Jockey & Trainer News 2023

[MySaladDays]

I think Baffert will have a lot of horses going in the Preakness. Faustin and others who were not transferred.

As for Arabian Knight , is this the one that took 16 days after running the Southwest (1/28) to even post a work, and then it was only 3F.
..... and then didn't post a work as of 3/03 since 2/13?

I see he just started working again on 3/04 .

Strange derby campaign.

[MySaladDays]

This is so terribly sad: racing has lost another young rider, Alex Canchari, to suicide.

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing ... dies-at-29

I feel so bad for the family. It sounds like they have really been through the wringer the past couple of years. And Alex was so young and full of promise.

2 small children and a newborn on the way with his finance. Hope this is okay to post in case nobody saw it. They really are going to need some help. Was good to see some fellow jockeys and trainers contributed, etc. I follow prairie meadows because much of the Oaklawn colony goes there after the OP meet.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/alex-canchari-memorial-fund

[Squeaky]

I think Baffert will have a lot of horses going in the Preakness. Faustin and others who were not transferred.

As for Arabian Knight , is this the one that took 16 days after running the Southwest (1/28) to even post a work, and then it was only 3F.
..... and then didn't post a work as of 3/03 since 2/13?

I see he just started working again on 3/04 .

Strange derby campaign.

I remember Bob saying he was going to treat AK like Flightline and just race him sparingly, I wonder if horse is fragile with the way he paddles.

[MySaladDays]

I think Baffert will have a lot of horses going in the Preakness. Faustin and others who were not transferred.

As for Arabian Knight , is this the one that took 16 days after running the Southwest (1/28) to even post a work, and then it was only 3F.
..... and then didn't post a work as of 3/03 since 2/13?

I see he just started working again on 3/04 .

Strange derby campaign.

I remember Bob saying he was going to treat AK like Flightline and just race him sparingly, I wonder if horse is fragile with the way he paddles.

I never know what to think when horses have a weird leg(s) .......there are way too many in history who just had somewhat ugly action......but in more recent history, Vekoma, who seemed to run just fine. Well, good enough to win the Bluegrass and place in the FOY.


As for treating them like Flightline, if they are fragile, obviously we are sending those to the breeding shed, oh joy. I thought Justify was a little wonky in the legs too.. So basically Baffert telegraphing that, in the US, we race to breed, not breed to race. Oh joy x2.

[Diver52]

I think Baffert will have a lot of horses going in the Preakness. Faustin and others who were not transferred.

As for Arabian Knight , is this the one that took 16 days after running the Southwest (1/28) to even post a work, and then it was only 3F.
..... and then didn't post a work as of 3/03 since 2/13?

I see he just started working again on 3/04 .

Strange derby campaign.

The track has been closed to training a lot due to heavy rain; it re-opened March 3 but I don't know when it closed. It's messed up a lot of plans.

[Squeaky]

Listening to Ray Paulick on a racing radio show this morning- said they he heard from Jay Hovdey that some(?) of Bob’s better 3 year olds have not moved out of his barn ( Arabian Knight, etc)- they just changed the webbing on the stall to say Yakteen instead of Baffert,

Update on “Stallgate”: https://www.drf.com/news/stewards-reque ... teens-barn

Poor Tim caught in the middle of this mess. I’m sure Bob not happy with latest steward request. Not sure what is meant by “No decision has been made.” Sounds like the stewards want the horses moved ASAP but Bob pushing back.

[BaroqueAgain1]

I'm not sure why the stewards are being so particular. If no Baffert employees touch the horses, and they've been moved away from the other Baffert runners, why make them move even farther away? It's not great for the horses' well-being to move them to even another new stall and a strange-smelling new barn.

[Curtis]

I'm not sure why the stewards are being so particular. If no Baffert employees touch the horses, and they've been moved away from the other Baffert runners, why make them move even farther away? It's not great for the horses' well-being to move them to even another new stall and a strange-smelling new barn.

Stop searching for logic, you’ll ultimately be happier and less frustrated.

[Squeaky]

I'm not sure why the stewards are being so particular. If no Baffert employees touch the horses, and they've been moved away from the other Baffert runners, why make them move even farther away? It's not great for the horses' well-being to move them to even another new stall and a strange-smelling new barn.

I think they were not really moved the first time/ just changed stall webbing. Now the stewards want them actually moved.

[SukiSatsuki]

I'm not sure why the stewards are being so particular. If no Baffert employees touch the horses, and they've been moved away from the other Baffert runners, why make them move even farther away? It's not great for the horses' well-being to move them to even another new stall and a strange-smelling new barn.

You can’t believe they actually moved the first time can you?

[BaroqueAgain1]

Does it matter? If neither Baffert nor his employees touch the horses, why should this issue with Baffert inconvenience the horses?
I don't care if it inconveniences Baffert; I care if this makes it harder on the HORSES.
We're supposed to care about the well-being of the horses, aren't we?

[Squeaky]

Does it matter? If neither Baffert nor his employees touch the horses, why should this issue with Baffert inconvenience the horses?
I don't care if it inconveniences Baffert; I care if this makes it harder on the HORSES.
We're supposed to care about the well-being of the horses, aren't we?

I could but agree more. Moving is hard on horses who thrive on stability and routine. However, I think the stewards want to make sure that Tim, not Bob is actually training the horses. Moving them out of Bobs barn helps to ensure that. Although there is nothing stopping Bob from calling or texting Tim to tell him how to train the horses each day.

