There is a new champion from the 2021 Kentucky Derby. On Monday it was announced that Mandaloun would be the new winner after Medina Spirit was disqualified for failing a drug test according to David Close of CNN. During the race, Mandaloun initially finished second, after initially being a 15-1 underdog.
Medina Spirit failed the test after the running of the Kentucky Derby. The horse tested positive for the banned substance betamethasone, which is an anti-inflammatory steroid according to Claire Crosby and Frank Angst of bloodhorse.com. The investigation into the failed drug test took nine months to complete.
In addition to Medina Spirit being stripped of his Kentucky Derby title, trainer Bob Baffert of Nogales, Arizona has been suspended 90 days and fined $7500 according to Erik Ortiz and David Li of NBC News. This is not the first time that Baffert’s horses have failed a drug test. In 2020, Gamine and Charlatan tested positive for lidocaine at a horse racing event in Oaklawn Park, Arkansas and Baffert was suspended 15 days.
Medina Spirit becomes the third horse in the history of the Kentucky Derby to be stripped of its title. At the 1968 Kentucky Derby, Dancer’s Image tested positive for a banned substance and Forward Pass was declared the winner. Then at the 2019 Kentucky Derby, Maximum Security was disqualified for interference during the race and Country Horse was declared the winner.
It should be noted that Medina Spirit died on December 6, 2021. In addition to winning the Kentucky Derby last year, Mandaloun has already won the 2022 Louisiana Stakes this past January.
