Otomax

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) on Tuesday closed the 27-month regulatory saga involving Medina Spirit's GI Kentucky Derby drug disqualification by unanimously voting to deny appeals by trainer Bob Baffert and owner Zedan Racing Stables while accepting a hearing officer's recommended order that the penalties originally imposed by the Churchill Downs stewards be affirmed in their entirety. But the legal battle to restore Medina Spirit's win in America's most historic and important horse race appears to be just now ramping up. That's because now that the KHRC's decision is...

The debate over whether or not Medina Spirit's 2021 GI Kentucky Derby disqualification for betamethasone was the result of an injection or the application of an ointment was a focal point in the fourth day of testimony at Bob Baffert's appeal before a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) hearing officer in Frankfort, Kentucky, on Thursday. That argument has percolated for the better part of 16 months in various hearing and courtroom settings. It is now being brought up again in front of the KHRC hearing officer to adjudicate the Hall-of-Fame...

Trainer Bob Baffert spent 2 1/2 hours on the witness stand testifying at a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) appeal hearing Monday. Baffert's intent by filing the appeal is to clear from his record a 90-day suspension he has already served while also reversing the KHRC's disqualification of Medina Spirit from the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. Those penalties were the result of the Baffert-trained colt returning a positive for betamethasone after crossing the finish wire first in America's most historic and important horse race. Beyond the already-served suspension (which ran...

Bob Baffert testified for about 3 1/2 hours in Thursday's hearing to determine whether the New York Racing Association (NYRA) can exclude the trainer over alleged "detrimental conduct." Much of the testimony consisted of exchanges between the Hall of Fame trainer and NYRA attorney Hank Greenberg, whose attempts to rattle Baffert were largely unsuccessful. The Hall of Famer stuck to what has been the narrative from his team since the issues of his repeated medication violations first arose--that each offense involved mitigating circumstances that explain why he wasn't deserving of...

Lawyers representing the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and Bob Baffert squared off before Franklin Circuit County Judge Thomas Wingate Friday morning in a dispute over whether or not additional urine samples from Medina Spirit (Protonico) from the GI Kentucky Derby should be made available to the defendants' lawyers and, if so, in what quantity? The Baffert team has asked for an additional urine sample because it believes further testing can prove that the drug in question, Betamethasone, found its way into Medina Spirit through an ointment used to clear...

Since Sunday morning, horse racing has largely been a one-issue sport. That morning, of course, trainer Bob Baffert announced that GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) had tested positive for 21 picograms per milliliter of betamethasone in a post-race sample. Betamethasone is a regulated corticosteroid commonly used in horse racing as an intra-articular joint injection. In Kentucky as of last year, a detection of betamethasone at any level is deemed a violation. The previous threshold was 10 picograms per milliliter. A split sample will now go for confirmation testing....

Bob Baffert said in a statement issued Tuesday that Medina Spirit (Protonico) was treated with an anti-fungal ointment prior to his victory in the GI Kentucky Derby, which he believes may explain why the horse tested positive for the medication betamethasone in a post-race test. Baffert said that Medina Spirit had been dealing with a case of dermatitis after finishing second in the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby and was treated with the medication as late as Apr. 30, the day before the Kentucky Derby. With the latest statement, Baffert...