Suspicion

Once the synthetic smiles and congratulations fade upon Bob Baffert’s welcome to Pimlico Race Course this week, the very real questions of steroid use will swirl around the Hall of Fame horse racing trainer.

On Sunday morning, Churchill Downs sent out a Mother’s Day memo for the ages. There’s a chance the horse that went wire-to-wire in the Derby won’t keep its title.

“It is our understanding that Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit’s post-race blood sample indicated a violation of the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s equine medication protocols,” the bulletin press release screamed to the horse racing world and beyond. Churchill Downs went on to say that the connections of Medina Spirit have a right to a split test from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission – and will wait on the results of their findings to determine if the horse won the race or becomes disqualified from the May 1 jewel.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory drug, becomes the most googled word by Baltimore sports journalists this week. Kentucky stewards informed Baffert of the positive test on Friday afternoon, according to Eric Crawford of WDRB-TV in Louisville, Kentucky. Baffert claims no foul. He not only says his barn doesn’t use the drug, but that he will fight this inquiry of sorts “tooth and nail.”

Baffert’s no stranger to these whispers. He’s faced more failed drug tests than Triple Crown winners. When he won the Derby, Preakness and Belmont with Justify in 2018, the horse failed a drug test after the Santa Anita Derby. Justify won that race, too. It actually became the springboard for the 3-year-old to collect enough points to even run in the Derby. The violation becomes an absolute rabbit hole that shows incompetence in California racing (check out Tim Layden’s very deep dive for more). The failed test, known before the Derby, hung over Baffert for months. All of this became public from The New York Times a year after the Triple Crown series.

But let’s not get too bogged down in the past. Here’s what we know: Medina Spirit finished first at the Kentucky Derby. The trainer is under scrutiny for use of a topical steroid. The next race in the series takes place on Saturday.

If Medina Spirit did break the rules, Mandaloun becomes the winner of the Kentucky Derby.

Some will look at this story and say that people target Baffert and others will claim where there’s smoke there’s fire. At this point, we just have questions. Why does this happen to Baffert as frequently as a pitching change in a baseball game? How many trainers actually participate in the sport of horse racing without some extra help from banned substances? Does Bob just like the attention?

The most intriguing question until the horses get in the gate at the Preakness usually takes place in an odd scrum on Wednesday afternoon when a gaggle of humans ask “which one is the Derby horse” as horses unload throughout the day. That question hits a little bit differently this year.