dec. 13 that the CDIsuspension has kept other Derby prospects out of his barn altogether.

“Several owners have terminated or substantially eliminatedtheir business relationships with me and will not send their 2-year-old horseswith Derby prospects to me until CDI’s suspension is resolved,” he said. “Theseowners include but are not limited to Spendthrift Farm, MyRacehorse Stable andWinstar Farm.”

After losing the fight for a preliminary injunction inKentucky, Brewster might have conceded the uphill battle when asked aboutappealing in the coming days to the Sixth Circuit.

“It’s getting very close to the Derby and the conditionsthat Churchill has unilaterally dictated with regard to eligibility,” Brewstertold Horse Racing Nation. “The question now is whether that’s viable orif it becomes, instead of an injunction case, a damage case.”

Of the 369 horses nominated for the Triple Crown, 29 werelisted formally with “TBD” as their trainer. All but five were being trained byBaffert.

Carolyn Greer of Horse Racing Nation also reportedfor this story.