Tag: betamethasone

Embattled Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert may face a two-year ban from racing in New York if a hearing officer's ruling is upheld. (Image: Susie Raisher/NYRA)

NYRA Hearing Officer Recommends Two-Year Ban for Bob Baffert

Retired Justice O. Peter Sherwood, who presided over the January hearing pitting Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert against the New York Racing Association issued a report recommending Baffert be banned from NYRA tracks for two years. That 54-page report was issued to the media on Wednesday. In it, Sherwood […]

Bob Baffert lost his appeal to stay his 90-day suspension imposed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. (Image: Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia)

Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Rejects Baffert’s Appeal for Stay

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission voted to deny trainer Bob Baffert a stay of his 90-day suspension Friday, upholding a decision made by KHRC Executive Director Marc Guilfoil. This is the latest saga in the late Medina Spirit’s post-Kentucky Derby positive test for the anti-inflammatory betamethasone, banned on race days […]

Tuesday morning, Churchill Downs' workers literally take down the sign marking Medina Spirit's 2021 Kentucky Derby victory. (Image: Coady Photography)

Mandaloun Illustrates New Sign of the Times at Churchill Downs:

Churchill Downs officials wasted little time putting cosmetic touches on what they hope is a concrete decision. On Tuesday, the track’s staff replaced Medina Spirit’s nameplate with the now-official 2021 Kentucky Derby champion: Mandaloun. The 3-year-old Kentucky Derby king is dead — literally in the late Medina Spirit’s case, and […]

Medina Spirit's half-length victory over Mandaloun in last year's Kentucky Derby was overturned Monday. Mandaloun was declared the official winner after Medina Spirit was disqualified for a drug violation. (Image: Coady Photography)

Stewards Strip Medina Spirit of 2021 Kentucky Derby Title

After nine months, numerous fits and starts and several legal challenges, Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards disqualified Medina Spirit as winner of the 2021 Kentucky Derby. The Monday decision came as a result of Medina Spirit failing a drug test for the banned-on-race day, anti-inflammatory betamethasone. Along with the ruling, […]

California Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) called for the California Horse Racing Board to exhibit transparency in its investigation of Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit's sudden death. (Image: Jay Calderon/Desert Sun)

California Senator Feinstein Calls Out CHRB on Medina Spirit Investigation

California Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein, one of the Senate co-sponsors of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 and a frequent critic of horse racing, wrote a letter to the California Horse Racing Board seeking transparency in the sudden death of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit. In the […]

Jockey John Velazquez aboard Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit, with owner Amr Zedan (far left), trainer Bob Baffert (yellow tie) and the rest of the horse's connections. Zedan and Baffert's attorneys issueed a statement maintaining the horse's positive drug test was due to an ointment. (Image: Jamie Newell/TwinSpires)

Baffert Attorneys: Test Proves Cream Caused Medina Spirit’s Positive Test

The attorneys for Medina Spirit’s owner and trainer, Amr Zedan and Bob Baffert, issued statements late Friday claiming that tests performed by a New York laboratory confirmed their position that the Kentucky Derby winner’s positive test for the corticosteroid betamethasone came from the ointment Otomax and not an injection. Baffert’s […]

Medina Spirit trainer Bob Baffert (left) and owner Amr Zedan flank jockey John Velazquez as they hoist the Kentucky Derby trophy. Baffert and Zedan filed suit Tuesday to protect Medina Spirit's Derby victory. (Image: AP Photo)

Baffert, Zedan File Suit Seeking Extra Testing for Medina Spirit

Bob Baffert and Amr Zedan, the trainer and owner of Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit, went on the legal offensive Tuesday, filing a lawsuit against the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. The suit, filed in Franklin Circuit Court in Kentucky, claims the KHRC’s ban on betamethasone applies only to injections and […]

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert doubles as the face of his sport. His face won't be around Churchill Downs the next two years after that track suspended him for two years. (Image: AP Photo)

Churchill Downs Drops Two-Year Suspension on Bob Baffert

In the wake of Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit’s split sample testing positive for the prohibited anti-inflammatory betamethasone, Churchill Downs suspended trainer Bob Baffert for two years, effective immediately. The ruling prohibits the Hall of Fame trainer from entering horses for races or occupying stall space at Churchill Downs, and […]

Standout filly Gamine is in trouble again after testing positive for excessive amounts of an anti-inflammatory after last month's Kentucky Oaks. (Image: Skip Dickstein/For the Times Union)

Baffert Team Disputes Gamine’s Failed Kentucky Oaks Drug Test

After news broke late Thursday that a Kentucky Oaks horse tested positive for a Class C medical violation, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert confirmed in a statement that his star filly, Gamine, was the culprit. The New York Times, citing two sources, reported Thursday evening that Gamine tested positive […]