After serving a three-year suspension by Churchill Downs, Inc., Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is back for the Kentucky Derby (G1) and another chance at history.
The six-time Derby winner held court at his familiar Barn 33 on Friday after his Kentucky Derby contenders Citizen Bull and Rodriguez and Kentucky Oaks (G1) contender Tenma galloped over the track listed as good.
Wood Memorial (G2) winner Rodriguez galloped a solid 1 ½ miles, and 2-year-old champion Citizen Bull galloped 1 ½ miles. Tenma, the Santa Anita Oaks (G1) winner, galloped 1 ¼ miles under Humberto Gomez.
“It’s nice to be back here and back at the old barn,” Baffert told a large gathering of media. “Horses all shipped well [from Santa Anita]. They look great out there. The track’s in good shape.”
Baffert’s Medina Spirit finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby but was disqualified after testing positive for a race-day overage of a legal medication. It would have been his record-setting seventh win in the Run for the Roses, breaking a tie with Ben “Plain Ben” Jones for most Derby wins.
Baffert is just happy the ordeal is over, and he’s back at the place that has brought him fame, fortune, and some misfortune.
“In racing, you have to accept when you get beat,” Baffert said. “You accept when things don’t go right. It was one of those things, ‘Well, I can’t change it.’ When I don’t have any control over it, I don’t worry about it.”
Grande, owned by Mike Repole (featured on Netflix’s Race for the Crown) and trained by Todd Pletcher, drilled 5 furlongs in 1:01 on Friday morning under jockey John Velazquez just before the rains came at Keeneland.
The Wood Memorial (G2) runner-up earned 50 qualifying points to clinch a spot in the Derby. The son of Curlin will be Pletcher’s record-extending 66th Derby runner (he’s won twice with Super Saver in 2010 and Always Dreaming in 2017).
Wood Memorial (G2) runner-up and Kentucky Derby contender GRANDE worked this morning for trainer @PletcherRacing and owner @RepoleStable. #KYDerby pic.twitter.com/jTQizVIqzO
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) April 25, 2025
“I was very pleased and thought he worked super. He showed good energy throughout and galloped out strong,’’ Pletcher said.
Grande brings together the longtime team of owner Mike Repole, Pletcher, and Velazquez, a three-time Derby winner (among them aboard Always Dreaming).
A year ago, they partnered with Kentucky Derby betting favorite Fierceness, who ran a disappointing 15th.
Pletcher noted that quite a few Kentucky Derby winners did not post a final work at Churchill.
“Looking statistically at Derby winners, plenty of them have not had a breeze at Churchill,” Pletcher said. “[In the Derby] he will either take to the surface or he won’t.”
Derby, Oaks nuggets: Flying Mohawk worked 5 furlongs in 1:00 at Churchill Downs ... At Turfway Park, Louisiana Derby (G2) runner-up Chunk of Gold worked 5 furlongs in 59.20 under jockey Jareth Loveberry. “Now we just have to keep that same energy level up over the next week,” trainer Ethan West said. “That was about as good as we could ask of him.” ... The owners of Derby prospect Built decided not to run and instead will enter the horse in the Pat Day Mile (G2) on the Derby undercard ... As for the Oaks on May 2, unbeaten Good Cheer worked 5 furlongs in 1:00.80 at Churchill Downs.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
