Horse racing's household name will miss the 150th Kentucky Derby. Bob Baffert is exiled for 3rd year

The 150th Kentucky Derby is missing horse racing’s household name: Bob Baffert.

The Hall of Fame trainer with a record-tying six victories won't be saddling a contender in Saturday's Run for the Roses for the third consecutive year.

Last July, Baffert had another year tacked on to his two-year suspension by Churchill Downs Inc., which was set to expire in 2023. The additional punishment came despite no positive drug or medication tests involving the 71-year-old trainer's horses during that time.

CDI imposed the original penalty after Baffert’s 2021 Derby winner, Medina Spirit, flunked a post-race drug test. The colt tested positive for a legal medication that isn’t allowed on race day in Kentucky. Medina Spirit was later disqualified.

That led to two years of lawsuits, but Baffert failed in his attempts to be reinstated by Churchill Downs or have Medina Spirit’s victory restored. In January, Baffert said he was dropping his legal challenges against CDI. His move didn't thaw the frosty relations between the two sides.

“A trainer who is unwilling to accept responsibility for multiple drug test failures in our highest-profile races cannot be trusted to avoid future misconduct,” CDI said in extending the suspension. “Mr. Baffert will remain suspended from entering horses at all racetracks owned by CDI through 2024. After such time, we will re-evaluate his status.”

The suspension prevented any Baffert horse from accumulating Derby qualifying points, which decide the 20-horse field for the race.

Technically, no.

The last two years, the owners of Baffert's top contenders transferred their horses to another trainer so they could run in the Derby. But this year, in evidence of their loyalty to Baffert, none of them did so.

Owner Amr Zedan made a last-ditch effort to try to get Arkansas Derby winner Muth into the 150th Derby. He sued in early April.

However, the Kentucky Court of Appeals recently denied a motion for a temporary injunction that would have allowed Muth into the race despite the suspension of Baffert, who was not a party to the lawsuit.

Zedan owned Medina Spirit, who died after a workout in December 2021. No definitive cause of death was found.

Not really. Despite hits to his reputation, Baffert is still highly sought out by deep-pocketed owners eager to have him train their high-priced horses. However, being shut out of the Derby has to sting since he has always been effusive about the first Saturday in May and considers it the pinnacle of the sport.

He won the Preakness last year with National Treasure, his 17th victory in a Triple Crown race. Earlier that day, one of his horses was injured in a race on the undercard and had to be euthanized. He had purse earnings of over $12.6 million for the year.

He won the $12 million Dubai World Cup with Country Grammer in 2022.

Some wags are calling it Kentucky Derby 149 1/2 in a nod to the absence of Baffert's talented colts. As a result, some believe the stronger race will be the Preakness on May 18.

Baffert can enter horses in the Preakness and the Belmont at Saratoga on June 8. He nominated 18 horses to the Triple Crown series, so any of them are eligible for the last two legs.

Among his top prospects are Muth and Imagination, the Santa Anita Derby runner-up. Both have been training at Santa Anita in California ahead of their next starts.

AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

FILE - Trainer Bob Baffert walks 2015 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner War Emblem in the barns at Pimlico Race Course, in Baltimore, Sunday May 19, 2002. Baffert will miss the race for the third consecutive year. He served a two-year suspension by Churchill Downs Inc. after his 2021 winner Medina Spirit was disqualified for a failed drug test. But the track’s corporate ownership meted out an additional year of punishment. (AP Photo/Alex Dorgan-Ross, File)

FILE - Real Quiet trainer Bob Baffert strikes a quarterback pose with the Kentucky Derby trophy after Real Quiet with jockey Kent Desormeaux up won the 124th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Ky., May 2, 1998. Baffert will miss the race for the third consecutive year. He served a two-year suspension by Churchill Downs Inc. after his 2021 winner Medina Spirit was disqualified for a failed drug test. But the track’s corporate ownership meted out an additional year of punishment. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke, File)

FILE - Trainer Bob Baffert watches a workout at Churchill Downs Tuesday, May 3, 2016, in Louisville, Ky. Baffert will miss the race for the third consecutive year. He served a two-year suspension by Churchill Downs Inc. after his 2021 winner Medina Spirit was disqualified for a failed drug test. But the track’s corporate ownership meted out an additional year of punishment. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

FILE - Todd Herl of the Churchill Downs sign shop carries the Medina Spirit sign after it was removed from the paddock at Churchill Downs Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, in Louisville, Ky. Trainer Bob Baffert will miss the race for the third consecutive year. He served a two-year suspension by Churchill Downs Inc. after his 2021 winner Medina Spirit was disqualified for a failed drug test. But the track’s corporate ownership meted out an additional year of punishment. Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal via AP, File)

FILE - Trainer Bob Baffert stands outside his barn at Churchill Downs Monday, May 2, 2016, in Louisville, Ky. Baffert will miss the race for the third consecutive year. He served a two-year suspension by Churchill Downs Inc. after his 2021 winner Medina Spirit was disqualified for a failed drug test. But the track’s corporate ownership meted out an additional year of punishment. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, FIle)

FILE - In this May 17, 2015, file photo, trainer Bob Baffert rubs the head of 2015 Kentucky Derby winner American Pharoah outside the stakes barn at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, May 17, 2015. Baffert will miss the race for the third consecutive year. He served a two-year suspension by Churchill Downs Inc. after his 2021 winner Medina Spirit was disqualified for a failed drug test. But the track’s corporate ownership meted out an additional year of punishment. (AP Photo/Garry Jones, File)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s biggest pop star, Anitta, has released a music video depicting rituals of the Afro-Brazilian faith Candomble, sparking controversy in a country where religious intolerance is all too common.

