Horse racing-Controversial Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit barred from Belmont

The odds of a Bob Baffert-trained horse winning the Triple Crown reportedly took a significant hit this week when the owners of several talented colts missed a key deadline. The owners failed to transfer the horses from Baffert's barn by Monday's deadline, according to the Los Angeles Times, a move required by Churchill Downs for entry into…

Medina Spirit crossed the finish line first, the case of who won the 2021 Kentucky Derby appears to be settled. Trainer Bob Baffert announced Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter, he has instructed his attorneys to dismiss the appeal related to the disqualification of Medina Spirit in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. "Zedan Racing owner, Amr Zedan, and I…

Equestrian has witnessed some of the greatest horse trainers who trained some of the best horses in the sport. One such name that stands out among this list of trainers is Bob Baffert. He has trained two triple crown winners, American Pharaoh (2015) and Justify (2018), and six of the horses trained by him have won the Kentucky Derby. Apart from…

Churchill Downs has extended Bob Baffert's exclusion from racing horses at the track until the end of 2024, blaming the trainer for continuing to "peddle a false narrative" in relation to the failed drug test of 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit. The racecourse, which is home to the US's biggest race, sent out a release stating the decision…

Legendary American horse trainer Bob Baffert has been a significant figure in the world of horse racing for decades. However, after Medina Spirit was disqualified from the 2021 Kentucky Derby, Baffert was banned from the event. This left many curious about his current status in the 2023 Kentucky Derby, his net worth, and his overall history and…

ARCADIA, Calif.- As exiles go, Bob Baffert's has been a comfortable one. Most mornings, the horse trainer who is barred from competing in the Kentucky Derby, can be found beneath the rouge-tipped San Gabriel Mountains, holding court at Clockers' Corner, the open-air bistro at Santa Anita Park. Hands shoved in pockets on a recent morning, he talked…

The horse trainer Bob Baffert should be barred from New York State racetracks for two years for conduct detrimental to thoroughbred racing, according to a recommendation issued Wednesday by a hearing officer. Baffert is serving a 90-day suspension handed down by Kentucky regulators in the wake of a failed postrace drug test by Medina Spirit, who…

Baffert-trained Medina Spirit stripped of 2021 Kentucky Derby victory Medina Spirit, entered in the Breeders' Cup Classic and trained by Bob Baffert, gallops at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California on November 2, 2021. Photo: IC Medina Spirit has been stripped of last year's Kentucky Derby victory and trainer Bob Baffert suspended and…

Medina Spirit was stripped of the victory in last year's Kentucky Derby and Mandaloun was declared the winner after a ruling by state racing stewards on Monday. The since-deceased Medina Spirit tested positive after the race last May for a steroid, betamethasone, that is legal in Kentucky but banned on race day. Medina Spirit finished half a length…

Medina Spirit, the race horse whose victory in the 2021 Kentucky Derby had been called into question by a failed post-race drug test, may have died of a heart attack but a necropsy report was inconclusive, according to California regulators on Friday. Hair, blood and urine samples showed no evidence of doping. The colt died on Dec. 6 after working…

Odds-on favourite Essential Quality is groomed on the Monday before the running of 147th Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. April 26, 2021. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston June 5 (Reuters) - Essential Quality atoned for Kentucky Derby disappointment out-duelling Hot Rod Charlie down the home stretch to win the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, bringing…

The same day Churchill Downs suspended Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert for two years and cited 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit's second positive drug test, the chairperson of a new horse racing anti-doping authority underscored the need for a "uniform system" of rules, drug testing measures, and penalties given to violators, throughout…

Hall of Fame horse trainer Bob Baffert has been suspended from entering any horses in the Belmont Stakes. The New York Racing Association suspended Baffert after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a drug test. Baffert has had multiple horses test positive for steroids and has previously been penalized by racing officials in Kentucky,…

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) on Monday banned Medina Spirit trainer Bob Baffert from entering horses in races or stabling them at Belmont Park, Saratoga Race Course or Aqueduct Racetrack. That means Medina Spirit, which won a now-contested Kentucky Derby and finished third in the Preakness Stakes, will not run in the Belmont Stakes on…

Renowned thoroughbred trainer Bob Baffert has been suspended indefinitely by the New York Racing Association, meaning he won't be able to enter any horses in this year's Belmont Stakes as fallout continues over a positive drug test for Kentucky Derby-winning horse Medina Spirit, who Baffert trained. The suspension stems from Medina Spirit's…

New York horse racing officials on Monday barred the trainer Bob Baffert not only from entering the Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit in the Belmont Stakes, but also from running any of his horses at Belmont Park or at Saratoga Race Course this summer. In a statement, David O'Rourke, chief executive of the New York Racing Association, cited the…

Medina Spirit will be allowed to run in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday (May 15) despite failing a drug test after winning the Kentucky Derby. Preakness officials said that the Medina Spirit will have to undergo additional drug testing and monitoring ahead of the race, which is the second leg of the Triple Crown. As part of the deal, the horse's…

Although Medina Spirit lost the title of Kentucky Derby winner, those who bet on the horse will keep their winnings. UPDATE (2/21/22): The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) Board of Stewards disqualified Medina Spirit from the 2021 Kentucky Derby in a Feb. 21, 2022 ruling. As a result, the victory now goes to Mandaloun. Medina Spirit died two…

Racing fans who bet on last week's Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit will still be able to keep their winnings, even if the horse is ultimately disqualified from the race. But the trainer of the horse could be forced to repay the $1.86 million in winnings he received. The horse racing world was rocked on Sunday night with news that the champion…

The positive drug tests keep piling up for Bob Baffert's top horses. So do the explanations for them. The dog keeps eating the homework-an entire semester's worth by now, with permanent damage to the digestive tract. When it came out that eventual Triple Crown winner Justify tested positive for scopolamine after the 2018 Santa Anita Derby, the…

The 2021 Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, failed a drug test after the race, putting a new stain on a sport troubled by doping problems and placing thoroughbred horse racing's most recognizable personality, the Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, under uncomfortable scrutiny. If he is disqualified, Medina Spirit will be stripped of the Derby…

The news came as a shocker on Sunday morning: Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit had tested positive for an anti-inflammatory drug called betamethasone. The drug is not banned, but there are limits, and the test showed 21 picograms (a picogram is one-trillionth of a gram) of the substance in the horse's system, which is more than twice the legal…

Thoroughbred racing has caught a break it might have been better-served missing. Rombauer's surprise win in Saturday's Preakness Stakes changes the subject that has dominated and embarrassed the sport for the past week, but it also eliminates the chance of a Triple Crown and of Bob Baffert spontaneously combusting on live television. The heat is…

Embattled Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit passed his final pre-race drug tests, clearing the way for him to run in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, officials said Friday. Earlier this week, the colt's trainer, Bob Baffert, and Preakness organizers made the unusual agreement to test Medina Spirit ahead of the race in hopes of heading off drug…