Staff report
The Kentucky Horse Racing commission announced Monday that Medina Spirit has been disqualified from the 2021 Kentucky Derby and that the official winner of the Derby is now Mandaloun, the horse who placed second.
Medina Spirit’s trainer, Bob Baffert, has been suspended for 90 days and was issued a $7,500 fine. The suspension means he is “denied the privileges of all facilities under the jurisdiction of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Entry of all horses owned or trained by Mr. Baffert is denied pending transfer to persons acceptable to the stewards.”
Medina Spirit died in December at Santa Anita Park in California following a workout. Cause of death could not be determined in a necropsy. The horse’s Derby fate has been held in abeyance since he failed a drug test after the race. He was found to have the steriod betamethasone, double the legal threshold, in a postrace sample which Baffert claimed came from the ointment used to treat a skin condition that was administered at a veterinarian’s direction. It is legal in Kentucky, but is prohibited on race day.
Mandaloun was trained by Brad Cox, who is now the first person from Louisville to ever train a Derby-winning horse. Florent Geroux was the jockey.
All purse money — $1.86 million — which went to the owner, trainer and others must be forfeited and returned to the association. It will be redistributed based on the new official order of finish. (See letter below)
The decision does not affect pari-mutuel payoffs, as bets stand as they were honored on race day.
Baffert’s attorney said the decision will be appealed.
In a statement, Clark Brewster, said: “We are disappointed by the Commission’s ruling, but not surprised. This ruling represents an egregious departure from both the facts and the law, but the numerous public statements by KHRC officials over the last several months have made perfectly clear that Bob Baffert’s fate was decided before we ever sat down for a hearing before the three stewards, one of whom is directly employed by Churchill Downs as the racing director at Turfway Park. We will appeal, and we will prevail when the facts and rules are presented to detached, neutral decisionmakers.”
Baffert was already suspended by Churchill Downs and was barred from entering horses in the 2022 and 2023 Kentucky Derbies. He also was banned by the New York Racing Association from entering horses at its Belmont, Saratoga and Aqueduct tracks.
The Racing Commission’s letter/order of finish:
Baffert attorney’s full response:
