Derby Drugs
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Medina Spirit’s victory in the Kentucky Derby is in serious jeopardy because of a failed postrace drug test, one that led Churchill Downs to suspend Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on Sunday in the latest scandal to plague the sport.
Baffert denied all wrongdoing and promised to be fully transparent with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission during its investigation. Baffert’s barn received word Saturday that Medina Spirit had tested positive for an excessive amount of the steroid betamethasone, which is sometimes used to treat pain and inflammation in horses.
“To be clear, if the findings are upheld, Medina Spirit’s results in the Kentucky Derby will be invalidated and Mandaloun will be declared the winner,” Churchill Downs officials said in a statement shortly after Baffert held a hastily planned morning news conference outside his barn to announce and respond to the allegations.
The track said failure to comply with the rules and medication protocols jeopardizes the safety of horses and jockeys, the sport’s integrity and the Derby’s reputation.
Medina Spirit is Baffert’s fifth horse known to have failed a drug test in just over a year. Flanked by his attorney Craig Robertson, Baffert said his barn was told that Medina Spirit was found to have 21 picograms of betamethasone — slightly more than double what the trainer said was the allowable amount — in a postrace sample.
Betamethasone is the same drug that was found in the system of Gamine, another Baffert-trained horse who finished third in the Kentucky Oaks last September. Gamine was eventually disqualified from that finish because of that test and Baffert was fined $1,500. Betamethasone is legal under Kentucky racing rules, though it must be cleared 14 days before a horse races.
“I’m not a conspiracy theorist,” Baffert said. “I know everybody is not out to get me, but there’s definitely something wrong. Why is it happening to me? You know, there’s problems in racing, but it’s not Bob Baffert.”
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@george-k said in Derby Drugs:
Medina Spirit is Baffert’s fifth horse known to have failed a drug test in just over a year.
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Until I redd this I'd have said Baffert was clean (not that I know spit about it). He's been a horseracing superstar forever. But if there's any substance to this article, it doesn't look good. -
@george-k said in Derby Drugs:
“I’m not a conspiracy theorist,” Baffert said. “I know everybody is not out to get me, but there’s definitely something wrong. Why is it happening to me?
Maybe because you keep giving your horses drugs?
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AP: "Churchill Downs will not tolerate it,” the statement read. “Given the seriousness of the alleged offense, Churchill Downs will immediately suspend Bob Baffert, the trainer of Medina Spirit, from entering any horses at Churchill Downs Racetrack.”
"Medina Spirit is expected to run in the Preakness on Saturday, barring some abrupt change in plans . . .
And:
"He’s a great horse. He doesn’t deserve this. He ran a gallant race,” Baffert added.
^^^^
So why run the horse with painkillers on board if he's so great? And assuming he will be tested like crazy at the Preakness, will he even be able to run without the drug? Is that any way to treat a 'great horse'?
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“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill
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Annnd..."I guess we did it after all'.
https://www.aol.com/sports/bob-baffert-admits-treated-medina-164337375.html
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@catseye3 said in Derby Drugs:
Yes, meant to address 'pain and inflammation'.
Well, steroids have no intrinsic analgesic properties. However, their anti-inflammatory properties do give a measure of pain relief as a secondary effect.
Horse vets still use “Bute” - butazoladine - for pain control as well. It’s a potent, potent antiflammatory. Good drug for humans too, unless it turns off your bone marrow.
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Blaming 'cancel culture' for all kinds of shenaniganery is set to become a thing, I suspect.
Proud supporter of Plan 2525.
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@doctor-phibes said in Derby Drugs:
Blaming 'cancel culture' for all kinds of shenaniganery is set to become a thing, I suspect.
Yes, douches like this guy will use it as a convenient excuse, which will suck.
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Rombauer left Medina Spirit behind -- and put horse racing's latest controversy on the back burner.
Little-known Rombauer sprung an 11-1 upset to win the Preakness on Saturday, passing Bob Baffert's Kentucky Derby winner to end a potential Triple Crown bid that would have carried a giant asterisk.
https://www.espn.com/horse-racing/story/_/id/31451355/rombauer-wins-2021-preakness-stakes-11-1-odds
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^A good thing. Racing dodged a bullet.
