O. Peter Sherwood

Bob Baffert's five-day hearing on "detrimental conduct" charges levied by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) closed Friday with NYRA's attorney arguing that the Hall-of-Fame trainer has trashed the sport with such an unprecedented litany of medication violations that NYRA needs to be allowed to punish him, while Baffert's lawyer countered that the real extraordinary aspect of the case involves vendetta-based accusations that could result in draconian sanctions NYRA has never before attempted to impose upon any other trainer. "Bob Baffert is not a cheater," the trainer's attorney, W. Craig...

The concept of perception versus reality has been a core plank on both sides of the highly publicized "detrimental conduct" case ever since the New York Racing Association (NYRA) first tried to banish trainer Bob Baffert eight months ago. On Tuesday, the second day of a hearing process that could lead to Baffert's exclusion from New York's premier tracks, the murky interpretation of who should be considered the true victim and which entity is in need of protection from harm rose to the forefront in the form of arguments over...

Attorneys in the hearing pitting NYRA vs. Bob Baffert made their opening statements Monday in what turned into a sparring session, with one side claiming NYRA Board members had a vendetta against Baffert and the other contending that the Hall of Fame trainer was responsible for a "rampage of doping violations" and is deserving of a temporary suspension. The hearing, expected to last from three to five days, will determine whether or not NYRA's attempts to suspend Baffert over a rash of medication positives, including one in the 2021 GI...

by Bill Finley and Dan Ross The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has amended its Statement of Charges issued against trainer Bob Baffert to include a pair of positive tests for phenylbutazone that occurred in 2019 in California and a subsequent inspection of the trainer's barn in which it alleges that 25 improperly labeled medications were found. NYRA's Statement of Charges now contains allegations that, over a 16-month period prior to the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, six horses under Baffert's care violated rules and regulations in six separate races. Having...

A Jan. 24, 2022, start date for the hearing process to determine whether the New York Racing Association (NYRA) can exclude trainer Bob Baffert from racing at its three tracks was mutually agreed upon by the two parties during a Monday videoconference. A NYRA spokesperson confirmed to TDN that the schedule was established during the Oct. 11 conference by hearing officer O. Peter Sherwood. Baffert must answer to a three-count complaint filed against him by NYRA in the form of a "statement of charges." Those three counts correspond to Baffert's...