EXPLAINER: Derby winner’s failed test latest in horse doping

Medina Spirit, the Kentucky Derby winner, failed a postrace drug test, raising new suspicions about horse doping in the sport when his blood sample was discovered to be in breach of the state’s medication regulations for racehorses.

Medina Spirit tested positive for the drug betamethasone, according to trainer Bob Baffert. According to Baffert, the test revealed 21 picograms of betamethasone. A picogram is a trillionth of a gram, however the test is for picograms per milliliter, and a horse’s blood may be 50,000 milliliters.

The usage of the steroid is restricted in Kentucky to 14 days or more before a race. On race day, any amount of detection constitutes a violation.

If the infraction is confirmed in a second round of testing, Medina Spirit will be disqualified and Mandaloun will be declared the Kentucky Derby winner.

It’s the latest high-profile drug breach in horse racing, which was rocked last year when two trainers and 25 people were indicted in a wide-ranging doping scandal. After years of debate, changes are on the way to standardize medicine in horse racing, but a measure enacted by the US Congress won’t take effect until next year.

Here’s how Medina Spirit got here and what’s coming up next:

Q. WHY IS HORSE BETAMETHASONE USED?

A. It’s a steroid that’s used to relieve inflammation in the joints of horses. It’s not a performance-enhancing substance. However, horses with betamethasone in their systems may have an edge over those that do not experience the therapeutic benefits while racing.

Kentucky restricts the usage of the steroid to 14 days or more before to a race, allowing the horse’s system to clear before entering the starting gate.

Medication for Racing Betamethasone is “a powerful, long-acting, synthetic glucocorticoid commonly utilized in horse veterinary treatment as a steroidal anti-inflammatory,” according to the & Testing Consortium. It’s a synthetic corticosteroid that may be used topically but is most often injected into the joints of horses.

Q. HAS BETAMETHASONE BEEN FOUND IN OTHER BAFFERT HORSES?

A. The same chemical was discovered in Baffert’s filly Gamine, which resulted in her being disqualified from the Kentucky Oaks in 2020. That decision was not appealed by Baffert. Contamination was claimed as a cause for this and earlier infractions by the trainer, who has denied supplying the steroid to Medina Spirit.

Q. WHY DID THE DRUG TEST FAIL FOR MEDINA SPIRIT?

A. Betamethasone is a Class C medication that may be used therapeutically in Kentucky. However, Medina Spirit’s postrace test results were in violation of Kentucky state law, which prohibits the usage of the steroid 14 days or more before to a race.

Without extenuating circumstances, a trainer’s first infraction carries a punishment of at least $1,000. After Gamine, this would be Baffert’s second betamethasone infraction in less than a year.

Q: DOES BAFFERT HAVE ANY HORSE DOPING HISTORY?

A. Not with performance-enhancing substances, despite the fact that this is Baffert’s sixth drug infraction in the last 13 months. Gamine was discovered to have 185 picograms of lidocaine and Baffert-trained Charlatan had 46 picograms of lidocaine while racing at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas last year, which resulted in a ban that was challenged and rejected.

Merneith, another Baffert horse, tested positive for the cough suppressant dextrorphan after racing at Del Mar in California last summer.

Justify was declared the winner of the 2018 Santa Anita Derby by the California Horse Racing Board after postrace testing revealed the horse had scopolamine, which is sometimes used to treat mild colic and spasms and can also show up as a result of environmental contamination when horses eat hay containing jimsonweed, which grows wild in California.

Q. HOW ARE HORSES TESTED, AND HOW MANY HORSES HAVE BEEN TESTED THIS YEAR?

A. Because mandatory postrace testing differs by state, there is no centralized database that keeps track of how many horses have tested positive for betamethasone, other medications, or performance-enhancing pharmaceuticals.

A safety and integrity measure was just passed into law, and it will take effect in July 2022. Its purpose is to provide uniform, transparent, and enforced doping standards throughout all racing jurisdictions.

Q. BAFFERT, WHAT’S NEXT FOR MEDINA SPIRIT?

A. Baffert and the Medina Spirit owners sought a split sample from the colt for a second round of testing. A split sample is a method of re-testing to ensure that the steroid is present. The findings of the sample might take more than a week to evaluate, clearing the record or resulting in a DQ.

Medina Spirit and Baffert’s Concert Tour were scheduled to fly to Baltimore for the Preakness on Monday. If the horses compete in the second jewel of the Triple Crown, Baffert indicated he wouldn’t be travelling to Baltimore, leaving assistant Jimmy Barnes to saddle them.

Officials with the Preakness said they will make a decision on Medina Spirit’s entry after analyzing the facts, and the post position draw has been put out to Tuesday afternoon.

Q. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PRIZE MONEY IN THE EVENT OF MEDINA SPIRIT’S DISQUALIFICATION?

A. If Medina Spirit is disqualified from the Kentucky Derby, Mandaloun’s owners and trainer will get the $1.86 million winner’s share of the prize money. Dancer’s Image, who won the Derby in 1968, is the only prior winner to be disqualified after the race due to a positive postrace drug test for the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine phenylbutazone.

Q. WHAT EFFECT WOULD THE HORSE’S DISQUALIFICATION HAVE ON BETTORS?

A. Unlike when Maximum Security, the 2019 Kentucky Derby winner, was disqualified for obstructing other horses and Country House was raised to first, bettors will not be harmed in any way if Medina Spirit’s victory is nullified.

Because the race was declared legitimate, no money would be exchanged between those who predicted Medina Spirit or Mandaloun to win the Derby. Never mind the possible payoff for the superfecta, which would have included 27-1 Mandaloun, 6-1 Hot Rod Charlie, 3-1 favorite Essential Quality, and 42-1 long shot O Besos.