LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Bob Baffert’s mood these days swings between sober and playful, serious one moment and cracking jokes the next. Barely a month ago, his life flashed in front of him while having a heart attack in Dubai.
The three-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer is at Churchill Downs with one of the favorites in Bodemeister, named for his 7-year-old son who choked out an emotional “goodbye Daddy” in the early hours of Baffert’s health scare.
Baffert had three stents inserted in two arteries, surgery that shattered his feeling of invincibility and rattled those close to him. Always driven, he now views the Derby and his lifestyle differently. Sure, it’s still the biggest race in America, but Baffert is less crazed about perfectly executing all the little details that go into winning it.
