HORSEPLAY

Winning Kentucky Derby Horse Medina Spirit Fails Drug Test

Trainer Bob Baffert denies drugging the horse despite having five other horses fail drug tests in the last year.

Medina Spirit, the horse that won the Kentucky Derby, has just tested positive for betamethasone in a post-race sample. The horse’s famed trainer Bob Baffert denied injecting the colt, which will be tested again before a decision is made on whether it will be stripped of the title. Baffert’s horses have won seven Kentucky Derby titles, but five of his horses have also tested positive for banned substances in the last year. “I was totally shocked when I heard this news,” Baffert said, according to The New York Times. “I’m still trying to absorb it. I am the most scrutinized trainer. And I am okay with that. The last thing I want to do is something that would jeopardize the greatest sport. This is a pretty serious accusation. We’re doing to get to the bottom of it. We didn’t do it.”