But the legal battle to restore Medina Spirit's win in America's most historic and important horse race appears to be just now ramping up.

That's because now that the KHRC's decision is final at the state administrative level, it is ripe for being elevated to the court system and challenged by the losing parties.

Medina Spirit crossed the wire first in the 2021 Derby but subsequently tested positive for betamethasone in a KHRC post-race drug screening.

The Aug. 22, 2023, final order denying the appeals on behalf of Baffert and Medina Spirit's owner, Amr Zedan, officially elevates Mandaloun as the official winner of the 147th Derby.

Not only does the denial of the appeals uphold Medina Spirit's DQ, it lets stand the 90-day KHRC suspension that Baffert already served in 2022 but wanted expunged from his record. Also upheld was the $7,500 fine the KHRC imposed upon Baffert.

Baffert did not respond to TDN's request for comment prior to deadline for this story.

But the Hall-of-Fame trainer's attorney, W. Craig Robertson III, said he will soon be outlining next-step legal strategies with Baffert.

“It's disappointing that the KHRC engaged in no analysis whatsoever of the Hearing Officer's Findings of Fact or Conclusions of Law,” Robertson wrote in an email. “Neither did the KHRC's Order address any of the many objections we raised to the Hearing Officer's ruling.

“Instead, the KHRC did what it does best–rubber stamped its own foregone conclusion. I will discuss with Mr. Baffert, but believe it is highly likely the matter is appealed so that it can finally be presented to an impartial Court,” Robertson wrote.

Eight days after the 2021 Derby, Baffert first disclosed the betamethasone positive at a press conference outside the barn where Medina Spirit was stabled at Churchill Downs. In doing so, he was getting out in front of the official announcement that would come later by the KHRC.

In Kentucky, betamethasone is classified as a Class C drug (on an A-through-D scale with A being the most severe). It is prohibited in any amount in a post-race test.

At first, on May 9, 2021, Baffert chose to implicate various non-specific circumstances as the underlying culprit in the positive test. Two days later, on May 11, Baffert's legal team issued a press release stating that Medina Spirit was treated with the betamethasone-containing ointment Otomax as late as the day before his Derby win to help deal with a skin lesion.

Baffert and Zedan's lawyers would eventually build more than two years of court cases and administrative appeals around the contention that the betamethasone that showed up in Medina Spirit's post-race positive test was the type that came from a permissible topical ointment and not via some other restricted means, like an intra-articular injection.

The Twitter account for Zedan Racing posted a statement on Tuesday that underscored that this method-of-delivery argument would continue to be a central plank in any future court case.

“Today's decision by the KHRC finding the use of a commonly used topical ointment to be a medication rule violation relating to Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was expected. We now look forward to a court's review and legal analysis of the express rules and basic constitutional principles involved. We genuinely believe that the wisdom and guidance that a court can provide will bring clarity benefitting all industry partners and particularly trainers and veterinarians.”

Although no KHRC ruling was issued in the first nine months after Medina Spirit's positive finding, the gaming corporation Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), in June 2021 barred Baffert from competing at its portfolio of tracks for two years.

Medina Spirit died on Dec. 6, 2021, collapsing to the track after working five furlongs at Santa Anita Park. A necropsy conducted by the California Horse Racing Board stated that a “definitive cause of death was not established despite extensive testing.”

In 2022, Baffert initiated a federal lawsuit that challenged CDI's ban. The case dragged into 2023, when it was dismissed.

The KHRC finally held its hearing on Medina Spirit's positive test on Feb. 14, 2022, and issued the rulings against Baffert and Zedan a week later.

When stay requests pending appeals filed with the KHRC were denied, Baffert and Zedan took the matter to court, with the KHRC case unfolding around the same time as Baffert's unsuccessful lawsuit against CDI.

In the spring of 2022 Baffert failed to get an injunction against the KHRC that would have kept him from serving his suspension, so he stepped away from training between early April and early July of that year to sit out his penalty.

The KHRC appeals then led to six days of evidentiary hearings in August 2022. The process got delayed a month later when the hearing officer had to recuse himself after one of Baffert's attorneys bought a horse at auction that the hearing officer co-owned.

A new hearing officer, Eden Stephens, took over, and in May 2023 issued a report that concluded that “the stewards' decision was made on reliable, substantive evidence that the horse, Medina Spirit, was administered and carried the prohibited substance, betamethasone” and that “the KHRC's regulations do not state that any route of administration excuses a post-race betamethasone positive.”

It took nearly three more months before the KHRC's vote on the hearing officer's recommendations made it onto the Aug. 22, 2023, monthly meeting agenda. In the interim, CDI extended its private-property banishment of Baffert through 2024.

On Tuesday, the KHRC did not discuss any specifics of the appeals prior to the unanimous voice vote to reject them. The item was listed last on the meeting agenda, and it occurred after a break for the commission to have discussions in an executive session.

When the KHRC reconvened in open session, chairman Jonathan Rabinowitz asked if any commissioners wanted to “abstain due to conflicts of interest, or perceived conflicts of interest.” Four did: Michael Dudgeon, Lesley Howard, Charles O'Connor and Catherine Parke.

Rabinowitz then called for a vote “approving a final order as stated.” But exactly what the KHRC commissioners were voting on was not read into the public record.

TDN had to subsequently ask for and receive a copy of the order from KHRC staff after the meeting to learn what it stated.

“The Hearing Officer's Recommended Order is approved, adopted, and incorporated herein by reference as a part of this Order,” the five-page document read, in part. “Petitioners' appeal is therefore DISMISSED. This is a FINAL AND APPEALABLE ORDER…”

The document listed the procedures for just such an appeal, which, according to state statue, must happen in a Kentucky circuit court within 30 days after issuance of the final order.

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That argument has percolated for the better part of 16 months in various hearing and courtroom settings. It is now being brought up again in front of the KHRC hearing officer to adjudicate the Hall-of-Fame trainer's attempt to expunge from his record a 90-day suspension (that Baffert has already served) for the infraction. The appeal also seeks to reverse the KHRC's disqualification of Medina Spirit from the Derby.

Back in December, Baffert's legal team stated that third-party testing on the colt's urine “definitively confirmed” and had “scientifically proven” that the type of betamethasone that showed up in Medina Spirit's post-race positive test is the type that comes from a topical ointment and not via an intra-articular injection.

The distinction is important because Baffert believes the proper resolution of the betamethasone overage hinges on how it was administered to Medina Spirit. He has claimed Kentucky's medication rules only apply to the injectable form of that drug.

But the KHRC has maintained that a positive finding is a positive finding, and that it doesn't matter how the Class C medication entered Medina Spirit's system.

Baffert has claimed that Medina Spirit was treated with the betamethasone-containing ointment Otomax as late as Apr. 30 (the day before his Derby win) to help deal with a skin lesion, and he has denied that the colt's joints were ever treated with the injectable form of that drug.

Ron Flatter of Horse Racing Nation (HRN) provided key points of Thursday's proceedings. His reporting is summarized below by TDN.

Flatter wrote that Jennifer Wolsing, the KHRC's general counsel, said she had two depositions to back up her contention that Medina Spirit could have been injected with betamethasone.

Dr. Scott Stanley, the director of the equine testing laboratory at the University of Kentucky, testified as a witness for the KHRC.

According to HRN, Stanley was questioned about the third-party testing by Dr. George Maylin, director of the New York State Equine Drug Testing lab. Last summer, Baffert's attorneys got a court order to allow outside testing on the Medina Spirit samples.

Flatter wrote that “Maylin concluded last fall that the medication 'resulted from the topical administration of Otomax and not an injection of betamethasone.'”

Testifying eight months later on Aug. 25, Stanley criticized the process by which Maylin tested the Medina Spirit urine sample and offered technical reasons why it was flawed, HRN reported.

“I don't agree with…Dr. Maylin's conclusion that says the data definitively shows the topical administration of betamethasone…. I don't believe that the data definitely concludes that,” HRN quoted Stanley as testifying.

Yet under cross-examination by the Baffert side, Stanley also said, “I do not have any evidence that Medina Spirit was injected with any product,” HRN reported.

Dr. Mary Scollay, the current executive director of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (and previously the KHRC's equine medical director), testified at the request of the KHRC.

HRN reported that Scollay said there was no record of a diagnosis when Baffert's veterinarian, Dr. Vince Baker, recommended that Otomax to be applied to Medina Spirit in April 2021. Nor was there any record provided on dosage and frequency.

“Otomax is FDA-approved for use in dogs,” Scollay said, according to HRN. “I would hesitate to describe Medina Spirit as a dog. That would be most unfair.”

Flatter wrote that, “Under cross-examination, Brewster attacked Scollay's credentials for lacking backside experience, saying that Baker has had a great deal of experience in stable work. And he recounted when, in a deposition, Scollay said anyone wanting more expertise on Otomax should ask a veterinarian who works on the backside.”

After a scheduled weekday off on Friday, the hearing resumes on Monday, with Tuesday the agreed-upon date both parties are targeting for finishing the proceedings. (See coverage of previous days here, here, and here.)

Hearing officers hired by racing commissions typically take months to issue a written report and recommended findings.

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Baffert's intent by filing the appeal is to clear from his record a 90-day suspension he has already served while also reversing the KHRC's disqualification of Medina Spirit from the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby.

Those penalties were the result of the Baffert-trained colt returning a positive for betamethasone after crossing the finish wire first in America's most historic and important horse race.

Beyond the already-served suspension (which ran from early April through early July) and a pending KHRC fine for $7,500 (that is also being appealed), Medina's Spirit's betamethasone overage also triggered separate banishments and sanctions from racing at the Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) portfolio of racetracks, plus at the New York Racing Association tracks.

Baffert has either fought or is in the process of fighting both of those sanctions in court, but right now he is precluded from having a trainee in the 2023 Derby because of CDI's actions against him (as part of a two-year ban, CDI had also denied Derby participation to the Hall-of-Fame trainer in 2022).

Monday's hearing rekindled many of the same pro-and-con arguments that have been repeatedly articulated by both sides over the past 16 months in various courtroom and hearing settings.

This latest KHRC hearing process could last the entire week.

Horse Racing Nation (HRN) published live updates of the Aug. 22 proceedings in Frankfort, Kentucky.

HRN reported that Jennifer Wolsing, general counsel for the KHRC, framed the case in straightforward terms during her opening statement.

“This is a very simple case,” she stated. “Betamethasone is a class C medication which has been prohibited in Kentucky.”

Clark Brewster, who represents Baffert, countered with his own opening statement that focused on disputing the KHRC's claim that there was an applicable “limit of detection” rule while also disputing the KHRC's assertions that Baffert had a pattern of medication rulings against him.

HRN also reported that, “Brewster also sought to discredit Industrial Labs, which returned the positive test on Medina Spirit, suggesting that the company needed to come back with positive tests to stay in business.”

Brewster also claimed there was a difference between injecting betamethasone (which Baffert has denied) and using it topically as an ointment like Otomax (which is Baffert's explanation of how the drug got into Medina Spirit), according to HRN.

“I won't say it was a mistake [to give Medina Spirit an ointment the day before the Derby],” Baffert was quoted as saying in HRN. “If you use an ointment to humanely heal a rash, it's not a mistake.”

At one point during testimony, Wolsing questioned Baffert's knowledge about medication rules in Kentucky, and asked Baffert to read aloud the ingredient list for Otomax, which includes betamethasone valerate.

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During a marathon day of testimony, it was revealed by Baffert that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has finally set a date, Feb. 7, to begin to delve into the matter of Medina Spirit (Protonico) testing positive for betamethasone in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. Baffert said he was told of the hearing by attorney Clark Brewster. The Kentucky commission has yet to make any announcements regarding the date of a hearing over the Medina Spirit matter.

Typical during the NYRA hearing was the back-and-forth between Baffert and Greenberg on the subject of Gamine (Into Mischief) testing positive for betamethasone following her third-place finish in the 2020 GI Kentucky Oaks. Baffert has maintained that he gave Gamine the medication 18 days prior to the race when the rules only prohibit its use within14 days of a start.

“You ran a horse that was disqualified from the most important race for 3-year-old fillies in America, isn't that right? That is a very significant outcome, isn't it?” Greenberg asked

“That was an unjustified outcome,” Baffert replied.

Greenberg also brought up Baffert's announcement in November 2020 that he was hiring Dr. Michael Hore of Hagyard Equine Medical Institute “to add an additional layer of protection to ensure the well-being of horses in my care and rule compliance.” Hore later revealed that he never went to work for Baffert. Baffert said that the only thing that kept Hore from fulfilling those duties was the pandemic.

“You didn't do it Mr. Baffert,” Greenberg said of his promise to bring Hore on aboard. “True or not?”

“It couldn't be done because of COVID,” Baffert replied. “He was going to come in January but he couldn't make it.”

“Is that your way of saying, no, I didn't hire Dr. Hore?” Greenberg said in response. “You did not hire him.”

“He couldn't make it because of COVID,” Baffert said. “He couldn't get there until late spring.”

The hearing soon turned to Baffert's series of press conferences and interviews after it was revealed that Medina Spirit had tested positive. Greenberg alleged that Baffert's media tour hurt the sport because he brought up such things as conspiracy theories. For Baffert, his response marked a rare time where he did admit to some guilt. At the end of the hearing he said if he had to do it over again he would not have granted those interviews.

“I used the word 'cancel culture' and what I meant to say was 'knee jerk,'” Baffert said. “To say 'cancel culture' was a bad move on my part.”

But Baffert said he made such statements because he was under duress.

“I was pretty upset,” Baffert said. “That was just raw emotion, knowing that I did not inject that horse with betamethasone. I knew something was not right.”

When asked if he understood that what he said was harmful to the reputation of the sport, Baffert replied: “This was something that really hit me hard. This is the Kentucky Derby, the greatest race. This is a trainer's nightmare.”

Before Greenberg had his turn, Baffert attorney Craig Robertson led the trainer through a series of questions that included his take on what happened with Medina Spirit. Baffert reiterated his contention that the drug got into the horse's system not through an injection but through the use of a topical ointment, Otomax, to deal with a skin condition. Baffert, who, at first, said that it was impossible that betamethasone was in Medina Spirit's system, said he did so because it never crossed his mind that the drug could be present in a skin ointment. It's notable, however, that it clearly says on Otomax boxes that the ointment contains betamethasone.

