As the situation surrounding Medina Spirit's positive betamethasone test has evolved through the course of this week, racing and mainstream media have covered the story extensively. The revelation that the 2021 Kentucky Derby winner failed an initial post-race drug test has also garnered op/eds from industry and non-industry publications. Most of those headlines express little patience for trainer Bob Baffert's explanation of the drug's presence.
In the interest of understanding how racing and its issues are viewed in the broader, non-racing world, the Paulick Report staff has compiled a sampling of those opinion and analysis pieces here, along with observations therein that we found particularly interesting. We encourage you to click the underlined links to read the full op/eds.
The Kentucky Derby Deserves Better Than This Butt Rash Of A Mess, WDRB
Writer Eric Crawford mourns the reputation of the Run for the Roses, which he says will be tarnished in the future by what he calls Baffert's “clear negligence.” Crawford also points out that both Baffert and his veterinarian were required to sign a document as a condition of stabling acknowledging their intent to follow rules and regulations laid out by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, including the body's medication regulations.
No, Failed Derby Drug Test Is Not 'Cancel Culture.' But Racing Needs Culture Change, Lexington Herald-Leader
Columnist Linda Blackford, writing before Baffert's Tuesday statement attributing the betamethasone test to an anti-fungal ointment, took exception to Baffert's declaration on Fox News Monday that Churchill's immediate ban on his entries constituted “cancel culture.” Blackford also pointed out that the Baffert case demonstrates the need for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), under which medication rules will be the same across the country, reducing the likelihood of therapeutic drug positives.
Bob Baffert's Leaking Credibility Reaches Saturation Point After Derby Drug Positive, Sports Illustrated
Pat Forde sees Baffert's history of drug positives — albeit, therapeutic positives — as eroding confidence in America's most recognizable trainer, particularly when his explanations for them seem designed to excuse them. Individually, Baffert's explanation for each positive seems plausible, but together they begin to sound hollow to Forde.
“Ultimately, this very much seems like the same sad song, different verse, when it comes to drug testing and sports,” he writes. “The denials are always vigorous. They are often fanciful. They are rarely compelling.”
Opinion: As Another Excuse Arises, Pimlico Won't Hold Bob Baffert Accountable For Medina Spirit's Positive Test, USA Today
Dan Wolken expresses frustration that Pimlico did not follow the lead of Churchill Downs and decline to allow Baffert entries until the scandal over the betamethasone overage is resolved. He points out that without Baffert's two runners — Medina Spirit and Concert Tour — this year's Preakness would have a historically weak field. If either horse wins, racing will be in an especially awkward position in the event Medina Spirit's Derby victory is eventually stripped. Wolken makes clear that he doesn't expert racing commissions to take significant action against the trainer even if that disqualification happens.
“True accountability, in the end, is going to have to come from within,” he wrote, pointing out that Spendthrift has removed horses from Baffert's care.
Baffert In Spotlight For Wrong Reasons Going Into Preakness, Associated Press via Seattle Times
While Baffert and his team couldn't get enough of the media Sunday and Monday, Associated Press reporter Stephen Whyno writes that assistant Jimmy Barnes has refused to answer questions about the ongoing Medina Spirit debacle. And while the atmosphere at Pimlico is different this year, Whyno said one fixture, trainer D. Wayne Lukas, is still lingering outside the stakes barn and giving his opinion to whoever wants to hear it.
Lukas, for his part, believes the commission should raise the threshold for therapeutic substances “to what's realistic” and said he wishes he was still on the Kentucky commission to impact the outcome of any hearing Baffert may go through.
“I would absolutely today tell my colleagues that we need to just dismiss this, throw it out, put the Derby winner back on the throne and move on,” he said. “Obviously (21) picograms or whatever that horse had had no effect on the race or his performance. And every vet and every scientist and every lab will tell you that. You almost think the lab should probably have poured it down the sink in the first place.”
Sullivan: Bob Baffert Needs New Strategy After Betamethasone Claims Backfire, Louisville Courier-Journal
Tim Sullivan, who has been covering the scandal since the beginning, anticipates that Baffert's legal strategy will be to attack the credibility of the regulation guiding betamethasone withdrawal. Unfortunately for him, Sullivan believes Baffert's intent behind using an anti-fungal cream containing betamethasone isn't relevant based on how the rules are written. He points out that the phenylbutazone rule that resulted in the disqualification of Dancer's Image in 1968 wasn't changed until 1974, and in the meantime the Kentucky Supreme Court validated the stewards' decision to disqualify Dancer's Image under the rules in place when the horse ran.
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