Breeders’ Cup notes: ‘Never mind the Derby, I’ll just go with the Breeders’ Cup.’
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2020 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of the 2020 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington.
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When Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella was a young man, a middle-school teacher got him thinking about his future.
“When I was in the sixth grade I had a teacher ask the class to write down your goal for life,” Mandella said Thursday during a media teleconference ahead of this weekend’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland. “I thought about it, I wrote down, ‘I want to win the (Kentucky) Derby by the time I’m 30. I’ve more than lapped myself.”
Mandella has yet to make his way to the Kentucky Derby winner’s circle. No matter; the California native long ago shifted his focus.
“I caught onto the Breeders’ Cup, and as far as I’m concerned never mind the Derby, I’ll just go with the Breeders’ Cup,” he said.
Asked what the Breeders’ Cup has meant to his career, Mandella replied with a laugh: “Financial stability in my old age.”
Mandella turned 70 years old on Thursday, and a 10th Breeders’ Cup victory would be a fitting belated birthday gift. His trainee, United, is an 8-1 shot in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, a race Mandella has already won twice.
United is coming off a victory in the John Henry Turf at Santa Anita in September and Mandella has been been pointing the 5-year-old gelding toward the Breeders’ Cup for some time now.
“We wanted to get here in the best shape we could and I think we’re in good shape,” Mandella said.
Three-time Breeders’ Cup champion and 2019 Kentucky Derby winner Flavien Prat will steer United for the 11th time in the Turf. Mandella plans to leave most of the strategy for Saturday’s race in Prat’s capable hands.
“It’s too early. I haven’t seen enough of the field yet to handicap and figure out what our best strategy is. I’ll pretty much leave that up to Flavien Prat, a great jockey,” Mandella said. “I can’t say enough about him. He’s a class rider and a class person and everything that goes with it.”
Mandella will also send Bombard to the gate in Saturday’s Turf Sprint at odds of 15-1. The 7-year-old gelding is coming off the best graded stakes run in his 15-race career, a runner-up showing in the Runhappy Turf Sprint Stakes at Kentucky Downs in September.
“I thought he ran a terrific race there. All of his sprints are good,” Mandella said of Bombard. “He hasn’t raced a lot in his life, he’s had a lot of little things happen to him. But he’s as good as he’s ever been or maybe better. So, I expect him to run a very good race.”
No-fan effect
The general public will not be allowed at Keeneland this weekend as the Breeders’ Cup is the latest event on the Thoroughbred racing calendar adjusting to life during a pandemic. Mandella said he and his horses have gotten used to a fan-free environment, but he hopes things change soon.
“The effect on the horses is actually a positive one. They tend to be a little more relaxed and not get as nervous as they usually do with 50,000 people pushing around,” Mandella said. “But I’m hoping we don’t get too used to the no crowds. When I was a teenager working at a ranch breaking yearlings, the farm manager stopped me one day and said, ‘You know, Dick. Someday these races will be out in the countryside somewhere and they’ll all be televised.’
“He might be just right, but I hope not. I love crowds and I love being at the races.”
‘I want to raise the bar’
Two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert, who has had multiple horses test positive for medication violations, is taking steps to “do better,” including hiring outside oversight.
Baffert said in a statement Wednesday that he is “very aware” of the incidents involving his horses and the impact that it’s had on his family, the sport and himself.
“Given what has transpired this year, I intend to do everything possible to ensure I receive no further medication complaints,” he said.
Baffert said he has hired veterinarian Dr. Michael Hore of the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, to add an extra layer of protection to ensure the well-being of his horses and rule compliance. Hore’s primary focus is digital radiography, sales work, angular limb deformities and lameness, according to the clinic’s website.
Hore is licensed in four states and Europe, according to the website, but not in California, where Baffert’s stable is based.
Baffert plans to increase training and awareness of his employees involving proper protocols. He is also increasing his oversight and commitment to “running a tight ship” and being careful that protective measures are in place.
“We can always do better and that is my goal,” he said. “I want to raise the bar and set the standard for equine safety and rule compliance going forward.”
Baffert’s announcement comes as he is set to saddle six horses in this weekend’s Breeders’ Cup, including three in the $6 million Classic. He is the all-time leader among trainers in money won at the event, with over $30 million. His 15 Cup victories are tied for second-most.
He has been the most recognizable figure in U.S. racing for years. He guided American Pharoah to the first Triple Crown sweep in 37 years in 2015, and did so again with Justify in 2018.
Baffert is facing potential penalties involving four medication violations in the last seven months.
In May, Gamine and Charlatan both tested positive for lidocaine, a regulated medication, after winning races in Arkansas. Baffert is appealing his 15-day suspension, claiming that the positive tests were due to a patch worn by an employee to treat back pain.
In September, Gamine tested positive for betamethasone, a regulated corticosteroid, after a third-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks. Baffert’s attorney argued that the medication was administered 18 days before the race, outside the recommended withdrawal time of 14 days. Results from a split-sample test have yet to come back.
Last week, Baffert had a horse test positive for dextrorphan, a prohibited substance found in cough medications. His attorney said contamination was involved, through an employee who was taking cough suppressants after recovering from COVID-19.
At the same time, two cases from 2018 involving Justify and Hoppertunity have been re-opened by the California Horse Racing Board. Both horses tested positive for scopolamine, a substance found in jimsonweed, after winning stakes races at Santa Anita. Baffert’s attorney contended both cases were the result of environmental contamination.
The CHRB initially took no action on the positives, but it later filed formal complaints in the cases. Stewards heard the cases last week and it’s unclear when they will rule.
Baffert is aware of the negative impression the multiple positive cases have created.
“I humbly vow to do everything within my power to do better,” he said. “I want my legacy to be one of making every effort to do right by the horse and the sport.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 4:15 PM.
