Horse Racing: Baffert Suspended By Churchill Downs After Medina Spirit’s Positive Drug Test UPDATE: BANNED

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Baffert Suspended By Churchill Downs After Medina Spirit’s Positive Drug Test
ANDREW GASTELUMUPDATED:MAY 9, 2021ORIGINAL:MAY 9, 2021
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has been suspended by Churchill Downs after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for the topical steroid cream betamethasone.

The California-based trainer, who won his record-seventh Kentucky Derby, said the Kentucky Racing Commission informed his assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes on Saturday that Medina Spirit tested positive for 21 picograms of the anti-inflammatory medicine in a post-race sample. The legal limit in Kentucky is 10 picograms.
"I don't know what's going on in racing right now, but there's something not right," Baffert said in a press conference at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning. "I don't feel embarrassed, I feel like I was wronged. We're going to do our own investigation. We're going to be transparent with the racing commission like we've always been. [...] This horse was never treated with this. He’s a great horse. He doesn’t deserve this.”

The racetrack later announced that if the findings are upheld by a split sample test, Medina Spirit will be disqualified and runner-up Mandaloun will be declared the winner.

"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 released in a statement. "Churchill Downs will not tolerate it.

"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 Commissions’ investigation before taking further steps."



Baffert denied that anyone in his team had administered the drug to the horse, which he said is still the Kentucky Derby winner until the completion of the inquiry.
"Yesterday, I got the biggest gut punch for something I didn't do," Baffert said. "We have to do a DNA sample. Something is not right. It's not a disqualification until the split sample comes back. That's a part of the process and we haven't even gotten to that yet."

On 12-1 odds, Medina Spirit was a shock winner of the 146th Kentucky Derby on May 1. The colt was sold as a yearling for only $1,000 and was a bargain for current owner Amr Zedan of Saudi Arabia at $35,000. The horse is still slated to run the 146th Preakness on May 15 in Baltimore, according to Baffert.

The Hall of Fame trainer was fined and suspended last year by the Arkansas Racing Commission after two of his horses tested positive for the painkiller lidocaine. Baffert won his appeal to the commission in the month leading up to this year's Kentucky Derby, blaming the positive tests on a pain patch worn by his assistant, who saddled the horses.

Betamethasone was was also found in the system of Gamine, another horse trained by Baffert, after the filly finished third in the Kentucky Oaks last September.

Baffert Denies Administering Drug After Medina Spirit’s Positive Test

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert announced Sunday that Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit has tested positive for the steroid cream betamethasone.

www.si.com

 

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Baffert banned from entering horses at Belmont

Trainer Bob Baffert has been temporarily suspended from entering horses at Belmont Park, the New York Racing Association announced. The decision means controversial Derby champ Medina Spirit will not run in the Belmont Stakes.

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Trainer Bob Baffert banned from entering Medina Spirit, other horses at Belmont Park

Bob Baffert was suspended Monday from entering horses at New York racetracks, pending an investigation into Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit's failed postrace drug test.

Baffert temporarily will not be allowed to stable any horses at Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course or run any of his horses at the New York Racing Association's tracks. That ban includes races at Belmont Park, with the Belmont Stakes coming up June 5.
"In order to maintain a successful thoroughbred racing industry in New York, NYRA must protect the integrity of the sport for our fans, the betting public and racing participants," NYRA president and CEO Dave O'Rourke said. "That responsibility demands the action taken today in the best interests of thoroughbred racing."

Baffert had not committed to entering any horses in the third leg of the Triple Crown but had many in consideration for other races on Belmont Stakes day.

NYRA officials say they took into account Baffert's previous penalties in Kentucky, California and Arkansas, along with the current situation with Medina Spirit, and expect to make a final determination about the length and terms of the suspension based on information revealed by Kentucky's ongoing investigation.

Baffert's attorney, Craig Robertson, said in an email to The Associated Press that he is reviewing NYRA's decision and will discuss the situation and legal options with his client before their camp makes any formal statement.


Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for the steroid betamethasone in postrace testing and faces disqualification unless a second test comes back negative. Baffert on May 9 said 21 picograms of the corticosteroid, which can be used to help a horse's joints, showed up in the blood sample.

