Failed Drug Test Confirmed for Kentucky Derby Winner Medina Spirit

The colt, trained by seven-time Derby winner Bob Baffert, stands to become the second horse in the history of the race to be disqualified for a failed test.

The Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit’s post-race positive drug test was confirmed, setting the stage for the colt trained by Bob Baffert to be the second horse in the 147-year history of America’s greatest race to be disqualified for a failed drug test. Clark Brewster, a lawyer who represents Medina Spirit owner Amr Zedan, said the laboratory at the University of California, Davis confirmed that a second post-race sample found the drug betamethasone, a corticosteroid injected into joints to reduce pain and swelling, at a prohibited level. Baffert chose the lab where the sample was tested. In a text message, however, Brewster said the laboratory did not test the blood or urine samples for the presence of other compounds, “which could prove the trace positive came from an inadvertent and materially inconsequential contamination sourced from a topical ointment used to treat Medina Spirit for a skin lesion on his hip.”