Washington—Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit has tested positive for a banned substance, trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday, and could ultimately be disqualified from the US flat racing Triple Crown victory.
Baffert told reporters at a Sunday news conference at the famed track in Louisville, Kentucky, that post-race testing showed Medina Spirit was positive for 21 picograms of betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory steroid medication not allowed to be used within 14 days of competition.
Churchill Downs announced Sunday it has banned Baffert from entering any horses at the racetrack while it awaits the conclusion of an investigation by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
Baffert denied treating the colt with the medication and said he will investigate the test result to determine how the substance got into the horse’s system following the race.
“I got the biggest gut punch in racing for something I didn’t do,” Baffert said. “It’s disturbing. It’s a complete injustice to the horse.”
It would take a second positive test result from a split sample for the horse to be disqualified, but if it comes back positive as well, Medina Spirit’s results would be invalidated and runner-up Mandaloun will be declared the winner, Churchill Downs said Sunday.
“Failure to comply with the rules and medication protocols jeopardizes the safety of the horses and jockeys, the integrity of our sport and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby and all who participate. Churchill Downs will not tolerate it,” the racetrack said in a statement.
“Given the seriousness of the alleged offense, Churchill Downs will immediately suspend Bob Baffert, the trainer of Medina Spirit, from entering any horses at Churchill Downs Racetrack.
“We will await the conclusion of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission’s investigation before taking further steps.”
Baffert vowed to challenge the finding as far as he could.
“I’m going to fight it tooth and nail,” Baffert said. “I owe it to the horse, I owe it to the owner and I owe it to our industry. Our industry needs to step up and we need to do a better job in racing.”
Baffert set a record for the most wins by any trainer in the Derby’s 147-race history on May 1 when 12-1 Medina Spirit won under jockey John Velazquez at Churchill Downs to give Baffert his seventh career Derby title.
Baffert said he still plans to run Medina Spirit in the Preakness next Saturday at Pimlico in Baltimore in the second leg of US flat racing’s Triple Crown, which concludes with June’s Belmont Stakes in New York.
Apart from last year, when the three races were conducted out of their usual order due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Baffert’s Derby winners are unbeaten in Preakness runs.
The New York Times reported last November that Baffert-trained horses had failed at least 29 drug tests over his career.
Last month, Baffert won an appeal of a 15-day suspension by the Arkansas Racing Commission after two winning horses tested positive for a painkiller in May of last year.