[MySaladDays]

I don't care if it inconveniences Baffert; I care if this makes it harder on the HORSES.
We're supposed to care about the well-being of the horses, aren't we?

I'm with you on this.

Someone else mentioned to me about the inconvenience for Yakteen. My answer was that when he agreed to be a paper trainer for Baffert, he took on any and all obligations, inconveniences, etc. that this involves.

The poor horses are caught in all these human machinations. Horses like consistency.

[BaroqueAgain1]

These transferred horses are supposed to be in the middle of training for some of the most important races in their career. Moving them around like they're cars that can be parked anywhere is not likely to help with that. With this 'Musical Stalls' crap, I won't be surprised if they under-perform for Yakteen. And it's not his fault that the stewards are being pissy.

[Curtis]

These transferred horses are supposed to be in the middle of training for some of the most important races in their career. Moving them around like they're cars that be parked anywhere is not likely to help with that. With this 'Musical Stalls' crap, I won't be surprised if they under-perform for Yakteen. And it's not his fault that the stewards are being pissy.

It’s not really the Santa Anita stewards fight anyway. I suppose they can use the excuse of not defrauding the public when Yakteen’s name is in the program for the Santa Anita Derby, but that’s about it. There’s no real mystery as to why Yakteen has the horses. Yakteen worked both under Baffert and Whittingham so he is well trained. When I think of him though, I think competent and that’s after years of improvement. I’ve never thought, “Gee if only Tim Yakteen could get ahold of that horse, he’d really move it up.” This whole thing is a farce. CDI should have just banned any horse started by Baffert at any point in its’ pre-Derby career and be done with it and let Bob fight it out in court. It would be great theater though if Arabian Knight wins the Derby and then Baffert gets him back and holds him together with bubble gum, duct tape and topical creams through the other two legs of the TC. I ain’t much for popcorn but I may need to make an exception for that.

[Falinadin]

I kind of get it. It's the optics of the situation. If they stay in the same barn, then inevitably when one of them wins the SA Derby/KY derby/etc or tests positive for something or whatever, then a news piece will come out about how scummy horse racing is and how the horses that transferred from Baffert didn't even leave the barn. Or an owner of a horse they beat will sue because "baffert is still training them" or some stupid reason.
By making them move, the stewards are trying to reinforce the horses are actually transferring, and not just changing trainer names on paper. Is it kind of stupid? Yeah. But I get it.

And I'll be honest.... these horses are hopefully going to be flying by plane to Kentucky in May, if not other states prior to then. I don't think moving 300 yards away is really THAT big of a deal to them. If simply moving to a new barn on the same grounds makes them go off feed and shrink up, they probably weren't going to be ultra successful shipping out to race.

[SukiSatsuki]

I kind of get it. It's the optics of the situation. If they stay in the same barn, then inevitably when one of them wins the SA Derby/KY derby/etc or tests positive for something or whatever, then a news piece will come out about how scummy horse racing is and how the horses that transferred from Baffert didn't even leave the barn. Or an owner of a horse they beat will sue because "baffert is still training them" or some stupid reason.
By making them move, the stewards are trying to reinforce the horses are actually transferring, and not just changing trainer names on paper. Is it kind of stupid? Yeah. But I get it.

And I'll be honest.... these horses are hopefully going to be flying by plane to Kentucky in May, if not other states prior to then. I don't think moving 300 yards away is really THAT big of a deal to them. If simply moving to a new barn on the same grounds makes them go off feed and shrink up, they probably weren't going to be ultra successful shipping out to race.

Right? Oh no 300 yards I’m not gonna eat now.

[Curtis]

I kind of get it. It's the optics of the situation. If they stay in the same barn, then inevitably when one of them wins the SA Derby/KY derby/etc or tests positive for something or whatever, then a news piece will come out about how scummy horse racing is and how the horses that transferred from Baffert didn't even leave the barn. Or an owner of a horse they beat will sue because "baffert is still training them" or some stupid reason.
By making them move, the stewards are trying to reinforce the horses are actually transferring, and not just changing trainer names on paper. Is it kind of stupid? Yeah. But I get it.

And I'll be honest.... these horses are hopefully going to be flying by plane to Kentucky in May, if not other states prior to then. I don't think moving 300 yards away is really THAT big of a deal to them. If simply moving to a new barn on the same grounds makes them go off feed and shrink up, they probably weren't going to be ultra successful shipping out to race.

Horses get claimed, change barns and keep winning all the time so no moving across the backstretch shouldn’t be a problem. I really don’t think it really changes any optics, though. If one of the former/future Baffert’s win the Derby, the press will refer to the winning trainer as “Former Baffert Assistant” Tim Yakteen so much people will think it’s on his birth certificate. If you want to change the optics, give Richie Baltas his license back and see that he gets the horses.

[Squeaky]

What would Richie Baltas do differently do you think?

[Curtis]

What would Richie Baltas do differently do you think?

I was being facetious but since you asked, different PED’s. Baltas hates Baffert. When the Bob’s suspension began, Baltas was crowing about it one morning at Santa Anita and he and Tim Yakteen got into a “physical altercation.” It was reported on the DRF, Bloodhorse, Paulick, etc.sites. Suffice it to say Baltas wouldn’t follow a single instruction or recommendation that Baffert would direct towards him. Baltas has his own problems though.