HALL OF FAME trainer Bob Baffert had a heart attack early Monday in Dubai, where he was preparing to run Game On Dude in the $10 million Dubai World Cup.
Baffert's assistant, Jim Barnes, said from Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia, Calif., that Baffert was "doing very good" after having three stents inserted in two arteries. Barnes said he had spoken to the trainer's wife, Jill Baffert, who had accompanied her husband to the Middle East, along with their young son, Bode Baffert.
Barnes said Jill Baffert told him the procedure went well and "everything should be fine."
Bernie Schiappa, co-owner of Game On Dude, said the 59-year-old trainer wasn't feeling well on the long flight to Dubai, and was tired after visiting the barn and arriving at the hotel. He said Baffert then fell ill early Monday morning and was taken to a hospital.
"He had a heart attack, two arteries were blocked, 100 percent in one, 90 percent in the other," Schiappa said by phone from Dubai. "He had two stents put in one artery, one stent in the other."
Game On Dude, runner-up in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic, is a top contender for the Dubai World Cup. The horse is co-owned by retired major league manager Joe Torre.
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