Bob Baffert | Horse Racing Free Tips

Sean Tugel Talks Tapit On Writers’ Room

In a crowded and often fickle stallion landscape, one North American sire at Gainesway Farm has stood out above all the rest for over a decade strong now. He may not win the general sires title every year, but no stallion in this country has produced the consistent excellence of Tapit since he went to stud in 2005, and Saturday was yet another elite-level reminder when his champion son Essential Quality streaked across the wire as his remarkable fourth GI Belmont S. winner. Wednesday morning, Gainesway's director of stallion sales and recruitment Sean Tugel joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland to discuss the gray giant's everlasting and ever-improving legacy.

“It's a real pleasure and privilege to get to work in this business and be so close to an absolute legend,” said Tugel, calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week. “I can remember when I first came to Kentucky and Storm Cat was still breeding and commanding $500,000. I would take mares over there when I was at Hill 'n' Dale and you just remember that allure of a legendary stallion. Tapit is that now. You're in awe of him. Every year, he continues to raise his stature and produce champions. He's a horse that makes people's dreams come alive.”

Tapit is on pace to pass Giant's Causeway and become the all-time leading North American sire at some point this summer, as his progeny have banked, at last count, $170,556,107 on the racetrack (Giant's Causeway sits at $172,393,625). Tugel talked about what that would mean for the farm and the Beck family, whose patriarch Graham Beck bought Gainesway from founder John R. Gaines in 1989.

“One thing about Gainesway is it's steeped in the history of the game,” Tugel said. “Part of our farm is the old Greentree facility and farm of the Whitney family. So horses like Peter Pan, Domino, some unbelievable stallions have stood here. When Mr. Gaines had the farm he stood Lyphard, Riverman, Cozzene. Now there's a new chapter in the long history of Gainesway with the Beck family, who have stood what is arguably the best sire of modern history. For him to be the all-time leading North American sire, that's what Mr. Beck bought the farm for and what his son Antony has been able to carry on the legacy with. So for them, I don't think anything would be more special.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, the Minnesota Racehorse Engagement Project and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers reacted to a monster Belmont Day card, questioned the merits of the latest legal action by Bob Baffert and Amr Zedan, and remembered the great Rick Porter. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Team Medina Spirit Goes to Court to Force Alternate Urine Testing

The connections of GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonic) have filed a civil complaint against the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) in an effort to force the agency to turn over the colt's post-race urine sample so it can be tested in a way that trainer Bob Baffert and owner Zedan Racing Stables, Inc., believe will prove that a betamethasone finding resulted from an ointment to treat a skin condition (Otomax) and not from an intra-articular injection.

According to a June 7 filing in Kentucky's Franklin County Circuit Court that seeks an injunction to keep the KHRC from allegedly violating their due process rights, attorneys for both Baffert and Zedan Racing's founder, Amr Zedan, outlined a process by which they made “demands” to the KHRC on how split-sample testing should be conducted to either confirm or deny the initial finding from the commission's lab.

The filing contends that the KHRC initially refused the plaintiffs' terms of how and under what circumstances the referee sample would be tested. But then, after the KHRC acquiesced in part to an alternate proposal, the portion of Medina Spirit's biological sample that was to be used for that purpose got damaged in transit and was rendered untestable by the time the package reached the lab.

Jennifer Wolsing, the general counsel for the KHRC, did not reply to an emailed query for comment prior to deadline for this story.

“[T]here has been an absolute firestorm surrounding Media Spirit and the alleged test results,” the complaint states. “Specifically, Baffert has been excoriated by some members of the press and public who have accused him of 'injecting' Medina Spirit with Betamethasone in an effort to cheat to win the Kentucky Derby. This public discourse has frequently suggested that Betamethasone is a 'banned' substance and that Medina Spirit was subjected to 'doping.' Neither

are remotely true.”

Betamethasone is a corticosteroid allowed in Kentucky as a therapeutic medication, but state rules require at least a 14-day withdrawal time before racing. Any level of detection on race day is a Class C violation, with no distinction listed in the rules pertaining how the substance got inside a horse.

No ruling has been issued to date in this case, although Baffert's attorney, W. Craig Robertson, confirmed in a June 1 statement that split-sample blood testing from Medina Spirit had come back and that it did confirm the presence of betamethasone.

But even while that analysis was being conducted at an accredited referee lab, another subplot was unfolding behind the scenes. The June 7 court filing explains it.

According to the complaint, on May 14, Baffert and Zedan's counsel informed the KHRC that the plaintiffs wanted both blood and urine samples to be tested from Medina Spirit's splits, and that they wanted an expert of their choosing to be able observe the analysis at their chosen lab.

They also asked for what is called a “limits of detection” test to be performed that could allegedly show not just that betamethasone was present, but that other compounds in Otomax were there too–namely clotrimazole, gentamicin, and betamethasone valerate.

The KHRC refused these demands (beyond allowing them to choose the accredited lab). So on May 19 the legal team made the request a second time, this time in writing along with rationale and legal support to explain their demands. This too was denied by the KHRC on May 21.

On May 24, the complaint states that a compromise was reached between the parties: The KHRC would allow plaintiffs to send the part of the biological samples that remained from Medina Spirit's primary samples (that had already been tested) to an accredited lab for the different form of testing the plaintiffs wanted.

“The KHRC represented to the Plaintiffs' that these 'remnants' were in good condition and in sufficient quantity to allow scientific testing,” the court filing states.

But on June 1–the same date that Medina Spirit's referee sample was announced by Robertson as positive–the KHRC informed Baffert and Zedan that the remnants had been damaged during transport to the testing lab.

“The manner in which the Betamethasone found its way into Medina Spirit is critical,” the complaint states. “There is a huge difference in a Betamethasone finding due to an [intra-articular] joint injection versus one from a topical ointment—both from a regulatory and public relations standpoint. The testing the plaintiffs' seek would provide empirical and scientific reasonable certainty that the miniscule and materially irrelevant reported positive in Medina Spirit's post-race sample was innocuously sourced from the topical Otomax.”

The attorneys for Baffert and Zedan allege in the complaint that they have a workable Plan B that would allow for the more detailed testing they seek–but that the KHRC purportedly won't allow it.

“There currently sits in the KHRC freezer and unopened, untested, and hopefully pristine split sample of Medina Spirit's urine. Given the foregoing, the plaintiffs requested that the urine be immediately shipped to the agreed-upon lab for testing of all components in Otomax. The KHRC has refused this reasonable request and has indicated it has no intention of allowing the urine split sample to be tested in any way.

“The urine sample is the best method available to determine whether the Betamethasone in Medina Spirit was present due to an injection or the topical cream Otomax,” the complaint sums up. “Time is of the essence, as biologic samples degrade with each passing day. Without intervention from this Court, Plaintiffs will forever lose the opportunity to test, analyze and cross-examine the only evidence that purports to establish a violation of the KHCR's regulations.”

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Baffert, Zedan File Suit Against Kentucky Commission Over Extra Testing In Medina Spirit Saga

Medina Spirit trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan have filed a civil suit against the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) in Franklin Circuit Court demanding more testing of the post-race samples taken from the colt after the Kentucky Derby. The suit, filed June 7, seeks temporary and permanent injunctions against the KHRC from “violating the plaintiffs' substantive and procedural due process rights with regard to the analysis of the split biological urine sample” in the case.

Eight days after the Kentucky Derby, Baffert publicly announced he had been informed an initial post-race test on Medina Spirit had revealed the presence of the corticosteroid betamethasone. At the time, Baffert said the horse had never been treated with betamethasone, which comes in multiple forms. Two days later after the ensuing media storm, Baffert announced Medina Spirit had been treated with Otomax, a topical cream approved for use in dogs in the process of trying to clear up a sizable patch of skin irritation.

