Medina Spirit stripped of 2021 Kentucky Derby victory

Medina Spirit, the horse who won the 2021 Kentucky Derby before dying in December, has had that title stripped by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC), which is also fining and suspending his trainer Bob Baffert, CBS affiliate WLKY reported on Monday.

Medina Spirit, which had failed a drug test, becomes the second horse in the race’s history to cross the finish line first and not be named the winner, according to the CBS affiliate. The 2021 title now passes to second-place finisher Mandaloun.

“During his [90-day] suspension, Mr. Baffert 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,” the commission said, adding that Baffert faces a $7,500 fine.

The KHRC also said in its ruling that the prize money Medina Spirit won from the race must be forfeited and returned to the organization; that prize money will be redistributed to the latest order of the final standings.

Medina Spirit was found to have 21 picograms, double the legal threshold, of the steroid betamethasone in his system days after the initial race, WLKY reported.

Betamethasone is legal to use in Kentucky but is prohibited during race day. 

Baffert had argued that the steroid was in an ointment used to treat a skin condition, not given as an injection. 

He is serving a suspension period by Churchill Downs and is currently barred from entering horses in the 2022 and 2023 Kentucky Derbies.

“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,” Baffert’s attorney Clark Brewster said in a statement. “We will appeal, and we will prevail when the facts and rules are presented to detached, neutral decisionmakers.”

Medina Spirit died late last year following a training session at Santa Anita Park in California.

—Updated at 5:04 p.m.