Days after a court decision kept in place Churchill Downs Inc's two-year ban of trainer Bob Baffert from competing at its tracks, stakes entries and nominations indicate owners will be moving horses away from the trainer in an effort to make them eligible for the Kentucky Derby (G1) May 6 at Churchill Downs.
A Feb. 17 ruling by Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky denied Baffert's motion to enjoin the parent company of the Kentucky Derby from suspending his privileges at any CDI-owned track. By the rule adopted for this year's Kentucky Derby, horses under the care of a trainer suspended by CDI must be transferred to a new barn unrelated to the trainer's operation by Feb. 28 to become eligible for Derby qualifying points in prep races.
With that deadline looming, a look at entries for the Rebel Stakes (G2) Feb. 25 at Oaklawn Park reveals that former Baffert trainee Reincarnate has been moved to trainer Tim Yakteen. Also, a look at the stakes nominations for the Gotham Stakes (G2) March 4 at Aqueduct points to four other 3-year-olds being transferred away from Baffert.
Using observations of these entries and nominations, Daily Racing Form first reported these transfers Feb. 20.
Under the CDI ban of Baffert, 3-year-olds in his care also were ineligible from earning qualifying points to make the Derby field. Transferred horses will pick up that chase in their next starts.
Campaigned by the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan, Reincarnate is one off 11 sophomores entered in the $1 million Rebel, a 1 1/16-mile test. A son of 2018 Kentucky Derby runner-up Good Magic , he enters Saturday's test off a season-opening victory in the Sham Stakes (G3) Jan. 8 at Santa Anita Park.
The four runners nominated to the Gotham who will be moving from Baffert include Arabian Lion , Carmel Road, and Hejazi to Yakteen; while Fort Warren will be transferred to Brittany Russell.
Tom Ryan, who manages the partnership headed by SF-Starlight-Madaket, said decisions have not been made about the status of the group's National Treasure and Fort Bragg. National Treasure, who was third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and third by a little less than a length in his 3-year-old debut, the Sham, is a possbility for the March 4 San Felipe Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita.
"We're making horse-by-horse decisions on our 3-year-olds," said Jack Wolf, managing partner of Starlight Racing.
Zedan Racing Stables campaigns Arabian Lion and Hejazi. A son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify , Arabian Lion won his maiden debut in October and has raced three times since, most recently finishing fourth in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) Feb. 4 at Santa Anita. Grade 1-placed Hejazi, a son of classic winner Bernardini, earned his maiden win in his seasonal debut Jan. 15 at Santa Anita.
Carmel Road and Fort Warren are each owned by the same partnership that campaigns Reincarnate. Maiden winner Carmel Road (by Quality Road ) closed out a four-race juvenile campaign with a runner-up finish in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2). Fort Warren, a son of classic winner Curlin , won his lone start last year and opened 2023 with a third-place finish in the San Vicente Stakes (G3) Jan. 29 at Santa Anita.
Baffert was initially suspended indefinitely May 9, 2021, from entering horses at Churchill Downs after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, who was campaigned by Zedan Racing Stables, tested positive for betamethasone—a substance prohibited on race day in Kentucky. After testing of a split sample confirmed the initial test finding, Churchill Downs suspended Baffert, or any trainer directly or indirectly employed by Bob Baffert Racing Stables, from entering horses in races or applying for stall occupancy at all CDI-owned tracks through the end of Churchill's 2023 spring meet (July 3).
Besides the action by CDI, last year Baffert served a 90-day regulatory suspension issued by Kentucky stewards that kept him out of the Derby and the other two Triple Crown races.
Last year Yakteen saddled a pair of horses initially trained by Baffert in the Derby in Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Taiba and runner-up Messier . Each finished off the board. Returned to Baffert for a summer and fall campaign, Taiba won a pair of grade 1 races and finished third in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland.
Horses trained by Baffert are eligible to run in the final two legs of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1).
