“As a horse trainer, what you learn is that you can’t, you know, it’s not good to look back at what’s already happened,” Bob Baffert said just weeks ago, as he was getting ready to make his Kentucky Derby comeback. However, the Churchill Downs didn’t prove to be the stage that reinstated the 72-year-old trainer to his high throne. But this Saturday, Baffert will have another shot at redemption.

On May 17, with the Pimlico Race Course hosting the second leg of the Triple Crown, Bob Baffert will enter the 150th Preakness Stakes with Goal Oriented. And as the decorated racehorse trainer awaits yet another test of his long career, the legendary horse trainer, despite his resolve to only look ahead, took a moment to look back on some of his fondest memories.

The official Preakness Stakes X account shared a post on May 13 to reveal Bob Baffert’s feelings ahead of the big weekend race. In the accompanying video, the horse racing celebrity talked about his previous appearances at the iconic race course. Among those, one particularly stood out: Justify‘s incredible 2018 season. The Bob Baffert-trained thoroughbred won the coveted Triple Crown that year, and as its trainer looks to recreate the same scenes this Saturday, he still seems unable to forget how things went down that fateful day seven years ago.

“I mean, I remember the fog and you couldn’t see the race. You’d be in front and the fog. And I was just hoping he’d be in front out of the fog. And he won that. And what a ride he took us on,” Baffert said, and we bet his eyes behind those iconic blue-tinted sunglasses couldn’t stop gleaming. While Justify’s victory was scintillating, Baffert still couldn’t forget how special it was to win his first Preakness Stakes.

“It was a great to me. It was one of the greatest, you know, wins and exciting wins,” he fondly remembered how Silver Charm brought him his first Pimlico glory. And no. He didn’t forget about American Pharoah—the horse that brought him his first Triple Crown. “American Pharaoh, man, what the way it rained that day. And he just smoked around. He went so fast. And when he won that day, I knew the way he won. He was going to win the Triple Crown. I said, this is the kind of horse you need,” Bob Baffert could hardly stop mentioning all the speedsters who have helped him become a Preakness legend over the years.

All in all, he enjoyed each and every one of those wins. “It’s just a different type of excitement…So but I have great memories from here. And my parents were able to, when they were still here. They got to see it all. I got to share it with them. So I have great memories from here,” he went on. 

Bob Baffert won his last Preakness Stakes in 2023 with National Treasure. With him being banned by the CDI for three years since 2021, that victory was probably his greatest achievement during the period. But now, as he returns to the hallowed grounds, the trainer will need more than fog or rain to aid him clinch his ninth win at Pimlico.

Bob Baffert won’t have a hall pass

The 2025 Preakness Stakes is filled to the brim with incredible horses. From the Kentucky Derby seventh-place finisher Sandman, to Clever Again, son of Triple Crown winner and Baffert-trained American Pharoah, there will be virtually no end to the talent on the field come Saturday. Moreover, Bob’s best bet to win this year’s Kentucky Derby, Rodriguez, also got scratched due to a foot injury from which it hasn’t recovered yet.

To make matters worse, Goal Oriented will be starting in the Preakness Stakes Gate 1, with the Derby second-place finisher Journalism starting from Gate 2. That means the iconic Bob Baffert will need to come up with a plan in order to make sure his horse doesn’t run into too much traffic on Saturday.

However, Baffert isn’t new to high-stakes races where the margin of error is slim. With that in mind, one can rest assured that Bob won’t be letting his opponents get the better of him without putting up a good fight. The trainer had a poor finish to the Derby after returning to Churchill Downs following his suspension, as Citizen Bull could barely make any impact on the race. But will the Preakness Stakes be any different? Just a few more days to find out!