BREAKING: Statement on Medina Spirit's Second Positive Test

A lawyer for trainer Bob Baffert said Wednesday a split sample of Medina Spirit’s drug test following the Kentucky Derby confirmed the presence of betamethasone, further jeopardizing the horse’s status as the winner of the Run for the Roses.

According to the New York Times, Brewster said “the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has agreed to send the original blood and urine tests to an independent and accredited laboratory for analysis to determine whether the specimens contain other components proving the source to be the topical ointment.

Only two Kentucky Derby winners have been disqualified in the race’s 147-year history. In 2019, Maximum Security crossed the finish line first but was disqualified after stewards ruled he interfered with other horses on the second turn. In 1968, Dancer’s Image was disqualified after a post-race drug test found the illegal drug phenylbutazone. (Article written by Jason Frakes, Louisville Courier Journal)

Statement by Marty Irby, executive director at Animal Wellness Action:

“The news of Medina Spirit’s second test confirmed positive is no shock. Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Derby, and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission must stand firmly together in agreement to take the 2021 Derby title away from Bob Baffert and the horse.

“And we call on Churchill Downs to show no mercy and permanently ban Bob Baffert and his horses from the Kentucky Derby and all of Churchill Downs’ tracks. It’s time to end the cheating and medication abuse in the fastest two minutes in sports and an example must be made.”

Animal Wellness Action worked diligently in leading the charge in the animal protection space on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act that was signed into law in December and banned doping in the sport. I testified before Congress on the issue of doping in horse racing last January, and we remain committed to seeing the new law through to implementation and proper enforcement as it takes effect mid-2022.

Marty Irby’s written works on the subject have this week appeared in NBC News, the Baltimore Post-Examiner, and the Lexington Herald-Leader, as well as The Hill, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Penn. Capital Star, the Washington Examiner, the Thoroughbred Daily News, and Albany Times Union, and numerous other outlets across the U.S. We were also included in CNBC here, the AP story here and the AP story here as well as the Baltimore Sun, Fox News, the Washington Post, and numerous other past AP stories on the topic here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Courtesy: Animal Wellness Action