Report: Medina Spirit Stewards' Hearing Pushed Back
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Medina Spirit, the morning after finishing first in the Kentucky Derby
February 7 WLKY.com reported that Monday's scheduled hearing before the Kentucky stewards on Medina Spirit's failed drug test after finishing first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) has been pushed back a week.
A hearing had been scheduled for Monday, Feb. 7; a date reported in testimony during a case before a New York hearing officer considering the New York Racing Association's effort to ban Baffert from its tracks.
The stewards' hearing would be the first step toward any regulatory action against the horse's owner, Zedan Racing Stables, or trainer Bob Baffert. Zedan Racing Stable would lose the $1.86 million purse if Medina Spirit is disqualified and Baffert, as the horse's trainer, could face a fine or suspension.
Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone, which in Kentucky is prohibited at any level on race day. Guidelines for such an infraction call for a disqualification of the horse to last and sanctions for the trainer, although attorneys for the owner and Baffert have argued the rules do not apply to the type of betamethasone found in Medina Spirit's post-race sample.
Kentucky regulations do not require any public reporting of when stewards' hearings are scheduled and the meetings are conducted in private. Stewards' decisions are posted to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission website.