Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, fined and suspended last year by Arkansas racing officials for a pair of drug positives, sat through nearly nine hours of testimony Monday on the first day of his appeal hearing.
Besides being fined, Baffert was hit with a 15-day suspension by stewards at Oaklawn Park after both Charlatan and Gamine tested positive for the painkiller lidocaine following their wins on May 2, 2020.
Charlatan won a division of the $1 million Arkansas Derby, while Gamine won another race that day. Both horses were disqualified and stripped of their purse money. “It’s been hanging over his head for almost a year now,” Baffert’s attorney, Craig Robertson, told Arkansas Racing Commission members. “We shouldn’t be here today.