Making this easier for some, because I can see people searching for that story, after I said below you can find it in previous posts - but I realized later the original story, right after it happened, had been reparked in draft - sorry about that!
So I've reposted it, as well as copy/pasted it again below.
I can see that I tried to be nice about it and focus on the positive of that day, but here's what actually happened with Bob.
First, all of the stuff about what Doug O'Neill did for the kids - letting them sit on Derby winner Nyquist pre-Derby, feed him, pet him,. etc. - 1000% true. Doug is a very kind, generous man, and he's also hilarious, great sense of humor!
(I don't have any pictures of the kids on Nyquist, just Lava Man, the visit with Nyquist was brief as he had a vet inspection to get to.)
So I mentioned Bob Baffert yelling "No, HELL no" - but I didn't go into the full story.
So Mark being in IT for the schools in 2015, when the Breeder's Cup was held here, he ran IT at The Stables, which is a FCPS school, but it's at the Kentucky Horse Park, and it's for special needs kids.
Being that my husband knows horse Trainer, Doug O'Neill - whose horses "I'll Have Another" and "Nyquist" have won the Kentucky Derby - he asked Doug if the kids from Central Kentucky Riding for Hope could come see his horses.
Central Kentucky Riding for Hope is a foundation that provides horse activities for disabled and/or terminally ill kids or kids undergoing cancer treatment. (They've since added adults to the program.)
So Doug is SO nice that he actually gave us all stable passes to the Breeder's Cup, which is an honor - it's like being back stage at the Oscars, only for horses.
(Maybe more like the Golden Globes, but yes.)
Doug's also really funny, by the way, but this story about his kindness and generosity, especially towards children.
Anyway, the rest of that great story about Doug and the kids is below from the original post.
Here's the part I didn't go into detail on.
When we discovered that Bob Baffert's stable was right next door and that triple-crown winner, "American Pharoah" was in the stable, I walked over and asked the security guard if the kids could just have a peek at him - not touch him, just look, explaining the kids situation.
He spoke to the (Delaware) racing commissioner who happened to be standing there, and he said he'd ask Bob, Bob was just coming in now.
(I'd forgotten it was him that asked rather than the security guard until I reread the story.)
Bob, and his wife Jill, pull up just then and get out of a fancy schmancy SUV.
The racing commissioner walks over to him and asks him.
Bob literally yells "NO! HELL, no, no one gets near my horse!"
So loud the kids heard it.
I look at Jill - who is now wide-eyed, looks at me, then looks down.
Now, I can't hear everything the RC is saying, just bits and pieces, but he says "Bob - some of these kids are terminally ill, one of them just came from chemo treatment. They're legit, it's on their passes. They will stay 5 feet away from the doors, I'll watch them, no touching."
Again, Bob yells "I said NO, I don't care, nobody near that horse!"
(This despite the fact that he literally demands that he inspect his competitors horses and touch them before races.)
So paranoid - a bit like a thief imagining everyone else is stealing from him, I thought.
At this point, I just keep staring Jill down until she finally looks up at me, looking sheepish. She's clearly embarrassed. Then I just shake my head at her - hehehe.
Ain't I a stinker? 😂
Because who does that - to terminally ill kids?
Fine, nobody near your horses, despite YOU demanding to go near everybody else's - but you don't have to shout so the kids can hear you, waiting on an answer!
And that's the difference between Bob Baffert and ... everybody else in training horses.
He's a complete douche bag.
There were rumors for years about how many horses died in his care, as well as dirty he was - trying to get other trainers in trouble for stuff he did himself, how many horses died under his care, and n one did anything, how he demanded whipping the horses when others had moved on to whipping their own boot or just waving it in the air. How much of an A-hole he was in general interpersonally.
FINALLY - you may have read in the other posts while searching for this story about how he was banned from Churchill Downs for a few years because somebody FINALLY was brave enough to challenge him.
For starters, Triple Crown Winner Justify tested positive for scopolamine.
(Scopolamine is illegal for horses because it can be toxic in larger amounts and over time.)
Then 2021 Derby winner Medina Spirit died suddenly as well - amidst legal dispute, as Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone - a steroid which masks pain and can result in fractures going unnoticed.
Betamethasone is not illegal for horses in general, but during racing it is - because it masks pain and covers up pending/current fractures - forcing the horse to run despite danger.
WaPo reported that at least 32 proven horses have died in Baffert's care since 2000 - with a cluster of 9 dying within a few months of each other.
At this point, the NY racing commission suspended him for a year, and here, Churchill Downs banned him from the derby for a few years - but now he's back.
