Medina Spirit Disqualified From 2021 Kentucky Derby Win

While the more than nine-month delay between Medina Spirit  failing a post-race drug test after the 2021 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) and Kentucky stewards conducting a hearing was unusual, those racing officials entered a rather standard decision Feb. 21.

Kentucky stewards on Monday disqualified Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirit from the victory in the May 1, 2021, Derby at Churchill Downs after a post-race test (and split sample) indicated the presence of the corticosteroid betamethasone, prohibited at any level on race day in the state. Medina Spirit's Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert was suspended for 90 days and fined $7,500. The suspension, pending an appeal, will span March 8 through June 5.

In Kentucky, betamethasone is a penalty Class C substance, a level considered to have "a lesser potential to influence performance" compared with the performance-enhancing effects of drugs in Class A or B. The penalties assigned by the stewards are in line with Kentucky's recommended sanctions for such a finding.

Those recommendations call for the horse owner to be penalized through a disqualification of the horse and loss of purse money. As for the sanctions of Baffert, they are in line with a Class C finding but appear to have included the trainer's four failed drug tests in the 12 months leading up to the Derby as mitigating circumstances. Penalties recommended for Class C for three or more offenses call for a suspension of 30-60 days and a $2,500-$5,000 fine absent mitigating circumstances.

KHRC executive director Marc Guilfoil on Monday declined further comment on the decision.

Baffert attorney Craig Robertson said an "immediate appeal" will be filed.

"I am very disappointed in the ruling," Robertson said. "It runs contrary to the scientifically proven facts in this case and the rules of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission."

The first stop in an appeal would be at the regulatory level—to the full Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Typically under such an appeal, the KHRC will bring in a hearing officer who will consider evidence and testimony before making a recommendation to the KHRC. The commission typically follows that recommendation, although it's not required.

Parties, of course, have the right to appeal regulatory decisions in court. Legal appeals of KHRC decisions typically begin in Franklin (Ky.) Circuit Court.

With the stewards' decision in place, Medina Spirit is placed last in the field of 19 and Juddmonte Farms' homebred Mandaloun  is declared the winner. All other runners are moved up one spot. The changes give Juddmonte, trainer Brad Cox, and jockey Florent Geroux their first Kentucky Derby win. Rounding out the top four 2021 Derby finishers are Hot Rod Charlie  in second; Essential Quality  , third; and O Besos , fourth.

"Today Churchill Downs recognizes Mandaloun as the winner of the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby and extends our congratulations to owner/breeder Juddmonte, trainer Brad Cox, and jockey Florent Geroux," said a statement from Churchill Downs. "Winning the Kentucky Derby is one of the most exciting achievements in sports and we look forward to celebrating Mandaloun on a future date in a way that is fitting of this rare distinction."

In moving from second- to first-place money, Mandaloun adds $1.26 million in additional purse earnings, taking the son of Into Mischief   past $3 million in career earnings. Into Mischief finished as North America's leading sire in 2021 and the added earnings takes his total for last year past $25.6 million.

Garrett O'Rourke, general manager of Juddmonte USA, had no comment on the ruling, noting the impending appeal of the decision.

"We are not commenting as we all know the appeal process will now begin, so we will stay patient," O'Rourke said.

The disqualification removes a Derby win from Baffert, who initially secured a record seventh victory in the race when Medina Spirit completed a front-running victory under John Velazquez, also a Hall of Famer who entered the 2021 race with three previous Derby scores including in 2020 aboard the Baffert-trained Authentic  .

It is the second time in history a horse has been disqualified from victory in the Kentucky Derby for a failed post-race drug test. In 1968 Dancer's Image was disqualified after testing positive for phenylbutazone, or "bute." That decision ultimately would hold up after years of litigation, making Forward Pass the winner.

In 2019 Maximum Security   reached the wire first in the Derby but was placed 17th for interference on the final turn, elevating Country House   to first.

Baffert's attorneys have argued in court that Medina Spirit's test results indicating betamethasone were linked to the colt receiving treatment with the anti-fungal ointment Otomax for a skin issue on his hindquarters. They have since said that testing at a New York laboratory backs up their theory that the failed post-race test was caused by the ointment, rather than an injection. 

In a Dec. 3 release about the testing by Dr. George Maylin at the New York Equine Drug Testing and Research Laboratory, Baffert's attorney Robertson not only said that the results point to the ointment as being the source, but added that Kentucky rules do not apply to the type of betamethasone from the ointment. The stewards' decision Monday made no differentiation. 

The KHRC has said very little in the months since the failed post-race Derby test—even the positive findings were announced by Baffert after he was given notice of the initial finding. But in court KHRC officials have not agreed with the argument by attorneys for Baffert and owner Amr Zedan that Kentucky regulations only apply to "betamethasone acetate," which they argue is from injections and is not found in the sample; and don't apply to "betamethasone valerate," which they contend is found in the ointment Otomax and is the only form found in the test.

In June during a court hearing in Kentucky before the urine sample was sent to the New York lab, Jennifer Wolsing, general counsel for the KHRC, said the betamethasone prohibition is "not differentiated" between creams and injections in the regulator's list of prohibited substances. 

The argument about potential forms of betamethasone figures to be a major point of contention under any appeal.

