Kentucky Derby's 2-time Triple Crown trainer Bob Baffert a $287M horse racing institution
Legendary horse trainer Bob Baffert entered this weekend’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs with three favored contenders in the field and a resume that includes hundreds of millions of dollars in career earnings.
Baffert, 66, has trained horses that have won a total of more than $287 million during his career, including $3.2 million in 2019 alone, according to Equibase. He is also one of only two trainers in history to win horse racing’s Triple Crown twice. Baffert accomplished the feat for a second time last year, when Justify swept the field.
Game Winner, another Baffert-trained horse, entered this year’s Kentucky Derby as the favorite to win the race after previous frontrunner Omaha Beach withdrew with a breathing ailment. His other two horses in the race, Improbable and Roadster also were top contenders, with odds just behind Game Winner. Country House ultimately won the Kentucky Derby on Saturday after Maximum Security was disqualified for interference, while Baffert's trio failed to place in the top three.
"Oh, boy, here we go," Baffert told a crowd on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. "I think everybody is trying to jinx me. It's still a very wide-open race."
Baffert has trained five Kentucky Derby winners overall. With one more victory, he would tie for the most Derby wins of any trainer in history.
The Arizona native’s other previous Triple Crown winner was American Pharoah, who achieved the feat in 2015. Baffert’s horses have also won seven Preakness Stakes and three Belmont Stakes over the years.
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Baffert could have added to his career haul on Saturday, when the winner received a $1.86 million share of a $3 million purse.