My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
As the Triple Crown season heats up, one notable trainer has been sidelined. Churchill Downs banned trainer Bob Baffert for two years following the positive drug test that ultimately disqualified Medina Spirit. While the Hall of Fame trainer has a barn full of talented three year olds, but even as they win races, they are […]
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Two hundred and ninety one days after Medina Spirit crossed the finish line first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards have overturned his win and disqualified the colt for testing positive for betamethasone after the race. In addition, trainer Bob Baffert was fined $7,500. His lawyers are now appealing this […]
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Medina Spirit collapsed and died after a workout today at Santa Anita, presumably from a cardiac event. The three-year old colt finished first in this year’s Kentucky Derby, but failed a post-Derby drug test, testing positive for betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory steroid used to treat joint pain in horses. “Near the end of his breeze this […]
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The “B” sample of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit has tested positive for betamethasone, at a prohibited level, putting his Derby win in contention. Trainer Bob Baffert chose a laboratory at the University of California, Davis, from a list of approved labs, to perform the second test. In response to the findings, Churchill Downs immediately […]
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Could we have another Kentucky Derby DQ? Medina Spirit has failed a post-Derby drug test, testing positive for betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory steroid used to treat joint pain in horses. Betamethasone is not an illegal drug, but Kentucky restricts its use to more than 14 days before a race. The test showed that Medina Spirit revealed […]
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With all attention focused on Essential Quality, Medina Spirit (12-1) put in a perfect trip, led almost the entire way, and fought off a home stretch challenge by Mandaloun and Hot Rod Charlie. Essential Quality made a bid on the stretch but finished fourth. In fact the run down the stretch was quite exciting, with […]
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Bob Baffert’s famous pony horse, Smokey, was auctioned off on December 5th, with the proceeds going to Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Home. The 11-year old buckskin gelding sold for $80,000 at an auction by Twombly Performance Horses, a renowned ranch horse operation in the Quarter Horse world that specializes in roping and reining horses. Smokey, […]
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News that Justify failed a drug test after the Santa Anita Handicap — a disqualification which could have left him ineligible to run in the Kentucky Derby had he not placed in another qualifying race — broke on Thursday in the New York Times. The colt tested positive for scopolamine, a banned substance that some […]
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