Baffert Says Dermatitis Drug Caused Positive Betamethasone Test

If a second sample, collected at the same time as the first, confirms the result in a test expected in the coming weeks, Medina Spirit will be disqualified and the Derby’s runner-up, Mandaloun, will be declared the winner, said officials at Churchill Downs, the racetrack in Louisville, Ky. They also barred Baffert from entering horses to run at Churchill Downs.

In a series of television and radio interviews on Monday, Baffert offered various theories about how the colt had tested positive. He criticized Churchill Downs’s suspension of him as “harsh” and cited “cancel culture” for the controversy.

“I would never risk my reputation,” he said. “I train great horses, and I train for great clients. This just doesn’t make sense.”

The draw for Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, which was to be held Monday, was rescheduled for Tuesday afternoon instead. Baffert has said he will enter Medina Spirit in the race, the second leg in horse racing’s Triple Crown.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/sports/horse-racing/baffert-medina-spirit-preakness-drug-test.html