Bob Baffert-trained Thoroughbred Medina Spirit, the 2021 Kentucky Derby winner, dies after collapsing post-workout
Medina Spirit, the Thoroughbred who won the 2021 Kentucky Derby under suspicious circumstances, has died according to Dr. Jeff Blea, the California Horse Racing Board's equine medical director.
The 3-year-old racehorse collapsed after a workout at Santa Anita Park on Monday morning during which he completed five furlongs. It was his second workout since finishing second in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
"I spoke to the attending veterinarian, and when they got to him on the track, he had already expired," Blea told the Paulick Report. ...
Medina Spirit's Kentucky Derby win had been in jeopardy after he tested positive, postrace, for betamethasone -- a therapeutic drug banned from use on race day. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission had not held a hearing related to the case.
Baffert said that the Thoroughbred turned up a positive test for a corticosteroid because of an ointment used to treat a skin rash. On Friday, Baffert's attorneys released a statement saying that a New York lab had confirmed this assertion.
This is not Baffert's first time.
As of May 2021, some of the thousands of horses Baffert trained over the last four decades had failed drug tests, but the total of 31 included four horses in 2020 and Medina Spirit in 2021. The most notable previous example was Triple Crown winner Justify, who tested positive for scopolamine after winning the 2018 Santa Anita Derby.[9][10] The case was eventually dismissed as the regulators concluded the facts supported an instance of feed contamination. Similarly, cases against two horses who tested positive in Arkansas in 2020 for lidocaine were dismissed as being the result of accidental transfer from an assistant trainer who was using the medication on himself. Nonetheless, Arkansas suspended Baffert for 15 days.[9]
In 2021, the post-race test of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit showed 21pg/mL of betamethasone.[11] In Kentucky, any amount of betamethasone detected in post-race testing is a violation and could result in a disqualification.[12] In a news conference on May 9, Baffert initially said that Medina Spirit was never administered betamethasone. In addition to a request for a split drug sample, Baffert also requested an independent DNA and follicle test...On May 10, Baffert offered other explanations and stated the situation was a "was like a cancel culture kind of a thing," a remark which earned him noticeable criticism from the press.[15][16] On May 11, Baffert said Medina Spirit had dermatitis for which an ointment containing betamethasone was used.[17][18] Sports Illustrated argued that the positive drug test was a sign that Baffert's "leaking credibility" had reached "the saturation point."[19]
Shortly thereafter, Churchill Downs suspended Bob Baffert from entering any horses at their racetrack pending the outcome of the commission's investigation.[20]...On June 2, 2021, Medina Spirit's split sample also tested positive and Churchill Downs suspended Bob Baffert through the end of the 2023 Spring Meet.[23]
