Judge Grants Further Testing of Medina Spirit Sample

In a decision Thomas Wingate likely never imagined in law school, the Franklin (Ky.) Circuit Court Judge outlined plans June 16 for several adults to travel with a urine sample collected from a Kentucky Derby (G1) winner on a flight to a New York lab.

Those odd details were outlined in a June 16 decision by the judge granting the requests of owner, Amr Zedan's Zedan Racing Stables, and trainer Bob Baffert the due process rights to conduct further testing on a split urine sample collected after their horse, Medina Spirit , reached the wire first in this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve at Churchill Downs.

That Derby win is potentially in jeopardy after Medina Spirit failed a post-race drug test, showing a positive for betamethasone. Wednesday's ruling is just the latest twist in a case that already has landed in court even though there's yet to be a stewards' hearing. 

The court is concerned with a request by the plaintiffs, the owner, and trainer, to conduct further split sample testing in an effort they believe will back up their belief that Medina Spirit's positive is linked to administration of an ointment as opposed to an injection of the corticosteroid betamethasone. The plaintiffs believe lab evidence backing this up would prove to be exculpatory or mitigating when Kentucky stewards conduct a hearing on the case.

Judge Wingate had asked Zedan Racing Stables and Baffert Friday to work with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to settle the dispute on how further testing should be conducted on the split urine sample. The two sides sparred on details like how much of the urine should be available for testing.

KING: Judge Urges Resolution Over Medina Spirit Urine Sample

Based on court records, Judge Wingate issued a temporary injunction Wednesday that also outlined the flight plans to be funded by the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs had raised chain of custody concerns over a damaged primary urine sample.

Judge Wingate also delivered an order Wednesday calling for the KHRC to retain five milliliters while the remainder is used for further testing. He called for at least two commission representatives to travel to the lab, previously reported by BloodHorse to be the New York Drug Testing and Research Program in Ithaca, N.Y., on a flight with the sample funded by the plaintiffs.

Upon arrival the sample is to be divided, with five milliliters going to the KHRC and the remainder being used for testing.

The plaintiffs had requested testing for clotrimazole, gentamicin, and betamethasone valerate. They also had requested giving the lab "free rein to run all testing that is necessary to determine the source of the betamethasone in Medina Spirit." In his order, the judge granted testing for clotrimazole, gentamicin, and betamethasone valerate.

The plaintiffs have called for testing for these substances as they are the ingredients of Otomax, the ointment they have said is the likely cause of the failed drug test.

While the temporary injunction included a June 21 deadline for shipping of the sample, the final order did not include a date.