Bob Baffert facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bob Baffert |
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Baffert at the 2023 Preakness Stakes
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| Occupation | Trainer |
| Born | January 13, 1953 Nogales, Arizona, U.S. |
| Career wins | 3,457+ (ongoing) |
| Major racing wins | |
Grade 1 Stakes Wins
Acorn Stakes 2009, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2020 Alabama Stakes 1999 American Pharoah Stakes / FrontRunner Stakes / Norfolk Stakes 2009, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Apple Blossom Handicap 2012, 2024 Arkansas Derby 2012, 2015, 2020, 2020, 2024 Ashland Stakes 1999 Awesome Again Stakes / Goodwood Stakes 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022 Ballerina Stakes 2018, 2021 Bing Crosby Stakes 2009, 2011, 2016 Blue Grass Stakes 2006 Carter Handicap 2003 Champagne Stakes 2001 Chandelier Stakes / Oak Leaf Stakes 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2019 Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap 2004 Cigar Mile Handicap 2000, 2002, 2003 Clark Handicap 2014 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes 2020, 2023, 2024 Coaching Club American Oaks 2017 Del Mar Debutante Stakes 1999, 2001, 2006, 2012, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024 Del Mar Futurity 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Del Mar Oaks 1999, 2009 Donn Handicap 2001 Eddie Read Handicap 1999 Forego Stakes 2007, 2017 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes 2024 Frizette Stakes 2007, 2010 Gazelle Handicap 1999 Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes / Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap 1999, 2003, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 Haskell Invitational Stakes 2001, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2020 Humana Distaff Stakes / Derby City Distaff Stakes 2006, 2014, 2021 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes 1999, 2016 Kentucky Oaks 1999, 2011, 2017 King's Bishop Stakes 1999, 2016 La Brea Stakes 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2021, 2022 Las Virgenes Stakes 1999, 2003, 2012, 2015 Los Alamitos Derby / Swaps Stakes 2000, 2001 Los Alamitos Futurity / Hollywood Futurity 1997, 1999, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Malibu Stakes 2011, 2013, 2018, 2020, 2022 Metropolitan Handicap 2017, 2024 Ogden Phipps Stakes 2018 Pacific Classic Stakes 1999, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2020, 2023 Pat O'Brien Stakes 2009, 2010, 2011 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes 2017, 2020, 2024 Pennsylvania Derby 2017, 2018, 2022 Personal Ensign Stakes 2018 Pimlico Special Handicap 1999 Prioress Stakes 2004, 2008 Ramona Handicap 1999, 2000 Ruffian Stakes 2008, 2014 |
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| Racing awards | |
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| Honors | |
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| Significant horses | |
| Abel Tasman, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Authentic, Bayern, Behaving Badly, Bob and John, Bodemeister, Captain Steve, Chilukki, Citizen Bull, Congaree, Dortmund, Drefong, First Dude, Forestry, Game On Dude, Indian Blessing, Justify, Lookin At Lucky, Lord Nelson, Mastery, Medina Spirit, Midnight Lute, Midshipman, Misremembered, National Treasure, Pioneerof The Nile, Point Given, Real Quiet, Secret Circle, Silverbulletday, Silver Charm, Sinister Minister, Vindication, War Emblem, West Coast, Zensational | |
Robert A. Baffert (born January 13, 1953) is a famous American trainer of racehorses. He is known for training two horses that won the Triple Crown: American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018. Bob Baffert's horses have won the Kentucky Derby six times, which ties the record for most wins by a trainer. He also holds the record for the most wins in the Preakness Stakes with eight victories. He has won the Belmont Stakes and Kentucky Oaks three times each. He has also received the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer four times.
Contents
Early Life and Horse Racing Beginnings
Bob Baffert grew up on a ranch in Nogales, Arizona. His family raised cattle and chickens there. When he was 10, his father bought some Quarter Horses. Bob practiced racing them on a dirt track.
As a teenager, he worked as a jockey in informal Quarter Horse races. He earned $100 a day. His first official win as a jockey was in 1970 when he was 17.
Becoming a Professional Trainer
Bob Baffert studied at the University of Arizona. He earned a degree in the Race Track Industry Program. After graduating, he started training quarter horses in Prescott, Arizona. By age 20, he was known as a good trainer. Other trainers hired him to manage their horse stables.
