Bob Baffert is back. After spending three years away from the Twin Spires because of the controversy surrounding the 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, the 72-year-old is looking to make a grand comeback. “Everyone’s been really nice to me… They say they are happy to see me, and I’m happy to be back,” Baffert told Reuters. Yet, it’s safe to say the legendary trainer didn’t really like the position his horse, Citizen Bull, landed in the draw.

“I wish I had a challenge flag. If I had it, I would have thrown it,” Baffert said after Citizen Bull drew the No.1 position. Things only got more precarious for Baffert, as he had to scratch Rodriguez from the 20-horse field because the G2 Wood Memorial winner developed a bruise on Thursday. Yet, the veteran trainer prepares to enter Sunday on slightly shakier ground than he would like; Baffert recalled how nothing compares to the race that made him think about quitting.

So on the eve of his comeback, the six-time Kentucky Derby winner helped fans relive what he called “the toughest beat of my career.” for FanDuel Racing. That’s because Baffert has never lost a closer race than the 1996 Kentucky Derby. Sitting down with that year’s winner, the iconic D. Wayne Lukas, Bob Baffert recalled the confusion. “I was thinking, ‘What if he got beat?’ This is horrible; if I got beat, and I’ll never be back. This is my only chance,” said Baffert.

By ‘he’, the 72-year-old referred to Cavonnier. Baffert’s horse for 1996 had taken the lead early, when D. Wayne Lukas’ Grindstone pulled up alongside him. What followed for the rest of the race was a breakneck duel between the two horses till they seemed to both cross the finish line together. In fact, it was so close that even the jockeys on the horses didn’t know who won that photo finish.

And for a moment, it seemed like Baffert would emerge victorious. “I just thought this is it,” said Baffert as the tense moments went by before they made the official call. The result? Grindstone had won it by a nose. “As soon as they put that number up, I was like, just heartbroken,” Bob Baffert told FanDuel Racing nearly two decades later. However, this isn’t 1996, and the 72-year-old is now six Kentucky Derby titles wiser. So there’s just one question.

Can Bob Baffert make history?

While Baffert has been away from the Kentucky Derby for three years, he has already returned to his winning ways. While Rodriguez’s exit was unfortunate, the Triple Crown winner has already registered a win on the undercard. Baffert’s Fort Bragg just bagged a cool $200,000 after winning the St. Matthews overnight stake. What’s noteworthy here is that Fort Bragg wasn’t the favorite.

The Bob Baffert-trained horse initially trailed behind Champlin and Speed Boat Beach, with jockey Juan Hernandez on his back. Yet, Bragg closed in and eventually outran the frontrunners. And this is exactly the kind of performance Citizen Bull may need to pull off to help his trainer win his seventh Kentucky Derby title. Yet, that will be tough.

Sovereignty, Sandman, and Journalism lead the odds heading into the race, while Citizen Bull lags behind 20-1 on the bookmakers’ lists. Among the top horses, Journalism is the favorite, currently riding a four-race hot streak, including winning last month’s Santa Anita Derby. That being said, the Kentucky Derby is a different beast, and even Journalism’s trainer knows it.

“Journalism will make his way to the paddock a few times, he’ll school. We’ll get him used to that, to the large crowd, the music, the humidity, maybe even the rain. We’ll see what’s coming this week,” trainer Michael McCarthy told The Daily Gazette ahead of the upcoming race.

Meanwhile, Citizen Bull pleased Bob Baffert after finishing as the fastest horse in a field of 15 at Churchill Downs on Monday. What more? 89-year-old D. Wayne Lukas is also in the mix with American Promise. However, The Athletic describes his chances as a long shot. So while Journalism may have the speed, Baffert isn’t one to enter a horse just for the sake of it; that too on his comeback.