Kentucky Derby “Winner” Medina Spirit’s Failed Drug Test Confirmed, Win Now In Jeopardy

Medina Spirit’s second positive post-race drug test has been confirmed, which now puts its Kentucky Derby win in jeopardy.

According to CNN, the horse tested positive for elevated levels of betamethasone after the May 1 first leg of the famed Triple Crown.

Betamethasone is an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid that is allowed in horse racing but only at a certain level.

The horse’s trainer Bob Baffert said he was informed that Medina Spirit’s postrace test detected 21 picograms per milliliter which is more than double the legal threshold allowed in Kentucky racing.

Baffert’s attorney, Craig Robertson, told CNN, “Medina Spirit split sample confirmed the finding of betamethasone at 25 picograms. There is another testing that is being conducted, including DNA testing. We expect this additional testing to confirm that the presence of the betamethasone was from the topical ointment, Otomax, and not an injection.”

With the announcement of these new developments, Mandaloun, the horse that finished second in the Derby, is now poised to be declared the winner.

Clark Brewster, the attorney who represents the owner of Medina Spirit, told The New York Times via a text message that the lab didn’t test for other compounds, “which could prove the trace positive came from an inadvertent and materially inconsequential contamination sourced from a topical ointment used to treat Medina Spirit for a skin lesion on his hip.”

Brewster also told outlet that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has agreed to send the original blood and urine samples to an independent laboratory to test for the presence of other compounds.