Bob Baffert Quotations

One of these days I'm going to win that thing, and you're not going to see me again. But I'm not leaving until I win it.

Plus, out here in California you have these speed-favoring tracks, so there was a lot going against him.

I didn't do enough with her after her last race, because she ran so hard. I should have just let him ride Gomez-style. It's my fault.

I'd like to run in the Travers. I was hoping he would step up today. He's got a great style now. He's got a great burst of speed. It was tough to get him here. But I think we've got a good thing lined up.

There are two meets we look forward to - Del Mar and Santa Anita.

We're just glad he's a fast son of a gun.

Sinister Minister, you can't control. He just runs off. . . . He's a runaway train.

When he hit the wire, his ears went up and he wanted to shut down. He's still immature.

Silver Charm had the ideal running style. You could put him on the lead, or take back. He was smart and intelligent, a push-button horse to ride.

She was sitting on a race like this. I was leery about running her on this track but all the riders said it was safe.

He is the only jockey that made me more money then he cost me.

He just cruised around there and didn't have to run very hard. It was a good experience. He had to ship up there. And he was wide the whole way.

He just had little pesky injuries. He's showing his stuff now.

For some reason, this is the worst one I've ever felt,

I brought him here because of his style. There is going to be a hot pace (in the Santa Anita Derby) and I knew he would run much better here. He needs a bigger track.

We thought with his speed, coming here, he's extremely fast, and Garrett worked him the other day and he was pretty impressed with the way he worked. He worked awesome. If you want to find out if you belong in the Derby, run against the big boys.

We're on the Lost in the Fog trail.

He was just so keen he wanted to run off. I think a lot of it is maturity. We're just glad he's a fast son of a gun.

He wants to get to the Super Bowl quick, and he wants to get to the Derby quick. That's the kind of owner we need. Someone who wants to do it quick.

I always told him he should have done a video on how to be a racehorse owner. He had a passion for it and he had fun and he could take the knocks.

He went very nice. This is the best he's gone in a long time. The way he worked today, the Breeders' Cup Sprint would probably be highly likely for him if he continues the way he's going. He's a quick horse. He's fast.

He's doing really well, and we're really excited about him.

He looked pretty awesome today. He sat off that pace and I really liked how he was extending. Victor tells me this horse is better than we thought.

He needs distance. When they start running a mile-and-an-eighth, that's when the cream rises to the top.

Just goes to show you that there is so much speed in California, it's like a vacation when you get away from there.

Jerry Bailey said he didn't bring his 'A' game to the Travers, ... I asked him if he still thought he could get a mile and a quarter, and he said he could if he ran like he did in the Haskell.

I thought the other horse was going to blow by. To hold on like he did shows his quality. This was a gut check. Class always prevails. If he could have gone slower, he probably could have won by more.

We never thought in 1991 that six years later we'd be making that historic walk with Silver Charm. We looked like a couple of teenagers walking through there.

When I saw 22, I thought that wasn't bad. I didn't want to see 21. She's so fast.

I would never say he's the fastest 3-year-old sprinter on the West Coast. Every time you say something like that another one pops put to prove you wrong. But I would say he's one of the fastest.

You like to go into the Derby with a horse that has a chance to win. This horse showed me something ... He really poured it on today.

Midnight Lute is very talented. As long as we keep him healthy, he has a bright future. He looks like a great prospect.

We're clicking if he runs that race again.

You always want to come to the Derby with a good horse. And we're back here now with three really good horses. It feels nice.

Those were nice horses in that race, (but) this horse is a speed freak.

When the prince died, the horses were like orphans. But these horses, they're like family. And to have a horse who might be a Kentucky Derby contender, that's the best medicine.

We knew she was that good when we first started her, but she had some setbacks.

When you've got a 20-horse field and a fast pace, anything can happen out there.

With Forestry, finally the light came on. He became a good horse and reeled off five in a row.

They already have one in there. He's such a big son of a gun. I might go out of town with him.

Brother Derek is going to get out there and do his thing. I just like that my horse will be in the clear for a change. He showed determination last time. He was covered up, had a stop-and-go trip.

something's brewing in the foot. It'll take about four days before we can do anything, so we decided to pull the plug.

I've always wanted to go in on top of the race, but I've never had the guts. They've already shipped and won.

Everything went good; everything went to plan. Point of Impact, he's not running. We'll find a race for him. Running three in there is enough.

This track was perfect for him. He's a good horse.

The only thing you learned is that he's a good horse. It was a good test and we got a lot out of it.

This will be the last powder puff race he gets. From here on out, it's going to be all heavyweights.

This will be the last powder puff race he gets. From here on out it's going to be all heavyweights.

This colt's got some serious gears. He's really fast. He's the quickest Cal-bred I've ever trained.

The weather scares me. I hope the track isn't too hard.

After watching him today, I might be leaning towards the Sprint,

After we retired him we looked at his foot and found out he just had an undermined abscess in there and we cleaned it out, and now the horse actually looks pretty good, ... As a matter of fact, if the Breeders Cup was just another couple weeks away, we could probably run him in it. Stud farms are interested in him, but we left the window open a little bit. He actually could have a lot of racing left in him.

If she's doing great it could be that race. We'll let her tell us.