"The outcome should have been clear," said Baffert's attorney Clark Brewster. "Betamethasone valerate is a permitted substance that can be administered to a horse. It was not injected. And it was administered at the direction of a veterinarian, who contemporaneously reported that treatment to a national database accessible to the KHRC prior to the Kentucky Derby. There was no rule violation.

"The unrefuted and undisputed facts established at the hearing were: (1) Medina Spirit was treated with an ointment, not an injection; (2) the trace amount of betamethasone detected could not have affected the horse in any way; and (3) the trace amount of betamethasone detected could not possibly have affected the outcome of the race.

"In other words, Medina Spirit would have won with or without the ointment because it was irrelevant in every way. The stewards' decision to rob Medina Spirit of a victory he earned was not in accordance with the law but instead represents biased, purposeful, and wrongful action."

Clark Brewster's Full Statement on the Disqualification of Medina Spirit

Betamethasone is typically administered as a joint injection and is permitted for therapeutic use, but Kentucky standards call for a withdrawal time of 14 days before a race. Some nine months before the 2021 Derby, Baffert-trained Gamine  was disqualified from her third-place finish in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) after she tested positive for betamethasone after that Sept. 4 race at Churchill. Baffert, who claimed a veterinarian injected Gamine 18 days before the Oaks and the drug lingered in her system, was fined $1,500.

Medina Spirit's post-Derby test marked the fifth time a Baffert-trained horse tested positive for prohibited medications in exactly a year's time. Baffert was penalized following the four previous failed post-race drug tests, a stretch that started May 2, 2020, but they did not include suspension days, only fines.

"I don't know if Mr. Zedan will appeal," said Gary Young, racing manager for Zedan, who owned Medina Spirit and campaigned him under Zedan Racing Stables. "Obviously, Churchill Downs cares more about this one race than it cared about Calder, Arlington Park, or Hollywood Park. If Gamine had not tested positive in the Oaks, this probably would not have been addressed. The horse was not injected and no one argues that fact."

Medina Spirit died after a Dec. 6 workout at Santa Anita Park. That sudden death, believed to be a heart attack, is being investigated by California regulatory officials. The son of Protonico   closed out his 2021 season with a runner-up finish to Knicks Go   in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).

When Baffert announced May 9 that Medina Spirit had failed his post-race test, he initially denied the colt ever received betamethasone. It was two days later, May 11, that Robertson issued a a statement attributing the finding to Otomax. Packages of Otomax list betamethasone valerate among its ingredients, raising questions of why it was chosen for use.

In court, attorneys representing both Baffert and Zedan Racing Stables have argued that veterinary records indicate the colt was regularly treated with the ointment. This year's initial and follow-up split sample test from Medina Spirit indicated the presence of betamethasone, prohibited at any level on race day. The two separate tests measured at 21 picograms and 25 picograms per milliliter of blood or plasma.

The drug company Merck markets Otomax to treat ear infections in dogs, but Baffert, via Robertson, said in a statement that the ointment was used to treat a rash on Medina Spirit's hindquarters leading up to the Kentucky Derby.

According to Dr. Dionne Benson, chief veterinary officer for 1/ST Racing, the Otomax treatments were reported in California. Monday's decision by the Kentucky stewards did not indicate if the treatment was reported in Kentucky ahead of the Derby and Guilfoil referred that question to a KHRC public relations person.

Since the Derby test results were announced, Baffert has been banned from running horses at Churchill Downs Inc. tracks and those operated by the New York Racing Association. His runners are not able to earn points in the Road to the Kentucky Derby series that shapes the Derby field. Those actions were taken by the individual track operators, not the KHRC, which regulates the sport in Kentucky.

Track decisions do not carry reciprocity with other tracks managed by different operators, but regulatory decisions are honored by other racing jurisdictions. If Baffert's suspension is not overturned on appeal, Kentucky's suspension would be honored by other regulators under reciprocity.

Beyond that, other track operators could choose to take action as track operators. Santa Anita Park, operated by 1/ST Racing and Baffert's principal base, did not take any action against him when CDI and NYRA did so. The California track issued a statement June 2 that it would "await action by the KHRC and will make a decision once their regulatory process is complete."

On Monday, Benson noted that any action by Santa Anita or 1/ST Racing would follow the appeals process.

Baffert appealed the NYRA decision and initially secured a legal victory that allowed him to run in last year's Saratoga Race Course meet. NYRA updated its approach to the suspension and moved forward. The case is in the hands of a hearing officer after closing arguments before him wrapped Jan. 28.

In a statement about the process, NYRA said, "The hearing report shall contain findings of fact, conclusions, and a recommended disposition. If the hearing officer finds that revocation or suspension of the respondent's right to access, or engage in any activity, at a NYRA racetrack is warranted, the hearing report shall state the length of time that the revocation or suspension shall be in effect."

There have been reports that Baffert also plans a legal challenge to CDI's suspension but as of Monday that had not occurred.

Before Medina's Spirit disqualification, Baffert stood alone as the winningest Kentucky Derby trainer in history with seven victories. He now falls back into a tie for all-time Derby wins with "Plain" Ben Jones, who won six renewals between 1938 and 1952.

Under the current conditions of Churchill's ban, the trainer cannot run horses in the Derby until 2024. Baffert has won the Preakness Stakes (G1) seven times and the Belmont Stakes (G1) three times, including with Triple Crown winners Justify   (2018) and American Pharoah   (2015).

Eric Mitchell and Bob Ehalt contributed to this story.