Kentucky Derby Winner Medina Spirit Dies Amid Doping Investigation Of High-Profile Trainer Bob Baffert

Topline

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit died Monday, months after the horse tested positive for an illegal substance following the Derby and sparked a wide-reaching investigation into superstar trainer Bob Baffert and the horse-racing industry as a whole.

Medina Spirit won the 2021 Kentucky Derby, though an investigation into a positive drug test that … [+] could result in disqualification was still ongoing at the time of the colt’s death.

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Key Facts

Medina Spirit died from a heart attack after a workout at Santa Anita Park, according to a statement from Baffert provided by attorney Craig Robertson.

The horse tested positive for a banned substance shortly after winning the Derby in May, though an investigation into how the therapeutic drug betamethasone got into Medina Spirit’s system was still pending at the time of the colt’s death.

Baffert, who said in the statement he was “devastated” by the horse’s death, was suspended by numerous racing organizations for the drug scandal, though the Hall of Fame trainer maintains his and the horse’s innocence.

Key Background

Medina Spirit did not have the prestigious origin of many other major racing horses, as he was sold for just $1,000 in 2019, generating attention for the rags-to-riches story. The positive press for Medina Spirit’s team did not last long, as a drug test found the horse had twice the legal level of a banned drug at the time of the Derby. What had been a historic win for Baffert quickly became the latest example of his horses’ spotted drug history, as his horses have failed 30 drug tests in the last four decades, per the New York Times. The positive test spurned a lengthy ongoing investigation into whether Medina Spirit should be disqualified from the Derby, thereby stripping the horse of the title. A split urine sample test in June confirmed the presence of illegal levels of betamethasone. However, Baffert and his camp have long claimed the presence of this steroid was from a topical ointment, not injection, and therefore did not give Medina Spirit a racing advantage. Another split test allegedly confirmed that betamethasone entered Medina Spirit’s bloodstream as a result of a veterinarian-directed topical medication, according to a statement from Robertson last week.

Big Number

$1.86 million. That’s how much prize money Medina Spirit won in the Derby, though the horse’s team will be forced to return the money if the horse is indeed disqualified.