Here's a little tidbit from the jerk they call BAFFERT;
Subject: Baffert files laswuit
On 4/02/99, at 8:23 javagold wrote to us and said:
louisville, ky, april 2 - internationally acclaimed thoroughbred horse trainer bob baffert today filed a class action lawsuit in a washington, d.c. federal circuit court that seeks to transfer the power of weight assignments in horse races from racing secretaries to trainers. if successful, radical changes would ensue in the horse racing business. under the current system, racing secretaries, employed by race tracks, set the weight a horse must carry in any particular race, based on what are known as the "conditions" of the race. baffert, however, wants to see trainers set that weight. baffert decided to file the suit after his horse real quiet, winner of the 1998 kentucky derby and preakness stakes, was assigned a staggering 122 pounds for an upcoming stakes race at oaklawn park. baffert scratched his horse from the race. "that was the last straw," baffert commented angrily from his bunker in arcadia, california. "to put that kind of a load on a horse like real quiet is mind-boggling. its just so unfair. he could hurt himself carrying that much." baffert rose to prominence in the early to mid 1990's and his success reached imposing heights in the last two years as he won the last two kentucky derbies as well as the $5 million dollar dubai world cup in 1998. "i am, for all intents and purposes, the savior of racing," baffert explained. "without me, racing will wither away and die off. nobody'll care about the game if i don't win the derby every year. that was proven by an ntra focus group last fall. i'm just not going to let these little jackasses in some racing office decide what my horse has to carry anymore." the suit could have far-reaching implications for the sport. for instance, if a trainer wanted his horse to carry, say twenty seven pounds in the kentucky derby, he or she would have to search for alternatives to the traditional 100-110 pound jockey. infants, monkeys, or small poodles, for instance, might be used instead. reaction to the suit varied widely throughout the industry. jockey agent blue madigan, a veteran of the business, expressed dismay. "if baffert wins, we could have chaos at the racetrack. who would you rather have steering your horse around the course; a dog, or jorge chavez ? think of the accidents that would ensue. and how the hell does a steward dq a four year old kid without starting a riot in the grandstand." fellow trainer d wayne lukas, however, expressed his support for the suit before his comments degenerated into a diatribe against racing writers. "sure, i'm all for it," he said of the suit. "where would racing be without people like me and bob anyway ? and another thing, you writers are idiots ! cat thief will improve fifty lenghts in the blue grass or i'll quit training !" legal analyists give baffert's action little chance of success. lukas, in fact, filed a suit in the same circuit court last year that sought to have the distances of all three triple crown races reduced to five and a half furlongs. that suit was dismissed with "extreme prejudice" by judge henry begbie. "this judge doesn't fool around, " said one lawyer who has dealt with begbie in the past and spoke on the condition of anonymity. "he just might lock baffert up for contempt just for filing this thing."
What do you think of him now?