A split sample test has confirmed the presence of betamethasone, but the KHRC has yet to issue a stewards' ruling regarding the potential disqualification of the horse and/or fines and suspensions for Baffert. In acknowledging the positive split sample, attorneys for Zedan and Baffert last week acknowledged they were going to conduct further testing on samples from Medina Spirit.

The lawsuit reveals that the attorneys had made a number of demands regarding the testing of that split sample. The purpose of split sample testing is to confirm or refute the original finding from the initial post-race test in the same medium (blood or urine), but attorneys for Baffert and Zedan demanded that both mediums be tested. They also demanded that both mediums be tested for other compounds present in Otomax, including the anti-fungal clotrimazole and the anti-bacterial gentamicin, as well as the specific chemical form of betamethasone used in the topical application – betamethasone valerate.

Learn more about split sample testing here.

The KHRC declined those requests, which exceed the typical battery of tests for split sample testing. It did agree to send the remnants of the original samples to a laboratory chosen by Zedan and Baffert so that additional testing could be performed at the owner and trainer's expense. The lawsuit claims the testing samples arrived damaged, and that the KHRC is now reluctant to send the horse's split urine sample, which has not been tested, to another laboratory.

“There currently sits in the KHRC freezer an unopened, untested and hopefully pristine split sample of Medina Spirit's urine,” reads the suit. “Given the foregoing, the plantiffs requested that the urine be immediately shipped to the agreed upon lab for testing for all the compounds in Otomax. The KHRC has refused this reasonable request and indicated it has no intention of allowing that urine split sample to be tested in any way.”

The complaint also puts forth the theory by attorneys for Baffert and Zedan that the classification of betamethasone in KHRC regulations is intended to refer only to the FDA-approved injectable form of betamethasone, known by the trade name BetaVet. The commission's current classification guidelines refer to the drug betamethasone, not to BetaVet. The plaintiffs claim the existing regulations do not “discuss or include any reference to the use of betamethasone as a component of a topical ointment or cream.”

KHRC regulations do not appear to discriminate between topical versus injected products or between brand name products in its current drug classification guidelines. Its withdrawal guidelines, which “shall provide certain mandatory treatment requirements, guidance, and advice” do make specific reference to injected forms of betamethasone.

The KHRC has not yet filed a response in the case. A hearing for the temporary injunction will take place before Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate on Friday morning.

Read a copy of the civil complaint here.

The post Baffert, Zedan File Suit Against Kentucky Commission Over Extra Testing In Medina Spirit Saga appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Kumin And Partners Remain In Baffert’s Corner Despite Medina Spirit Controversy

Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables, along with partners SF Bloodstock and Starlight Racing, remain committed to trainer Bob Baffert despite his recent controversies. The partnership, nicknamed “The Avengers,” continues to send horses to the embattled conditioner even with questions surrounding Baffert's ability to participate in the Triple Crown classics that he has dominated for much of the last quarter-century. In a recent conversation with the Blood-Horse's Bob Ehalt and Byron King, Kumin reiterated the group's continued confidence in the California-based Baffert.

“We bought over 30 2-year-olds that we plan to send to Bob,” Kumin said. “We have sent about 25 already. We plan to continue to support him.”

“The Avengers” hit it big with Baffert in 2020, with Grade 1 winners Authentic, Charlatan, and Eight Rings all part of their initial consignment of horses that the group had sent to California. Kumin and Starlight also partnered with China Horse Club and WinStar Farm in ownership of Justify, the 13^th Triple Crown winner, also trained by the Hall of Famer. However, recent issues like Medina Spirit's positive tests for betamethasone and other positive tests for regulated substances in Charlatan and Gamine in 2020 have caused clients like Spendthrift and My Racehorse to move horses out of Baffert's barn for now.

While they await the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's ultimate decision on Medina Spirit, tracks like Monmouth Park, Del Mar, and Santa Anita Park continue to permit Baffert to enter horses. For now, the New York Racing Association has temporary suspended the Hall of Fame trainer from running horses at their tracks while Churchill Downs, Inc. has taken a more strident position, barring Baffert from entering his horses at any of their properties for two years.