- Jennie Rees
West: Is this the year Baffert reaches the unreachable?
Five Derby wins in this era greater feat than Jones' six

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(Photo: Bob Baffert and jockey Joel Rosario. Benoit Photo)
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On the road to Kentucky
Commentary by Gary West
Having been raised on a ranch in Nogales, Ariz., near the Mexican border, and having ridden during his teen years in a fair share of those I-bet-my-horse-can-outrun-yours races that were so common in the Southwest, he once thought that having a 20-horse stable at Rillito Park would be ā well, that it would be proof he had made it. He made it all right.
āI was just hoping that one day Iād be training 20 horses,ā Bob Baffert said, recalling his early years as a quarter horse trainer at Rillito Park in Tucson in the late 1970s. āI thought that would be great. That was the goal, to train 20 horses. I never thought Iād be here. Itās been quite a journey.ā
From Rillito Park, the journey has been extraordinary, landing Baffert in the most celebrated winnerās circles, his image on the most respected magazine covers and his name in the most revered record books alongside the coruscating numbers that attempt to quantify and define his career: nearly $300 million in earnings; more than 3,000 victories; 20 champions, with three Horses of the Year; 15 victories in Triple Crown races; 15 in Breedersā Cup Championship races; four Eclipse Awards; and two Triple Crown winners. He has become the face of horse racing, the gameās most recognizable luminary, a member of the Hall of Fame ā quite a journey indeed.
And Baffert could soon tie a record once thought unreachable. Itās one of those lapidary standards like Joe DiMaggioās 56-game hitting streak, or Nolan Ryanās seven no-hitters, or Wayne Gretzkyās 91 goals or Byron Nelsonās 11 consecutive PGA wins. Horse racingās unbreakable record has been legendary trainer Ben Jonesā six Kentucky Derby victories. Until D. Wayne Lukas won with Charismatic in 1999, only one trainer other than Jones had won more than three: Herbert J. āDerby Dickā Thompson, who won his fourth and final Derby with Brokers Tip in 1933. Jones blew by Thompsonās record in 1949 with Ponder and won again in 1952 with Hill Gail, his sixth Derby.
Baffert has won five. Thatās five and counting. And aimed in the direction of Louisville, Ky., squarely at the first Saturday in May, he has three of this yearās leading Derby contenders: Thousand Words, Nadal and Authentic.
But first, before discussing the Baffert trio, this needs to be said: Winning the Kentucky Derby is much more difficult today than it was when Jones accumulated his victories. Because of that, from here, Baffertās five wins in Americaās premier race already represent a greater achievement than Jonesā six.
Foremost among the reasons for that is the racehorse population. Lawrin, Jonesā first Derby winner, was foaled in 1935, when the North American foal crop totaled 5,038; Silver Charm, Baffertās first, was foaled in 1994, when the North American foal crop totaled 35,341. How much more difficult is it to be preeminent among 35,000 than among 5,000?
Jonesā six Derby winners emerged from foal crops that totaled 38,707, an average of 6,451 foals. Baffertās five Derby winners emerged from foal crops that totaled 153,830, an average of 30,766 foals.
Another contributing factor here is World War II. Jones won the Derby with Whirlaway seven months before America entered the war in 1941 and with Pensive in 1944. During the war, horse racing contracted and competition declined. The foal crop shrank 14.4 percent during this period. With a dearth of workers and a curtailment of public transportation, racing was subject to approval by local War Manpower Commissions. Some racetracks simply closed. Saratoga, for example, closed after its 1942 season and remained dark until 1946. And so with fewer horses and less competition, winning the Derby wasnāt quite the mountain climb it would become.
Moreover, the modern Derby itself isnāt what it used to be. Itās much more. When Jones won his first, Matt Winn, Churchill Downsā president and impresario, already had established the Derby as Americaās most glamorous, festive and exciting horse race. Making his point, Winn and the Derby had appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1937. But television heralded a new era. Jonesā final Derby in 1952 was the first to receive national television coverage, and since then the first event in the Triple Crown has grown so significantly in cultural importance and visibility that itās no longer just the nationās premier race but also one of the most meaningful and poignant events in all of sport, and winning it one of the most gratifying. Itās the race everyone knows and everyone wants to win. And with its burgeoning importance and popularity, the Derby field has grown so dramatically that Churchill has had to limit the field 20. During the Jones era, the average Derby field was 13.
One more factor worth noting. All but one of Jonesā Derby victories were for Calumet Farm, the sportās dominant owner and breeder. During the Jones era, Calumet topped the national ownersā and breedersā standings eight times. But nobody dominates racing today, at least not the same way or to the degree that Calumet did in the 1940s. Baffert, on the other hand, has won his five Derbies for five different owners.
But who will be his sixth, and will it be this year that Baffert reaches the unreachable?
āThousand Words is getting better,ā Baffert said about the winner of the recent Robert Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita. Thousand Words doesnāt have tree-bending speed or knock-back acceleration, but he wins, and, even more, āHe wants to win,ā Baffert said. āHeās a grinder, and heās very professional.ā Thousand Words should improve as the distances stretch out, his trainer said, and the classic mile-and-a-quarter should bring out his best.
Authentic is a different story altogether. āHeās just raw talent,ā Baffert said about the colt that won the Sham Stakes despite ducking towards the inner rail in mid-stretch, perhaps shying from the grandstand noise. With the addition of earplugs, he recently worked a bullet three-quarters of a mile in 1:12.20.
āHeās light on his feet and has a lot of speed,ā Baffert said, ābut heās not made like a sprinter. Heās barely tapped his talent.ā
Their styles complementary, Thousand Words and Authentic will both return March 7 in the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita. And Nadal will go to Oaklawn Park to make his two-turn debut in the Rebel Stakes on March 14. Nadal, of course, won the recent San Vicente Stakes after battling through a scorched-earth half-mile in 44.09 seconds.
āHeāll never have to run that fast again,ā Baffert said about Nadalās half-mile split in the San Vicente. āI like the way he gutted it out. Itās very rare you see a horse run a race like that, especially in their second start. Only the good ones can do stuff like that. Heās tough. He shouldnāt have any trouble stretching out.ā
With such a talented trio in his barn ā Baffert said he would also include High Velocity among his horses with a chance to make the journey to Kentucky ā he has the Jones record in sight. Or he would if he cared about such things.
āIāve never been one for worrying about records,ā he said before launching into a story about winning his 2,000th race.
āWe were at Hollywood Park, and this guy came up to me and said, āDo you realize you just won your 2000th race?ā I said, āReally? I thought I had won more than that by now.ā
āA few minutes later I saw Jerry Hollendorfer in the paddock, and I said, āJerry, how many races have you won?ā He said, āOh, about 4,500 or so.ā Records come and go.ā
True, but six Derby wins āthat record hasnāt gone anywhere in 68 years. But it could soon go into the Baffert column.
Gary West is a nationally acclaimed turf columnist, racing analyst, author and handicapper who helped pioneer pace figures.
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Jennie Rees,
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Bob Baffert and jockey Joel Rosario. Benoit Photo