Follow-Up Testing Set to Begin on Medina Spirit Sample

Long-delayed follow-up testing of Medina Spirit 's urine after his first-place finish in the May 1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs will begin next week, according to the laboratory director.

Dr. George Maylin, director of the New York Equine Drug Testing and Research Laboratory, wrote in an email to BloodHorse Nov. 18 that he received the metabolite needed for testing. He previously indicated testing would take approximately two weeks.

Since the summer, Maylin has awaited metabolite synthesis information from Frontier BioPharm to run specific tests on Medina Spirit's urine. Frontier BioPharm specializes in producing drug metabolite reference standards used in the medical, research, and sports industries.

Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirit is at risk of disqualification from the Derby after an initial and split test result indicated the prohibited race-day presence of betamethasone, a corticosteroid. In addition to potential disqualification, the colt's trainer, Bob Baffert, could be fined and/or suspended by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

After initially saying when the first test result from the Derby was revealed that Medina Spirit was not treated with betamethasone, Baffert said in a May 11 statement that upon evaluation he believed the test finding came from an ointment used to treat a skin condition. That anti-fungal ointment is called Otomax, which contains betamethasone.

Horses typically receive betamethasone via injection, with a suggested withdrawal time of 14 days before racing. 

This July, a sample of the horse's urine was flown to the New York Equine Drug Testing and Research Laboratory, with attorneys associated with Medina Spirit hopeful of confirming the presence of the specific ingredients in Otomax. Such findings could prove to be exculpatory or mitigating when Kentucky stewards ultimately conduct a hearing.

Juddmonte's Mandaloun , the Derby runner-up, would become the Derby winner if a disqualification occurs, pending the outcome of court challenges. The winner's share of the Derby purse is $1.86 million. Other horses in the Derby would also move up a placing if Medina Spirit is disqualified and placed last.

Last year another Baffert trainee, Michael Lund Petersen's Gamine , was disqualified by the KHRC from her third-place finish in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) after test results showed the presence of betamethasone. The KHRC also fined the trainer $1,500.

That positive test differed from Medina Spirit's in that Baffert's attorney, Craig Robertson, said Gamine was injected with betamethasone 18 days before racing. 

This June, acting as a private property owner, Churchill Downs Inc. suspended Baffert from running at its racetracks through the middle of 2023. In announcing its ban, CDI cited Baffert's recent medication record. Five of his horses failed drug tests from May 2, 2020-May 1, 2021.

Then in September, CDI announced that horses with trainers suspended from the 2022 Derby would be ineligible to earn qualifying points on its Road to the Kentucky Derby series.

The Hall of Fame trainer and the New York Racing Association have also been in conflict, with NYRA scheduling a disciplinary hearing with Baffert. This upcoming hearing followed their initial suspension of him being overturned by a judge, who ruled NYRA had not afforded him due process.

Unlike actions from individual racetracks, a suspension issued by the KHRC would be honored by other regulators under reciprocity. Baffert races predominantly in California, running horses out of state primarily to pursue stakes races.