Her track — pointedly named “Accept” — has been viewed over a million times on YouTube since its release on Tuesday. It is a rare personal offering from the artist, who has long practiced the religion in Rio de Janeiro. Anitta said she lost 200,000 of her 65 million followers on Instagram after its release.

“I’ve already talked about my religion countless times, but it seems that leaving an artistic work in my catalog forever was too much for those who don’t accept that others think differently,” Anitta said on social media Tuesday. Trolls deriding Candomble appeared far outnumbered by those expressing support.

Criticism from a minority of social media users continued overnight, and she issued another statement Wednesday to denounce misinformation and jokes targeting Afro-Brazilian faiths.

“Its teachings and its people deserve respect like any other religion,” Anitta said.

Filmed in black and white, the video shows Anitta crouching naked as a priestess in traditional, white attire pours purifying water over her head. In some scenes, she wears a straw dress resembling the head-to-toe covering used by Obaluaê, the orixá or deity of earth and health. The video also showed Catholic iconography, an evangelical Christian service and a Jewish worshipper with a tefillin.

“Anita suffered religious racism, there’s no doubt about it. She can do whatever she wants to do as an artist. But her declaring herself as Candomble means she lost followers,” said Mother Nilce de Iansã, coordinator of the national network for Afro-Brazilian religions and health, during a webinar on the Rio-based Museum of the Republic’s planned exhibition on Afro-Brazilian religious belongings.

As Portuguese Catholic colonists brought African slaves to Brazil, the enslaved men and women developed syncretic blends of their traditional religions with Catholicism, now practiced by a small minority of Brazilians.

Anitta was already known for elevating marginalized populations such as women, residents of the working-class neighborhoods known as favelas, as well as LGBTQ+ and Black people.

The pop star has a subversive side similar to that of Madonna, said Raquel Martins, who holds a doctorate in music from the UNICAMP university. Anitta and Madonna released a track together in 2019 and also shared the stage briefly during Madonna’s biggest-ever concert that took place in Rio on May 4. The show repeatedly invoked religion in provocative manners and Anitta, while on stage, wore a shining crucifix around her neck.

“Anitta is a world-renowned artist. She no longer needs to prove anything to anyone. So what does she do? She makes her art available to encourage debate in society,” said Martins.

Despite their low numbers, practitioners of Afro-Brazilian faiths in recent years have increasingly experienced religious intolerance, particularly at the hands of members of evangelical churches.

“Accept” is part of Anitta’s new album, “Funk Generation.” When first announced, Anitta described it as “an album where I celebrate my roots.”

“It’s a rhythm born in the favelas, where I grew up, and it exudes resistance and art in every community,” she said in a statement.

FILE - Members of the Afro Brazilian faith, Candomble, dance during a ritual honoring Obaluae, the deity of earth and health, at their temple on the outskirts of Salvador, Brazil, Sept. 18, 2022. Brazilian pop star Anitta released a music video Tuesday, May 14, 2024, depicting rituals of the Afro-Brazilian faith Candomble, sparking some controversy. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)

FILE - Brazilian singer Anitta, center, performs at the Rock in Rio music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Oct. 5, 2019. Anitta released a music video Tuesday, May 14, 2024, depicting rituals of the Afro-Brazilian faith Candomble, sparking some controversy. It is a rare personal offering from the artist, who grew up practicing the religion in Rio de Janeiro’s north zone. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)

FILE - Brazilian singer Anitta listens to a question during a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 5, 2019. Anitta released a music video Tuesday, May 14, 2024, depicting rituals of the Afro-Brazilian faith Candomble, sparking some controversy. It is a rare personal offering from the artist, who grew up practicing the religion in Rio de Janeiro’s north zone. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)

FILE - Anitta arrives at the 24th annual Latin Grammy Awards in Seville, Spain, Nov. 16, 2023. Anitta released a music video Tuesday, May 14, 2024, depicting rituals of the Afro-Brazilian faith Candomble, sparking some controversy. It is a rare personal offering from the artist, who grew up practicing the religion in Rio de Janeiro’s north zone. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP File)

FILE - Brazilian singer Anitta performs during the Global Citizen Festival at Central Park in New York, Sept. 23, 2023. Anitta released a music video Tuesday, May 14, 2024, depicting rituals of the Afro-Brazilian faith Candomble, sparking some controversy. It is a rare personal offering from the artist, who grew up practicing the religion in Rio de Janeiro’s north zone. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)