Baffert out of Kentucky Derby

Updated: April 29, 2013, 12:42 PM ET
By Ron Mitchell | Bloodhorse



Three-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert said Monday that he will not have a starter in this year's May 4 classic, noting that none of the contenders he had early in the season would be competitive in the 1 1/4-mile race.

Trainer Bob Baffert at Churchill Downs.
AP PhotoBaffert watches Monday morning workouts at Churchill Downs.
"We just decided to wait," Baffert said. "When they tell us they're ready to go then they will go again. You cannot have any kind of a hiccup. Going into the Kentucky Derby, at a mile and a quarter, you just have to be so ready. He had a good chance in there [Derby] before he lost a little time.

"It's disappointing for the owners, but you have to be competitive...my owners are not going to run just for the heck of it. We're just going to watch. Good luck to everybody else."

Baffert said Code West, runner-up in the Risen Star Stakes, had been working well and could be in the Derby but that he had been pointing the son of Lemon Drop Kid toward the June 8 Belmont Stakes all along.

"He could be in the Derby, but I don't think he would be competitive enough to run one, two, three … so we're going to hold off on him."

In addition to Govenor Charlie, Baffert had also been pointing Flashback to the Derby but the Santa Anita Derby runner-up developed a small chip in his right knee, and he has another talented 3-year-old in Power Broker.

"Later on, you are going to see them in big races, like the Preakness, Belmont, and Travers. You know, they are going to catch up to themselves. It's exciting to be at the Derby and all that, but you want to be competitive."

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