Baffert a day later said an ointment used to treat Medina Spirit for a skin condition daily up until the Derby included the substance. Even a trace amount of betamethasone in a horse's system is not allowed on race day in Kentucky, Maryland and New York.

Maryland officials required Medina Spirit and Baffert-trained Preakness runner Concert Tour and Black-Eyed Susan entrant Beautiful Gift to undergo three rounds of prerace testing before they'd be allowed to run last weekend at Pimlico. All three passed and were cleared to race.
Medina Spirit finished third and Concert Tour ninth in the Preakness on Saturday. Beautiful Gift was seventh in the Black-Eyed Susan on Friday.
Baffert has had five violations involving impermissible levels of medication in his horses over the past 13 months. He was fined in Kentucky and Arkansas and avoided a suspension in Arkansas following appeal.

Activist Marty Irby of the Animal Wellness Action applauded NYRA's decision, saying the organization is "elated to see the State of New York continues to make the welfare of the horse, and eradicating cheaters from the industry, a top priority.''

 

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Churchill Downs bans Bob Baffert after 2nd positive drug test for Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit

Churchill Downs Racetrack suspended horse trainer Bob Baffert for two years after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a second drug test.

www.cnbc.com

Churchill Downs bans Bob Baffert after 2nd positive drug test for Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit
PUBLISHED WED, JUN 2 20214:15 PM EDTUPDATED WED, JUN 2 20215:45 PM EDT

Dan Mangan@_DANMANGAN

• Churchill Downs Racetrack suspended horse trainer Bob Baffert for two years after attorneys said Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit had failed a second drug test for a banned steroid.
• The suspension means that no horse trained by Baffert or by Bob Baffert Racing Stables can race at any track owned by Churchill Downs Inc. through the conclusion of the 2023 Spring Meet at Churchill Downs.
• That meet includes the Kentucky Derby, the first jewel in thoroughbred horse racing’s Triple Crown.

The company that operates Churchill Downs Racetrack on Wednesday suspended horse trainer Bob Baffert for two years, just hours after attorneys revealed that his Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit had failed a second drug test for the banned steroid betamethasone.
The suspension means that no horse trained by him or by Bob Baffert Racing Stables can race at any track owned by Churchill Downs Inc. through the conclusion of the 2023 Spring Meet at Churchill Downs.

That meet includes the Kentucky Derby, the first jewel in thoroughbred horse racing’s Triple Crown.
Kentucky Horse Racing Commission officials have yet to rule on whether to overturn Medina Spirit’s victory in the Derby because of the two failed tests.
Baffert was temporarily suspended in mid-May by New York racing officials, effectively blocking Medina Spirit or other Baffert horses from racing Saturday on Long Island in the Belmont Stakes, the last leg of the Triple Crown.
Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs, cited Baffert’s prior history of failed drug tests by horses in announcing the two-year ban on the trainer, whose seven Derby wins are the most of any trainer.
Baffert has had five horses fail drug tests this year alone.

Carstanjen also took a shot a Baffert for floating the idea that Medina Spirit only had betamethasone in its system because of an antifungal ointment that was applied to the horse.

“CDI has consistently advocated for strict medication regulations so that we can confidently ensure that horses are fit to race and the races are conducted fairly,” Carstanjen said in a statement.

“Reckless practices and substance violations that jeopardize the safety of our equine and human athletes or compromise the integrity of our sport are not acceptable and as a company we must take measures to demonstrate that they will not be tolerated,” Carstanjen said.

Bob Baffert, trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, stands near the track at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, April 28, 2021.
Bryan Woolston | Reuters

“Mr. Baffert’s record of testing failures threatens public confidence in thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby,” the CEO said.
“Given these repeated failures over the last year, including the increasingly extraordinary explanations, we firmly believe that asserting our rights to impose these measures is our duty and responsibility.”

Churchill Downs Inc. said it reserved the right to extend Baffert’s suspension “if there are additional violations in any racing jurisdiction.”
Baffert on May 9 revealed that Medina Spirit had tested positive for betamethasone, a steroid used for therapeutic purposes in horses, in a sample taken the day of its Derby win a week earlier. Baffert said 21 picograms of the drug were found in the sample.

