Forget Two Minutes, 2021 Derby Unresolved in Two Years

It's the Kentucky Derby victory party that, two years after the final horse crossed under the wire, still hasn't happened. The regulatory and potentially legal limbo from the 2021 Kentucky Derby (G1) remains, and the outcome of the race is shown differently depending on the source.

For any racing fan living in a cave the past two years, Medina Spirit finished first in the May 1, 2021 Derby but a post-race test found betamethasone. That led to a Feb. 21, 2022, stewards' order disqualifying the horse and moving second-place finisher Mandaloun   to first. The disqualification remains under appeal at the regulatory level as the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission awaits a recommendation from a hearing officer.

One day after the order, Churchill Downs released a one-paragraph statement recognizing Mandaloun as the winner. Signs were changed at the track, and Mandaloun's name remains under the clubhouse where each Derby winner's name is on a permanent sign. The 2022 Kentucky Derby glass had a blank for the 2021 winner while this year's mint julep keepsake lists Mandaloun without any asterisk or notation of the appeal.

The 2022 Churchill statement offered congratulations to the first-time Derby winning connections, owner-breeder Juddmonte Farms, trainer Brad Cox, and jockey Florent Geroux, and said, "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."

Typically, that celebration involves the connections receiving their engraved trophies, but that hasn't happened.

"I don't have a trophy, no," said Cox, a Louisville-native who has trained two Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winners. Asked if he had a place ready on the mantle for it, he chuckled and said, "If I get one, I'd put it up, yeah. I'd put it next to the Oaks trophies."

At Equibase, the official record keeper for the industry, Medina Spirit remains listed as the winner. A month ago Equibase issued a statement with its reasoning that charts are not updated to reflect disqualifications until there's a final ruling from a state racing commission.

"In the event of an appeal, rulings are generally not provided by a commission until that process has been completed," the Equibase statement said. "The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has not yet provided a final official ruling to Equibase for the 2021 Kentucky Derby due to the ongoing appeal of the Medina Spirit disqualification. As soon as Equibase receives the final ruling from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, and if it results in a change to the official order or finish, the 2021 Kentucky Derby chart will be updated and all related statistics will be automatically adjusted."

At the Kentucky Derby Museum, which bills itself as where every day is Derby Day, a timeline lists Mandaloun with the Juddmonte silks first and Medina Spirit last with an asterisk noting the disqualification. Since the disqualification didn't change the pari-mutuel outcome, Medina Spirit's win, place, and show payouts are shown.

Also at the museum, a time machine with videos of individual Derbys adds a frame after the race with the words, "In the days following the race, Medina Spirit was shown to have failed a mandatory drug screening. Mandaloun was declared the official winner of the 147th Kentucky Derby on February 21, 2022." The museum is at Churchill Downs but is separate from the track.

Regardless of which source is looked at for the winner, the appeals process continues.

In that process, Medina Spirit trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan contested the stewards' decision to disqualify Medina Spirit's win, suspend the Hall of Fame trainer for 90 days, and impose a $7,500 fine on the trainer. Baffert served the 90-day suspension after he could not obtain a stay in the courts. What's left in the regulatory appeal is Medina Spirit's placing, along with $1.86 million in purse money and the fine levied on Baffert.

The parties are awaiting a hearing officer's recommendation to the racing commission, which then could vote on the matter. The racing commission's final decision then could be appealed in Kentucky's courts system.