I'm looking forward to being on the Derby Trail again. I enjoy myself when I'm on it and you have to enjoy yourself because there will be disappointments. If you are one-two-three in last preps, you've got a chance. If you run horrible in those races, unless you've got a tremendous excuse, you've got no excuse.

In order to win the Santa Anita Derby, we would have really had to pressed Brother Derek hard. Brother Derek is a very nice horse. I think it was a good race for Point Determined. He could have been a little closer, but he finally kicked in at the end. He got beat 3 1/2 lengths by the best three-year-old, and it gives you something to work with. He finished real strong, and he's not one-dimensional, which would give him a little advantage if there is a real heavy pace in the Derby .

I'm really excited about him, ... His Dwyer was fantastic off of a layoff.

The best horses this year are in California.

Once he got past Keyed Entry, his job was done. He needs a target.

This is just devastating for me and my team. It was a routine gallop. He was turning into the stretch and when he switched to his right lead that's when it happened. We had a bunch of different vets look at him to see if surgery was possible. They got together and they all said they wouldn't. The sesamoids are really difficult to save a horse.

You try to get excited, but it's not healthy. You can't get excited until you get to this time of year.

It's part of horse racing you never really get used to, ... These horses are like our children, so when something happens like that it's pretty devastating for everybody involved. When it's unexpected like that, it makes it worse.

It's important to every trainer to be in the Derby and I've been lucky enough to have some good horses in it. We are in the picture this year but we've got a long way to go.

It took awhile for him to come around. He needed to get his confidence.

They both ran credible races. They were right there. Bob and John missed the break and got tired and Point Determined was boxed in the whole way. I'm not so sure either was going to beat the winner that day.

I just hope it doesn't rain too much. She's much better going two turns but this is a grade I and you've got to get the black type if you can.

If you want to go to the Derby, you've got to run against good horses and find out if you belong.

But I'm still pretty confident in my horses.

He's fast. It's going to take him a couple races to come around.

He's learned to relax a little bit. I almost ran him in the Hollywood Futurity, but I wanted to give him more time.

He's the money guy. His greatest talent is that he was very cool, very focused and did his homework. If you got beat with Jerry Bailey, it was because you just didn't have the horse. It was like having Joe Montana in the last two minutes of a football game.

This is a very nice young horse. He changes every month because he's so young.

This is a very nice young horse. He changes every month because he's so young. When you have a horse that good with that kind of breeding, you know he's going to get better. This was a good test.

I remember one time I called him and I said, 'Bob, you sound good. He says, 'Well, unfortunately, there's nothing wrong with my vocal cords.

You've got to have a good horse, but you've got to have the trip. I think Senor Swinger deserves to be in there. He's a good miler. He's very sharp right now.

The Haskell was nothing for him. He came back from that race as if he could run it again in an hour.

The horse is waking up at just the right time.

The horse is waking up at just the right time. When he got to the quarter pole, I thought, 'Son of a gun, I'm going to win the Blue Grass.

This horse, and the rest of the horses, helped keep Bob going in his fight. For Beverly and Jeff, Point Determined has helped them get through a tough time. The kids lost a dad, Beverly lost a husband. It was a tough day when he died, so it was really neat when this horse won.

You don't want to sit on them too long.

There was nothing they could do with this type of injury, ... It's the kind that won't heal, and they usually founder and suffer.

It's just the way the chips fall. We try to get here every year. Sometimes you're the bug, sometimes you're the windshield. That's the way it works in this business.

We went a little fast early. I'm just getting to know the horse, and we need to get him to relax a little bit. He showed some determination in the stretch, and I think we can improve off that. We are running against the best two-year-olds in the country, so I am pleased. Hopefully, he comes back in great shape. He's got a good future ahead of him and we're going to take our time with him.

We lost a giant. He was just the nicest man. He's the only guy I know who won every big race and people still rooted for him. That tells it all right there. Believe me, he will be missed by many. This is just the saddest day.

This was the most gratifying Haskell I've won. With those other two it was like bringing an Uzi to a picnic.

Those statues are once-in-a-lifetime guys. He was a once-in-a-lifetime guy. He showed kindness and he was a man of his word and a man of his honor. Someday, I'd like to saddle a horse and see a statue of Bob Lewis in the garden.

It's like playing poker. Eventually your hand will come. You have to be lucky, but you still have to have a good horse. I have a couple of good ones.

It makes you feel good when you win those major preps. It makes you feel like you have a legitimate chance. It's just that I've been getting better horses. I'm in a good place, and I have good 3-year-olds.

There's a lot of quality in this field.

I feel better running here. I wasn't thrilled about the mile and a quarter, or about shipping. A lot of horses have been floundering on the track back there.

I don't think Brother Derek can get in front of this guy. I don't think he wants to.

He ran a good race, but with Bellamy Road in the race it changed the whole thinking process. We were waiting for Bellamy Road to stop and he didn't.

He ran great, ... We feel that he got beat by the best older horse in training right now. I'm just going to wait and see what happens before I decide if he'll go to the Breeders' Cup.

He ran great. We feel that he got beat by the best older horse in training right now. I'm just going to wait and see what happens before I decide if he'll go to the Breeders' Cup.

He ran with a quarter-crack in Florida, and I brought him back (to California) to give him a break. He's a heavy horse and needs a race, but it will set him up for the Breeders' Cup.