His first winner as a trainer was Flipper Star in 1979. In the 1980s, Baffert moved to California. He started training Thoroughbreds full-time in 1991 at Los Alamitos Race Course. He got his first big success in 1992. He won his first Breeder's Cup race with a horse named Thirty Slews.
Baffert became famous by training horses that were not very expensive. For example, he trained Silver Charm and Real Quiet. These horses were bought for $16,500 and $17,000. Another trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, said Baffert was good at spotting talented horses. He also knew how to find the best races for them.
American Classic Race History
Bob Baffert's journey in the American Classic races began in 1996. He trained a horse named Cavonnier, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby. In 1997, he trained Silver Charm. This horse won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. Silver Charm then finished second in the Belmont Stakes.
The next year, Baffert had two top horses in the Kentucky Derby. These were Real Quiet and Indian Charlie. Real Quiet won the Derby, and Indian Charlie finished third. Real Quiet also won the Preakness. However, like Silver Charm, Real Quiet just missed winning the Triple Crown. He finished second in the Belmont Stakes by a tiny bit. Baffert became the first trainer to win the Derby and Preakness in two years in a row.
More Classic Wins
Baffert did not win another classic race until 2001. That year, he won the Preakness and Belmont Stakes with Point Given. Point Given later became a Hall of Fame horse. Baffert won the Derby for a third time in 2002 with War Emblem. This horse also won the Preakness Stakes. This gave Baffert his third chance to win the Triple Crown. War Emblem lost the Belmont Stakes after a slow start.
Baffert trained Lookin At Lucky to win the Preakness Stakes in 2010. This horse skipped the Belmont Stakes. Lookin At Lucky was named the best three-year-old horse that year. In 2012, Baffert's horse Bodemeister finished second in both the Derby and Preakness. Later that year, Paynter also finished second in the Belmont Stakes.
Triple Crown Victories
In 2015, Baffert trained American Pharoah. This horse had been the best two-year-old in 2014. American Pharoah went on to win the Triple Crown. This was the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years! Baffert won his fourth Kentucky Derby with American Pharoah. His other horse, Dortmund, finished third. American Pharoah then won the Preakness Stakes, giving Baffert his sixth win in that race. When American Pharoah won the 2015 Belmont Stakes, it was Baffert's fourth try at the Triple Crown. At 62 years old, he became the second-oldest trainer to win a Triple Crown.
Baffert also trained Justify, who won the Triple Crown in 2018. In 2020, his horse Authentic won the Kentucky Derby.
Major Accomplishments and Awards
Between 1997 and 1999, Bob Baffert won the Eclipse Award for outstanding trainer three years in a row. He also received the Big Sport of Turfdom Award in 1997.
In 2007, Baffert was inducted into the Lone Star Park's Hall of Fame. In 2009, he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame. A horse he trained, Silverbulletday, was also inducted that same year. Another horse he trained, Point Given, was inducted in 2010.
Baffert has trained horses that won 17 American Classic Races. His horses have also won 19 Breeders' Cup races, four Dubai World Cups, and three Pegasus World Cups. He has won many other important races, including:
- Nine wins in the Santa Anita Derby
- Nine wins in the Haskell Invitational Handicap
- Ten wins in the Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes
- Eighteen wins in the Del Mar Futurity
He won the Del Mar Futurity seven times in a row from 1996 to 2002. He also won it in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. He has won the Kentucky Oaks three times. These wins were with Silverbulletday (1999), Plum Pretty (2011), and Abel Tasman (2017).
In 2010, a horse named Misremembered won the Santa Anita Handicap. Bob Baffert had bred this horse. This was his first major win as a breeder (someone who helps horses have babies) instead of just a trainer.
Personal Life and Charity Work
Bob Baffert has been married twice and has five children. He married his second wife, Jill, in 2002. Jill used to be a television reporter. They have a son together, born in 2004. The Baffert family lives in California.
In 2012, Bob Baffert had a heart attack while in Dubai. He was there to train his horse Game On Dude for a race. He recovered well.
After his horse American Pharoah won the Triple Crown in 2015, Baffert talked about charities he and his wife support. He received money for allowing a mascot to be near him during the Belmont race broadcast. He announced that he and his wife would donate $50,000 each to several charities. These charities help retired race horses, like the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, California Retirement Management Account (CARMA), and Old Friends Equine. They also donated to the Permanently Disabled Jockey's Fund. This donation was in memory of a jockey friend, Robert Z. "Bobby" Adair, who had passed away. Baffert dedicated American Pharoah's Triple Crown win to Bobby.
