It is not difficult to find similarities between Bob Baffert’s career journey of late and Greek tragedies. The Hall of Fame trainer’s peaks and valleys might have been thought up by Homer centuries ago.
Perhaps only then does it make sense that a day that seemed primed for enjoying the fruits of his labor and his return to Triple Crown competition include tragedy.
Yes, there was joy in celebrating his record eighth Preakness Stakes (G1) victory thanks to National Treasure fending off Blazing Sevens May 20 at Pimlico Race Course. Earlier Saturday, another one of his trainees, Arabian Lion , looked every bit the part of a would-be Triple Crown runner in winning the Sir Barton Stakes.
But a fatal injury to Havnameltdown earlier in the day during the Chick Lang Stakes (G3) prevented the day from being all that it could be, just as the rains that followed the day’s marquee race dampened the celebration.
“To me, the memory of this race would be that I lost Havnameltdown. It was nice to win the race, but to me, it was a pretty sad day,” Baffert said.
The negativity, as Baffert described it, which has hovered over his name is well documented. As a result of the issues that are still being sorted out, Baffert had not directly trained a horse in a Triple Crown race since the 2021 Preakness.
He said, “I’ve been doing this for 43 years, and…every year there is a thousand things that go wrong.
“When you’ve done it as long as I have, you just know you can’t get too excited. Right around the corner, you’re gonna get punched in the gut.”
Baffert relishes preparing his team for those gut punches.
“I’m like a coach; you hope every pass is caught, there’s no fumbles, no nothing. … It’s not the pressure, but you just feel like, ‘I have a great team.’ Everything worked. We came in here; everything was going smooth. We were just hoping they run well, we have racing luck,” Baffert said.
He said the name of the game is to win these big races, and as the third-leading trainer all time by earnings, Baffert has done plenty of that.
But the spoils of winning are not enough. In trying to navigate the sport’s landscape in which he has been vilified in some corners, Baffert leaned on others to help return to the winner’s circle.
“Can’t do (this) without the group of owners I have that have stuck by me through all the negative, all the bad stuff attached to me the last few years,” Baffert said. They are loyal, they stuck with me and I give them all the credit. They give me the ammo.”
It’s been a long road back to the biggest stages for Baffert. He doesn’t feel a sense of vindication over the accusations that have come his way. It has been two years since his last Triple Crown race and he’s clearly missed being in that moment.
As he told NBC following the Preakness, “It’s good to be back.”
