New York Racing Officials Suspend Baffert From Belmont Stakes

The Hall of Fame trainer was already under suspension at Churchill Downs, where he won his seventh Kentucky Derby before his horse failed a drug test.

New York horse racing officials on Monday barred the trainer Bob Baffert not only from entering the Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit in the Belmont Stakes, but also from running any of his horses at Belmont Park or at Saratoga Race Course this summer. In a statement, David O’Rourke, chief executive of the New York Racing Association, cited the investigation into Medina Spirit’s victory on May 1 in the Kentucky Derby. But he also took into account Baffert’s “failed drug tests in the recent past, resulting in the assessment of penalties against him by thoroughbred racing regulators in Kentucky, California and Arkansas.” Neither Baffert, a Hall of Fame trainer with seven Kentucky Derby victories, nor his horses will be allowed on the grounds of those New York racetracks, which will be costly to the trainer’s horse owners because important and lucrative races are run on them. The ban extends to Baffert’s assistants as well.