NOGALES, Ariz. _ The top of the Santa Cruz County Administration building on North Congress Drive delivers a birds-eye view of this border town. Cars with Arizona and Mexico license plates drive down I-19, which becomes Grand Avenue in the city center and features dozens of multicultural shops lining the streets.
On the northern tip of the community lies the Baffert Ranch and Escondido Crossing, where a small bridge protects cars from the creek running through the property. In the 1960s and '70s, that bridge was much more rickety, and Bob Baffert's cousin Pierre recalls it breaking at one point as a pickup truck crossed delivering eggs.
Those were simpler times, before Bob Baffert became a two-time Triple Crown winner and one of the most accomplished trainers in the history of horse racing.
"We were like the 'Ozzie and Harriet' family," said Baffert, referencing the popular sitcom of an idyllic family in the 1950s and '60s.
"We just grew up on a ranch life," said DeeDee Kirsch, one of seven Baffert children that were raised on the 240-acre cattle ranch.
For all the success Baffert has experienced in his adult life _ including winning his second Triple Crown with Justify in June _ many of his achievements stem from growing up on the outskirts of Nogales in his large, close-knit family. Even though he lives in California, he remains connected to the town and the ranch, which is still operational today.
"He doesn't get embarrassed saying 'I'm from a border town,' " said Nogales resident Guadalupe "Lupita" Zepeda, who worked with Baffert's mom Elinora. "That's the way the mother was and the father, Mr. Baffert. I'm proud of him even though I don't know him personally. He's doing exactly what his mother did."
