American trainer Bob Baffert has issued a statement saying he is extremely disappointed word leaked about the positive tests on two of his Arkansas Derby runners before state officials made their rulings.
Bob Baffert – disappointed
In the statement to horseracingnationcom, Baffert said:
“The rules of the Arkansas Racing Commission mandate confidentiality concerning any investigation into an alleged rule violation until there is a written decision of the Stewards.”
He continues: “I am extremely disappointed that, in this instance, the Commission has not followed its own rules on confidentiality. I am hoping for an expedited investigation and look forward to being able to speak soon about any written decision of the Stewards, if and when it becomes necessary and I’m allowed to under the Commission’s confidentiality rules.”
Arkansas’ state steward, Bernie Hettel, confirmed that two horses on the 2 May card had tested positive for a banned substance and that split samples would head to a referee lab at their trainers’ choosing before a ruling could be made.
None of the initial press reports mentioned Baffert.
However, The Courier-Journal cited an anonymous source that the positives were from the Baffert stable.
Baffert trained Charlatan (Speightstown-Authenticity, by Quiet American) and Nadal (Blame-Ascending Angel, by Pulpit) to win split divisions of the Gr1 Arkansas Derby, and also ran Gamine (Into Mischief-Peggy Jane, by Kafwain) in a first-level allowance on the undercard of the race day.
According to ESPN, Charlatan was one of the horses tested.
