Allegiances can be fickle. Just ask Bob Baffert who reneged on one commitment to favor another horse. But in the name of winning, anything goes and Baffert’s calculated switch up certainly generated momentum before the Virginia Derby. But was that risk worth it? This time, not quite.

Recall the moment when Bob Baffert made a commitment to race Gaming, stating, “It’s a mile and an eighth, one turn, we’ll give him one more crack at it. The Oaklawn race was horrendous. He didn’t get anything out of that. He’s come back and worked well. He was stuck in the one-hole in each of his last two starts and had disastrous trips. I just want to get him back on track. We know he’s a good horse.” This was regarding the then upcoming Virginia Derby, where he aimed to showcase his three-year-old colt’s potential.

In a surprising turn of events, Baffert shifted his focus at the last minute, moving from Gaming to Getaway Car. The horse quickly became the frontrunner in the pre-race predictions, thanks to the expertise of his 72-year-old trainer. But hype doesn’t translate to results. So who ended up winning? It was American Promise, trained by the renowned Darrell Wayne Lukas. The three-year-old, who appeared to have faced challenges in his previous outings at the Southwest Stakes and the Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes, dramatically shifted the narrative heading into the race at Colonial Downs.

Certainly, this victory caught the fans off guard. Did the jockey perform some sort of magic on the horse? It certainly appears that way. According to Bloodhorse, Nik Juarez, his jockey, shared the approach he took with American Promise, explaining, “I didn’t want to use my horse early, but I knew I had to get forward position with how the track has been playing.”

In straightforward terms, patience has proven its worth! Bob Baffert’s Getaway Car surged ahead of the competition right from the outset, holding onto the lead for a significant stretch of the race. As soon as the colt faltered, Juarez seized the opportunity. After clinching victory in the race, Juarez conveyed a modest sentiment, saying, “I’m just a guy who is lucky enough to be named to ride Mr. Lukas’ horses. To be heading to the Derby for him is a dream come true. American Promise is doing so good. He proved himself out there today.”

This is undoubtedly a significant victory for all those involved with American Promise. This win propels the Lukas-trained horse into fifth place in the standings, bringing its total to 55 points. This appears to be yet another possible contender for Baffert’s leading horse in the rankings.

Bob Baffert’s main challengers in the Road to Kentucky Derby

Fresh from a suspension, Bob Baffert is setting his sights on what could be his seventh Kentucky Derby win in the upcoming months. Nonetheless, the path ahead is unlikely to be straightforward for the 72-year-old. For an extended period, his horse, Citizen Bull, dominated the Road to Kentucky Derby standings with 60 points. However, he has now fallen to third place on the leaderboard. Who managed to outshine the three-year-old?

In the recent showdown, Coal Battle emerged with a score of 70, while Owen Almighty followed closely behind with 65 points. So how did these horses make their mark in the standings? Looking at Coal Battle, the colt secured 10 points in both the 2024 Springboard Mile Stakes and the 2025 Smarty Jones Stakes.

However, when he duplicated his performance in the Rebel Stakes a few weeks back, he secured an impressive 50 points, significantly boosting his position in the standings.

Turning our attention to Owen Almighty, the horse garnered five points from the Iroquois Stakes and an additional ten points from the Sam F. Davis Stakes. However, for him as well, his key highlights emerged during the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, where he finished just behind Coal Battle and ahead of Citizen Bull in the rankings.

The Kentucky Derby is approaching, yet with the competition intensifying, it appears that Baffert will face significant challenges from his opponents.