Honestly I don't think Baffert is an outlier, and in a multi-million dollar competitive industry everyone is skirting the rules while looking for an edge. Baffert is similar to baseball players using steroids (McGwire admitted it and was still allowed to be a coach), the Houston Astros and Yankees stealing signs in baseball (but still keeping their championship), Patriots various cheating scandals, or NCAA basketball coaches recruiting violations (but almost all of them keeping their jobs). In fact in the case of UNC a few years ago was very clear, but the industry decided to keep it in the shadows and just move on...not wanting to impact a winning program or tarnish the legacy of Roy Williams.
"The NCAA did not dispute that the University of North Carolina was guilty of running one of the worst academic fraud schemes in college sports history, involving fake classes that enabled dozens of athletes to gain and maintain their eligibility. But there will be no penalties, the organization said, because no rules were broken."
So I guess the industry as a whole just needs to decide if it is better with a high-profile media friendly person like Baffert, or better without him. Right or wrong, other sports seem to have taken a less aggressive approach.