The drug, typically used to treat pain and swelling in a horse’s joints, is legal for use in Kentucky.

But any trace of it on race day in the state is grounds for disqualification if a second test confirms it was in the blood on that day.

On Wednesday, lawyers for Medina Spirit’s owner, Amr Zedan, and Baffert announced that the second test of a blood sample had also found betamethasone.

Clark Brewster, the attorney for the Zedan, told CNBC that officials are allowing the Medina Spirit team to have another lab analyze a third sample from the horse.

That test, Brewster said, could determine whether there are chemicals that would support Baffert’s claim that the betamethasone may have come from a topical ointment known as Otomax, and not from an injection.

Brewster noted that picogram is just a trillionth of a gram.

“Hopefully they will make a reasonable judgment,” Brewster said, referring to the review of the drug test results by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

“I think there will be unanimity on the subject that this is an infinitesimal amount that could not have affected the race,” the lawyer said.
Marty Irby, executive director of the advocacy group Animal Wellness Action, in a statement, said that Baffert’s suspension by Churchill Down was a “swift and meaningful action ... but the penalty falls short of seeing justice and that track as well as others around the nation should consider a greater penalty for the trainer.”

“He’s sneered at weak penalties for doping violations again and again,” Irby said. “Baffert will only get the message with a long-term suspension from the sport.

“On the upside, it is comforting to know that Baffert will not be allowed to compete at the Kentucky Derby until after the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act - that bans race day doping in the sport - has been implemented and taken full effect.”

Maryland racing officials in May allowed Medina Spirit and another Baffert-trained horse, Concert Tour, to enter the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore after getting what they called “a binding commitment” from Baffert for “full transparency of medical and testing results that will allow for all results to be released to the public.”

Medina Spirit finished third in the Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown, trailing behind the winner, Rombauer, and Midnight Bourbon. Concert Tour finished ninth.

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC and NBC Sports, which broadcast the Triple Crown races.

 

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Bob Baffert Denied Stay of Suspension by Kentucky Horse Racing Commission

Stewards suspended Baffert for 90 days, effective March 8 through June 5.

www.si.com

Bob Baffert Denied Stay of Suspension by Kentucky Horse Racing Commission

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s racing director has denied trainer Bob Baffert’s request to stay his suspension by stewards in their ruling that also disqualified Medina Spirit as Kentucky Derby winner.
Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards on Monday suspended Baffert for 90 days, effective March 8 through June 5, and fined the Hall of Fame trainer $7,500. They also stripped the now-deceased Medina Spirit of the victory for testing positive for the steroid betamethasone following the Derby last May 1.\

Churchill Downs subsequently elevated runner-up Mandaloun to Derby winner after the stewards’ ruling. The historic track previously suspended Baffert for two years, citing a series of positive tests by his horses.
Marc A. Guilfoil, director of the KHRC, on Friday sent a letter to Baffert’s attorneys saying he did “not find good cause” to stay the rulings. Guilfoil added that the attorneys could petition for a review of his decision.
Attorney Clark Brewster countered in a statement that the commission “has always granted” stays to ensure a trainer does not suffer from a wrongful decision that is later reversed on appeal.


“The Commission has apparently decided that Bob Baffert should be treated differently than everyone who came before him,” said Brewster, who added he expects the move to be reversed in court. “This should be seen for what it is: a deliberate, capricious, and malicious effort to deny Bob Baffert his right to appeal the stewards’ ruling under Kentucky law, and to ensure that Bob must suffer even if he ultimately prevails on appeal.”
Baffert is considered the face of horse racing after he guided horses to the Triple Crown in 2015 and 2018. Medina Spirit finished half a length ahead of Mandaloun in the Derby, giving Baffert what was then his seventh title in the race.

Medina Spirit collapsed and died on Dec. 6 of a heart attack following a training run at Santa Anita. His ashes will be interred at a retirement farm for thoroughbred horses in Kentucky, it was announced Friday.

Old Friends said the colt’s ashes will be interred in a memorial garden alongside 1999 Kentucky Derby winner Charismatic and 2002 Derby winner War Emblem.