'So now even our Kentucky Derby winner is a junky': Trump weighs in after horse Medina Spirit tests positive for anti-inflammatory drug and Hall of Famer trainer is suspended
Former President Trump has weighed in after it was revealed that Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit has failed a drugs test.
The colt faces having its victory invalidated, while trainer Bob Baffert has been suspended by Churchill Downst, it has been announced.
Baffert said a post-race sample provided by Medina Spirit had tested positive for 21 picograms of the anti-inflammatory drug betamethasone, over the legal limit in Kentucky racing.
Trump messaged on his new "From the Desk of Donald Trump" website: 'So now even our Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, is a junky.
'This is emblematic of what is happening to our Country. The whole world is laughing at us as we go to hell on our Borders, our fake Presidential Election, and everywhere else!'
Churchill Downs said it had suspended Baffert from entering horses at its famed racetrack and said that if the positive test is upheld, Medina Spirit's results will be invalidated and Mandaloun will be declared the Kentucky Derby winner.
Medina Spirit, ridden by jockey John Velazquez had secured a half-length victory in the 19-horse Kentucky Derby on May 1
Trainer Bob Baffert said a post-race sample provided by Medina Spirit had tested positive for 21 picograms of the anti-inflammatory drug betamethasone
'Failure to comply with the rules and medication protocols jeopardizes the safety of the horses and jockeys, the integrity of our sport and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby and all who participate. Churchill Downs will not tolerate it,' the company said in a statement.
'We will await the conclusion of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's investigation before taking further steps.'
Medina Spirit is expected to run in the Preakness on Saturday, barring some abrupt change in plans or a decision from officials at Pimlico or Maryland´s racing commission that would prevent him from entering the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
The only horse to be disqualified for medication after winning the Derby is Dancer´s Image in 1968.
Medina Spirit, ridden by jockey John Velazquez had secured a half-length victory in the 19-horse Kentucky Derby on May 1.
Baffert won a record-setting seventh Kentucky Derby with dark bay colt.
Betamethasone is the same drug that was found in the system of Gamine, another Baffert-trained horse who finished third in the Kentucky Oaks last September.
Gamine was eventually disqualified from that finish because of that test and Baffert was fined $1,500. Betamethasone is legal under Kentucky racing rules, though it must be cleared 14 days before a horse races.
Baffert denied any wrongdoing and said he did not know how Medina Spirit could have tested positive.
Baffert's camp were informed of the news by Kentucky officials on Saturday, but the 68-year-old denied giving the horse illegal substances and said the positive test was 'the biggest gut punch in racing'.
'I was totally shocked when I heard this news,' Baffert told a news conference. 'I'm still trying to absorb it. I am the most scrutinized trainer. The last thing I want to do is something that would jeopardize the greatest sport.
'This shouldn't have happened. There's a problem somewhere. It didn't come from us. It's such an injustice to the horse. I don't feel embarrassed, I feel like I was wronged.'
Last month, Baffert successfully appealed against a 15-day suspension given to him by the Arkansas Racing Commission after two of his horses had tested positive for a banned substance.
Baffert said Medina Spirit had not yet been officially disqualified from the Derby and that he would launch his own investigation.
Baffert said Medina Spirit had not yet been officially disqualified from the Derby
Baffert said that he was going to be transparent with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in their own investigation.
'I don't feel embarrassed, I feel like I was wronged,' said
'We're going to show them everything. One thing about it in California, everything is documented every day what the horse gets. This horse was never treated with that. He's a great horse, he doesn't deserve this. He ran a gallant race.'
'I'm going to fight it,' he added. 'There are problems in racing, but it's not Bob Baffert. I don't believe in conspiracy theories, but why is it happening to me?'
In 2015, Baffert-trained American Pharoah became the first horse since 1978 to win U.S. thoroughbred racing's coveted Triple Crown. Baffert celebrated another Triple Crown in 2018 with Justify.
The failed drug test is just another in a long series of events shadowing the sport - and the Derby, its best known and most prestigious race - in recent years.
Maximum Security crossed the line first in the 2019 Kentucky Derby before being disqualified by Churchill Downs stewards for interference in what was an unprecedented move. Country House, which crossed the line second in that race, is now considered the winner.
In March 2020, Jason Servis - who was Maximum Security´s trainer - was part of a sweeping indictment that involved trainers, veterinarians and pharmacists in a horse doping ring. Baffert faced the doping allegations in Arkansas and Kentucky last year, and now, this.
Horse racing in the United States has come under fire in recent years for the sport's widespread use of drugs, which has contributed to the high-profile deaths of horses at tracks around the country.
Animal rights group PETA said regulators should permanently ban Baffert, whose horses have failed five drug tests in a little more than a year.
"The time has long passed for regulators to stop protecting Bob Baffert with minimal fines and finally kick him out of racing," said PETA senior vice president Kathy Guillermo.
Scrutiny of the sport led to the passage of the federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act last year, which seeks to address inconsistencies in drug testing and create a uniform national standard of rules and regulations in the sport.
The law goes into effect in July of next year.
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