By GARY B. GRAVES
Medina Spirit was stripped of the victory in final yr’s Kentucky Derby and Mandaloun was declared the winner after a ruling by state racing stewards on Monday.
The since-deceased Medina Spirit examined constructive after the race final Could for a steroid, betamethasone, that's authorized in Kentucky however banned on race day.
Medina Spirit completed half a size forward of Mandaloun within the race, giving coach Bob Baffert what was then his seventh Kentucky Derby title. Baffert was subsequently banned for 2 years by Churchill Downs following the constructive check.
Monday’s choice by the Kentucky Horse Racing Fee makes Medina Sprit the second horse within the 146-year historical past of the race to be disqualified for a banned substance; the primary was Dancer’s Picture in 1968, a choice that gave Ahead Go the victory. The one different disqualification was in 2019 when Most Safety was penalized due to interference.
Following the announcement by the racing stewards, Churchill Downs issued a press release declaring Mandaloun the Kentucky Derby winner and congratulating proprietor and breeder Juddmonte Farms, coach Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux. Cox turns into the primary Louisville native to win probably the most well-known race within the sport, and Mandaloun’s house owners will obtain the $1.8 million winner’s purse.
“We stay up for celebrating Mandaloun on a future date in a manner that's becoming of this uncommon distinction,” the assertion stated.
The racing fee additionally suspended Baffert for 90 days and fined him $7,500 on Monday. The choice adopted a Feb. 14 listening to that was closed to the general public and media.
Medina Spirit collapsed and died on Dec. 6 of a coronary heart assault following a coaching run at Santa Anita lower than a month after ending second within the Breeders’ Cup Basic at Del Mar.
Baffert, a Corridor of Fame coach, initially denied wrongdoing after a postrace drug check revealed 21 picograms of betamethasone within the horse’s system. Baffert later acknowledged treating the horse with a topical ointment containing the corticosteroid for a pores and skin irritation.
Churchill Downs subsequently suspended Baffert, citing a current spate of failed drug exams by his horses. Baffert sued the racing fee final June, in search of custody of remnant samples of Medina Spirit’s blood and urine for subsequent testing to show that the steroid didn't come from an injection.
Craig Robertson, an legal professional for Baffert, stated in December that a urine check from a cut up pattern confirmed the steroid got here from an ointment.
Baffert has the choice to enchantment the stewards’ ruling. His attorneys didn't instantly reply to requests for remark.