Report: No Baffert colts are moved for Kentucky Derby trail

None of Bob Baffert's colts was transferred to other trainers ahead of a Jan. 29 deadline and so remain ineligible for Kentucky Derby 2024.

"It's out of my hands," Baffert told John Cherwa for a report in the Los Angeles Times. "I just want what's best for the game."

Baffert remains under an indefinite suspension by Churchill Downs Inc. stemming from the disqualification of Medina Spirit from his 2021 Kentucky Derby win because of a positive test for a prohibited substance.

This year, Churchill Downs set Jan. 29 as the deadline for horses to be transferred to other trainers and therefore eligible to earn Kentucky Derby qualifying points. That deadline is 30 days earlier than it was last year, when eight horses were moved from Baffert’s barn to three other trainers.

Baffert had challenged the disqualification and said last week that his attorneys would drop the trainer's final appeal in the dispute. Churchill Downs responded by saying the suspension would remain in effect.

The LA Times reported that Baffert nominated 18 horses for the Triple Crown and that they will be eligible to run in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

His top 3-year-olds include Nysos, undefeated in two starts and expected Saturday in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes, and American Pharoah (G1) winner Muth, who is pointed to the Rebel Stakes (G2) on Feb. 24.