Joe Drape
New York
Medina Spirit’s positive drug test after the Kentucky Derby has been confirmed, setting the stage for the colt trained by Bob Baffert to be the second horse in the 147-year history of the race to be disqualified as its winner because of a failed drug test.
Citing the positive test, Churchill Downs yesterday immediately suspended Baffert, a seven-time winner of the Derby and the most recognisable figure in the sport in the US, from entering horses at the racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, for two years. That means that no horse trained by Baffert or his stable can race in the Derby in 2022 and 2023.
“Reckless practices and substance violations that jeopardise the safety of our equine and human athletes or compromise the integrity of our sport are not acceptable,” Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs, said. “Mr Baffert’s record of testing failures threatens public confidence in thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby.”
Clark Brewster, a lawyer who represents Medina Spirit’s owner, Amr Zedan, said a laboratory at the University of California, Davis, tested a second post-race sample from the Derby. The test confirmed the presence, at a prohibited level, of the drug betamethasone, a corticosteroid that is injected into joints to reduce pain and swelling. Baffert chose the lab where the sample was tested.
In a text message, however, Brewster said the laboratory did not test the blood or urine samples for the presence of other compounds, “which could prove the trace positive came from an inadvertent and materially inconsequential contamination sourced from a topical ointment used to treat Medina Spirit for a skin lesion on his hip”.
Immediately after announcing Medina Spirit’s positive test on May 9, Baffert gave a series of television and radio interviews in which he floated various theories about how the colt tested positive for betamethasone. He blamed “cancel culture” for the controversy and said racing officials were out to get him.
Baffert soon reversed himself, however, and acknowledged treating Medina Spirit for a rash with an antifungal ointment called Otomax, which – to Baffert’s professed surprise – contains betamethasone.
Yesterday, Churchill Downs cited Baffert’s “increasingly extraordinary explanations” as a reason for suspending him.
Brewster said the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has agreed to send the original blood and urine tests to an independent and accredited laboratory for analysis to determine whether the specimens contain other components proving the source to be the topical ointment.
A possible disqualification is months away and is destined to be tied up in the courts for years. First, racing officials will conduct a hearing and issue a ruling. If they disqualify Medina Spirit and either suspend or fine Baffert, he could appeal to the full commission. If the unfavourable ruling is still not overturned, he could pursue a remedy in civil court.
If Medina Spirit is disqualified, Zedan will forfeit the more than $US1.8 million ($2.3 million) prizemoney he earned when his horse crossed the finish line first. In 1968, the Derby victory of Dancer’s Image was taken away after a drug test showed the presence of a banned antiinflammatory. It took four years before Dancer’s Image was irrevocably disqualified.
In an email, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission declined to comment on the results of the second sample.
“The KHRC is not going to be providing comment or updates on the status of this ongoing investigation,” Sherelle Roberts said. “We will provide information when the entire matter is complete.”
New York Times