After a positive drug test, Medina Spirit was stripped of his 2021 Kentucky Derby title. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission made this announcement Monday. Mandaloun is the official winner.
This news comes two months after Medina Spirit died during a Santa Anita workout. Bob Baffert, his trainer, said that the colt had suffered a heart attack December 6, but a necropsy released in this month did not reveal any definitive cause.
Baffert was also given a $7,500 fine and suspended for 90 days after Monday’s decision on the winner.
This suspension means that he has been “denied all privileges at all facilities under the jurisdictions of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.” In the meantime, Mr. Baffert cannot enter any horses he owns or trains.
This marks the second consecutive year that the Kentucky Derby winner is not the horse who crosses the finish line first. Maximum Security was disqualified in 2019 for obstructing two horses’ paths before they crossed the finish line.
Baffert can appeal the decision.
Medina Spirit’s victory in the Kentucky Derby last May was under question after he tested positive to betamethasone. This legal medication is not permitted on Kentucky race day.
Baffert was therefore suspended at Churchill Downs, and prohibited from entering horses in the 2022 or 2023 Kentucky Derbys. The New York Racing Association also banned him from entering horses at Belmont, Saratoga, and Aqueduct tracks.
