The Fourth Bob Baffert Story

On September 22, 2019. July 30, 2020, and November 6, 2020, the Barometer posted Bob Baffert stories. All of them involved horses Mr. Baffert was training. All of the horses had tested positive for some banned substance. All of them found Baffert excused with a slap on the hand. All of them involved the same type of explanation: The banned drug was in the feed. The banned drug came from the groomer’s hands because he was using the ointment to treat his back pain.

Now comes a positive drug test for Medina Spirit, the horse with 12-1 odds who won the Kentucky Derby a a nose. The initial story from Mr. Baffert was that he would never give his horses betamethasone. The story changed today and now goes back to the original formula: Medina Spirit had dermatitis on his bottom and the vet recommended Otomax, a cream that contains betamethasone, as the treatment. Mr. Baffert says that he did not know, but the vet informed him. And it remains to be seen whether the cream treatment could produce the drug test result of 21 picograms in Medina Spirit’s drug test. The follow-up second test will reveal more information.

However, the follow-up test will take weeks. So, we are into the same pattern that we had with Justify. The horse keeps running while the tests are done. The Preakness at Pimlico is this Saturday. The Maryland Racing Commission has a decision to make. There is due process. There is also a Baffert pattern. Perhaps he just did not know or perhaps he just pushes the envelope. In his book be prayed for help when he neglected to vet a horse before buying him for an owner. The horse turned out to be fine. It is not his first rodeo before a racing commission. Always an accident. He did not know. Who does know? Perhaps no one, but a pattern of positive drug tests and lame, as it were, excuses does add up.

About mmjdiary

Professor Marianne Jennings is an emeritus professor of legal and ethical studies from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, retiring in 2011 after 35 years of teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in ethics and the legal environment of business. During her tenure at ASU, she served as director of the Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics from 1995-1999. In 2006, she was appointed faculty director for the W.P. Carey Executive MBA Program. She has done consulting work for businesses and professional groups including AICPA, Boeing, Dial Corporation, Edward Jones, Mattel, Motorola, CFA Institute, Southern California Edison, the Institute of Internal Auditors, AIMR, DuPont, AES, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Motorola, Hy-Vee Foods, IBM, Bell Helicopter, Amgen, Raytheon, and VIAD. The sixth edition of her textbook, Case Studies in Business Ethics, was published in February 2011. The ninth edition of her textbook, Business: lts Legal, Ethical and Global Environment was published in January 2011. The 23rd edition of her book, Business Law: Principles and Cases, will be published in January 2013. The tenth edition of her book, Real Estate Law, will also be published in January 2013. Her book, A Business Tale: A Story of Ethics, Choices, Success, and a Very Large Rabbit, a fable about business ethics, was chosen by Library Journal in 2004 as its business book of the year. A Business Tale was also a finalist for two other literary awards for 2004. In 2000 her book on corporate governance was published by the New York Times MBA Pocket Series. Her book on long-term success, Building a Business Through Good Times and Bad: Lessons from Fifteen Companies, Each With a Century of Dividends, was published in October 2002 and has been used by Booz, Allen, Hamilton for its work on business longevity. Her latest book, The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse was published by St. Martin’s Press in July 2006 and has been a finalist for two book awards. Her weekly columns are syndicated around the country, and her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Reader's Digest. A collection of her essays, Nobody Fixes Real Carrot Sticks Anymore, first published in 1994 is still being published. She has been a commentator on business issues on All Things Considered for National Public Radio. She has served on four boards of directors, including Arizona Public Service (1987-2000), Zealous Capital Corporation, and the Center for Children with Chronic Illness and Disability at the University of Minnesota. She was appointed to the board of advisors for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators in 2004 and served on the board of trustees for Think Arizona, a public policy think tank. She has appeared on CNBC, CBS This Morning, the Today Show, and CBS Evening News. In 2010 she was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Business Ethics by Trust Across America. Her books have been translated into four different languages. She received the British Emerald award for authoring one of their top 50 articles in management publications, chosen from over 15,000 articles. Personal: Married since 1976 to Terry H. Jennings, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Deputy County Attorney; five children: Sarah, Sam, and John, and the late Claire and Hannah Jennings.
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