This is also confirmed in the medication regulation. The way that regulation works is that the penalties are limited for the first 3 violations (in ANY jurisdiction- his California positives count!). After those first 3 violations (and Baffert's violation count is in the 20's), the trainer is subject to this:
Quote:
Upon finding a violation or an attempted violation of the provisions of KRS Chapter 230 or KAR Title 810, if not otherwise provided for in this administrative regulation, the stewards or judges may impose one (1) or more of the following penalties:
(1) If the violation or attempted violation may affect the health or safety of a horse or race participant, or may affect the outcome of a race, declare a horse or a licensee ineligible to race or disqualify a horse or a licensee in a race;
(2) Suspend or revoke a person's licensing privileges for a period of time of not more than five (5) years in proportion to the seriousness of the violation and the facts of the case;
(3) Cause a person, licensed or unlicensed, found to have interfered with, or contributed toward the interference of the orderly conduct of a race or race meeting, or person whose presence is found by the stewards or judges to be inconsistent with maintaining the honesty and integrity of the sport of horse racing to be denied access to association grounds or a portion of association grounds; and
(4) Payment of a fine in an amount not to exceed $50,000 as deemed appropriate by the commission in keeping with the seriousness of the violation and the facts of the case.
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Parsed into ordinary terms, it authorizes the following punishments (I'll leave the fine out of it):
1. Declare Baffert permanently ineligible to race horses in Kentucky, or impose this restriction for any length of time.
2. Revoke his license, with the earliest he can apply for relicensing being in 2026. Or suspend it for 5 years.
3. Bar Baffert from access to the grounds to any Kentucky racetrack, permanently or for any length of time.
There's ample regulatory and statutory authority to throw the book at Baffert.
