Extol June-July 2018 | Page 44

JEFF NUNN

By Jeff Nunn

NO JUSTIFYING NEEDED : BAFFERT IS THE BEST

STORY & PHOTOS BY JEFF NUNN
IN A SPORT where the competition is based on four-legged creatures , why is it that the sport ’ s biggest star is a two-legged man that isn ’ t even on the track during the race ? Is it because his white hair makes him recognizable to even the most casual fan ? Is it because of the mystery that lurks behind those everpresent sunglasses ? Is it because of the way he presents himself as confident and positive yet humble ? Is it because he is so approachable and friendly ?
Yes , yes , yes and yes . All of those attributes help distinguish Baffert as the biggest star in the sport , but what really makes him the star is that he is really good at training horses . And because he is good at training horses , his horses win a lot of races . Not just any races – the most prestigious races .
But the 2009 Hall of Fame inductee wasn ’ t always the best . He worked his way to the top and has endured the ups and downs of the sport since winning his first Triple Crown race in 1997 with Silver Charm .
Young Baffert grew up on his parents ’ ranch in Arizona and became a jockey of Quarter Horses during his teen years . He then began training and scored his first victory at age 17 . Out of high school , he asked D . Wayne Lukas for a job , but Lukas turned him down . He graduated from the University of Arizona ’ s race track industry program with a bachelor ’ s degree . In the early 1980s , he moved to Southern California and trained four champion Quarter Horses . He made the switch to thoroughbreds in 1988 with a purchase at an auction and won his first Breeders Cup race in 1992
with that purchase of a horse named Thirty Slews .
Baffert came up just a nose short in his first Triple Crown race as Cavonnier finished second in the 1996 Kentucky Derby . In 1997 ( Silver Charm ) and 1998 ( Real Quiet ), Baffert won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes only to fall one race short of the Triple Crown when both lost in the Belmont Stakes . He became the first trainer in history to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in back-to-back years . After a disappointing fifth place finish in the 2001 Kentucky Derby with Point Given , his horse went on to win both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes . In 2002 , Baffert won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes with War Emblem only to lose in the Belmont Stakes . It was yet another lost
42 EXTOL : JUNE / JULY 2018