Derby winner Medina Spirit tests positive for regulated drug, owner Bob Baffert says he’ll fight it
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Medina Spirit, the Bob Baffert-trained horse that won the 2021 Kentucky Derby, has tested positive for a regulated drug, betamethasone, and his Derby win could be in jeopardy.
Baffert revealed the positive test at an impromptu news conference at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning, calling it “the biggest gut punch in racing.”
Betamethasone is a Class C anti-inflammatory, and while it’s not banned, it’s regulated: a horse must be off the drug within 14 days of racing. Medina Spirit tested for more than twice the allowed amount.
Baffert claims innocence, vows to fight
Baffert continually claimed during the news conference that no one on his team gave Medina Spirit the drug. He said that he’ll be fighting the test and will be sending Medina Spirit to the Preakness, which is being run in less than a week.
However, Baffert heavily implied that he believes he’s being set up or targeted — by who or what he wouldn’t say. Medina Spirit is the only horse that ran the Derby to test positive, which he implied was suspicious. Baffert also said that he “doesn’t feel safe to train” knowing something like this could happen.
The next step in the process is for Medina Spirit’s sample to be sent to an independent lab for more extensive testing.
Not the first positive betamethasone test for Baffert
This is the second time in seven months that a Baffert horse has tested positive for betamethasone. Gamine tested positive for the same substance in Oct. 2020. Baffert offered an explanation for that and didn’t deny that Gamine had been administered the drug.
Baffert also mentioned Justify, the horse he trained that won the Triple Crown in 2018. Justify tested positive for a regulated substance before he ran the Kentucky Derby, though it wasn’t announced until later. The positive test was blamed on contaminated feed and dismissed, and it didn’t affect Justify’s eligibility.
Baffert used that positive test to again cast himself as the victim of some larger conspiracy, saying “It just seems odd, why am I the only trainer with these positives?”
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