Sigh.
And with that, I repost the original post, focusing on the positive of that day - because how great was Doug O'Neill to do that for the kids?
They otherwise had a ball 😊
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On Saturday, Keeneland Racetrack, which is here in Lexington, Kentucky, will be holding the what is essentially the gold cup of world-class thoroughbred racing, The Breeder's Cup - for the very first time!
With very heightened security (the Kentucky National Guard is actually there as security detail), at the very last minute, legendary horse trainer, Doug O'Neill, called Mark personally to give us the green light that he had gotten approval for a few of the kids from the Central Kentucky Riding for Hope to come meet the newest 2015 Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame Inductee and Champion - "(Coach) Lava Man!"
Look at the look on precious C's face, aw - is there anything more wonderful in life than to see joy on a child's face? :)
C is one brave little girl, ladies and gentlemen - she just survived a brain tumor, completing her treatment just a couple of weeks ago - and she adores horses and riding with CKRH :)
Lava Man, much like California Chrome (whom we met just a few weeks ago), loves attention and posing for the camera (note when you pull the camera up, he stands still and puts his ears forward)!
...but he's much calmer. In fact, you would not believe how calm and gentle he was with the children, he was so patient. He wins the prize, by far, for the sweetest champion horse we've met yet :)
These days, he's a "stable pony" or "coach" - meaning he accompanies the up-and-comers during their travel and accompanies them up to the starting gate. On Saturday, he will be walking up-and-comer "Nyquist" :)
And he was so curious, about everyone and everything. He especially like my hair, I'm not sure why, perhaps it was my new shampoo? (I don't have a picture of him nuzzling in my hair, I was the one working the camera today.)
And these two twin sisters, S and S, had a great time - the twin in white, on the right is blind - and it's like Lava could sense it and was especially gentle with her :)
The proud mamas and their babies from CKRH with Lava Man :)
Mark even got to lead him around a bit, he was in 7th heaven! :)
I didn't lighten this photo, btw, it just came out like that, and it was the only one of us because I was behind the camera the whole time, except for the two seconds a Kentucky National Guardsman was kind enough to offer to get one shot in of both of us with Lava Man before the kids arrived.
(Great photo of Mark, terrible of me - I haven't figured out how to do my new longer "wob" haircut properly/like she did at at the salon yet! Maybe that's why Lava Man was nuzzling in it, he was trying to fix it for me lol;)
Doug O'Neill had a meeting he had to attend at that time, but was so gracious in calling us several times to make sure the kids could meeting, I cannot thank and commend him enough - what a wonderful, down to earth man!
But he made sure Sabas took very good care of us:)
Sabas is Lava Man's groom and morning exercise rider - what a wonderful, patient man, he was, and so proud of his baby :)
I asked what it was like to ride him versus other horses and he said, "You know how riding in different cars can be different, right? Lava's like riding in a lamborghini!"
Again, we cannot thank you enough, Doug O'Neill, Sabas and Sharla for arranging this for us with such heightened security (you would think it was Fort Knox at Keeneland right now)
The girls were absolutely THRILLED!!! :)
On the way out, we discovered that triple-crown winner, American Pharaoh, was only 2 stables over - so I thought: "What the heck? I'm gonna walk myself right over and ask that important-looking man with the walkie talkie if we can snap a quick photo with him - the the worst they could say is 'no', right?"
Well, that important-looking man happened to be none other than John Wayne, Executive Director of State of Delaware Horse Racing commission, who was helping the Baffert team with security detail :)
John Wayne, Executive Director for the State of Delaware Horse Racing Commision (not my photo)
What a nice man, he was, he said he'd ask for us - but just at that moment, American Pharaoh's trainer, Bob Baffert, walked up to the stable with his wife, Jill. and son, Bode!
Unfortunately, Bob's answer was "NO ... HELL, no" - apparently because they were in a big hurry as Am Phar had an evaluation and other prep things to do before the race just then.
But thank you so much to Mr. Wayne for asking for us!
Mr. Baffert seemed so busy and serious, at that moment, I figured I'd best toddle off rather than even ask to get a picture him, but he was standing 20 yards from me (that white hair is unmistakable) !!!!
As we were leaving, we turned around in our car just in time to see Breeder's Cup contender (coming in 4th in the Kentucky Derby and third at the Belmont) - "Frosted".
I don't know what it is, but I'm a sucker for a gray, I LOVE Frosted! :)
I am so glad the girls got to go and see all the hustle and bustle excitement - again, all thanks to Doug O'Neill Racing!
