Quote:
Originally Posted by King Glorious
I don't think anyone would be better served. The quality of the races would suffer because he's got some good horses. I understand the thinking and I won't even try to defend Baffert but if I'm being honest, I don't really care about the positive tests and I don't think many fans do either. Judging by the light penalties and allowing it to keep happening, I don't think the people that run the sport really care either. Baffert is the face of the sport like it or not and not having the star person there would not help the sport at all I don't think.
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I don't see how you can postulate that "many fans" don't care about the positive tests. Most gamblers that I know are extremely frustrated at trying to handicap races while also factoring in potential drug cheats. Most casual fans that I know are absolutely appalled at the stuff that came out about Servis/Navarro.
You may be right that not enough people care, or perhaps the right people don't care...but I'm not sure why Baffert's presence is a necessity. There are plenty of big race days at NYRA or Gulfstream or Churchill/Keeneland that have no Baffert horses or very few.
Do Baffert's horses make the races more competitive? Maybe. I don't know. Personally, I think his horses are almost always overbet and if they win provide very little value. I guess it can be good if you're against one of his overbet horses and can beat them.