After months of delay, litigation, and laboratory testing, the 2021 Kentucky Derby finally came to a temporary conclusion on Monday when stewards disqualified Medina Spirit for testing positive for a banned substance.
Because Kentucky racing laws allow for no measurable betamethasone in a horse's system on race day, the conclusion appeared predictable to racing officials. Attorneys representing Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, on the other hand, maintained that the restriction only extended to injectable betamethasone and that Medina Spirit had absorbed the corticosteroid through the ointment Otomax, which was given to the horse's eyes.
Despite the fact that seven days had gone between the hearing on February 14 and the decision on Monday, Baffert's reasoning did not convince the three stewards who were adjudicating the issue. In addition to disqualifying Baffert's colt, which is now deceased, the stewards issued a 90-day ban as well as a $7,500 punishment on Baffert, who was also fined $7,500.
"We are disappointed, but not shocked, by the Commission's decision," Baffert's attorney, Clark Brewster, said in a statement. It is 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," the statement reads. "This ruling represents an egregious departure from both the facts and the law," the statement continues (Picklesimer). "We will appeal, and we will succeed when the facts and regulations are given to detached, unbiased decisionmakers," said the attorney general of California.
In the meanwhile, Mandaloun, who finished second in the Derby, has a chance to win the race and significantly boost the resume and net worth of Louisville trainer Brad Cox, who established a North American earnings record of $31 million in purses in 2021. The Derby winner will take home $1.86 million in prize money. Cox would also profit from the promotion of fourth-place finisher Essential Quality to third place behind trainer Doug O'Neill's Hot Rod Charlie, which would put him in third place.
Mandaloun was named the winner of the 147th Kentucky Derby, according to a statement released by Churchill Downs, which congratulated Cox, owner Juddmonte, and jockey Florent Geroux.
We look forward to commemorating Mandaloun's Kentucky Derby victory at a later date in a manner befitting of this unique accomplishment, according to the statement. "Winning the Kentucky Derby is one of the most exhilarating feats in sports," the statement stated.
Churchill Downs intends to replace the paddock sign commemorating Medina Spirit with a sign containing Mandaloun's name on Tuesday morning, according to a press release. Despite the fact that the Kentucky Derby trophy has not yet been engraved, the track still has control of it.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
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