‘Power Player’ Baffert delivers again in national spotlight

In naming Bob Baffert its “Power Player” of the week, Fox News spent some time with the Hall of Fame trainer in the lead up to Justify’s Preakness Stakes win.

Fox called Baffert “the most recognizable figure in horse racing” in the segment aired Sunday, and Baffert delivered with the type of liners that should only further cement his popularity outside the sport.“

When they see him in the paddock,” Baffert said of Justify, “it’s like that scene from Jaws. ‘We need a bigger boat.’ That’s it when they see him.”

“This horse, I compare him with like LeBron James,” Baffert added. “He basically came out of high school and went to the NBA.”

Baffert talked Triple Crown chances and the appreciation for the position in which Justify and many other great horses have put him over the years. Not bad for a former jockey and quarter horse trainer.

Baffert is now 5-for-5 with his Kentucky Derby winners in the Preakness. Justify, who’s also 5-for-5 in his short career, will look to follow Baffert-trained American Pharoah as a Triple Crown winner in the June 9 Belmont Stakes.