Baffert acknowledges that the controversy has affected both him and his family and added that the horses taken away from him include Life Is Good (Into Mischief), who he called the “best horse training in America.”

“It's been rough and tough,” he said. “But it's one of those things where we know we have the facts and the truth. It's probably tougher on my children.”

The hearing started with testimony from Dr. Clara Fenger, a former state vet for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Robertson went through the various drug positives Baffert has been hit with and asked with each one if the drugs involved were performance-enhancing, able to mask any injuries and had any pharmacological effect. Fenger answered no on each occasion.

Next up was Dr. Steven Barker, the long-time director of the Equine Medication Surveillance Laboratory and state chemist to the Louisiana Racing Commission. Like Fenger, Barker said that none of Baffert's violations were particularly serious.

“There's nothing here that matches the rhetoric that has surrounded this case and the actions of NYRA,” he said. “None of this can be considered doping. None of this can be considered an attempt to affect performance. These are common therapeutics at extremely low levels.”

The hearing will resume Friday, with closing statements expected.

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Craig Robertson, attorney for Bob Baffert, and Clark Brewster, representing owner Amr Zedan's Zedan Racing Stables, said tests conducted by Dr. George Maylin, who heads a drug testing laboratory at New York's Morrisville State College, showed the presence of betamethasone valerate, which they claim is found in Otomax ointment. Otomax, manufactured to treat ear infections in dogs, lists betamethasone as one of its ingredients. The test, Robertson and Brewster said, also confirmed the absence of betamethasone acetate, the injectable corticosteroid used to treat inflammation.

“In other words,” Robertson said in a statement, “it has now been scientifically proven that what Bob Baffert said from the beginning was true – Medina Spirit was never injected with betamethasone and the findings following the Kentucky Derby were solely the result of the horse being treated for a skin condition by way of a topical ointment – all at the direction of Medina Spirit's veterinarian.”

The Paulick Report has asked Robertson and Brewster for a full copy of Maylin's report.

Robertson said the test result “should definitively resolve the matter in Kentucky and Medina Spirit should remain the official winner of the 2021 Kentucky Derby.” Brewster had similar sentiments, stating that “Zedan is proud to have stood by Bob and is ecstatic that Medina Spirit will receive the honor of his great victory.”

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and board of stewards have yet to conduct a hearing on Medina Spirit's failed drug test, and until a hearing is conducted Medina Spirit will remain the Kentucky Derby winner. In the ewake of the failed drug test, Baffert was ruled off all tracks owned by Churchill Downs Inc. through the conclusion of the 2023 spring-summer meet at the company's flagship track in Louisville, Ky. Churchill Downs also said horses trained by Baffert are not eligible for qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby.

A spokesperson for the commission could not be reached for comment on Maylin's testing, which attorneys for Baffert and Zedan sought through a court order.

The rules of Kentucky racing do not appear to differentiate between administration of betamethasone or other drugs through injection or other means. In section 1 in the regulations relating to medication, testing procedures and prohibited practices, the definition for “administer” states: “to apply to or cause the introduction of a substance into the body of a horse.”

The full statements from Robertson and Brewster follow:

Craig Robertson: The testing of the split urine sample of MEDINA SPIRIT has now been completed by Dr. George Maylin, Director of the New York Drug Testing & Research Program.  By Order of the Franklin Circuit Court in Kentucky, this urine was tested “to determine if the alleged topical administration of OTOMAX could have resulted in the finding of betamethasone” in MEDINA SPIRIT following the 2021 Kentucky Derby.  Those results have now definitively confirmed that the betamethasone present in MEDINA SPIRIT's system did indeed come from the topical ointment OTOMAX and not an injection.  In other words, it has now been scientifically proven that what Bob Baffert said from the beginning was true – MEDINA SPIRIT was never injected with betamethasone and the findings following the Kentucky Derby were solely the result of the horse being treated for a skin condition by way of a topical ointment – all at the direction of MEDINA SPIRIT's veterinarian.

The betamethasone in an injection is betamethasone acetate.  The betamethasone in the topical ointment is betamethasone valerate.  Only betamethasone acetate is addressed and regulated in the rules of racing in Kentucky.  Thus, the presence of betamethasone valerate in MEDINA SPIRIT, which resulted from a topical ointment, is not a rules violation.  Dr. Maylin's testing not only confirmed the presence of betamethasone valerate, but also the absence of betamethasone acetate.  This should definitively resolve the matter in Kentucky and MEDINA SPIRIT should remain the official winner of the 2021 Kentucky Derby.

Since May, Mr. Baffert has been the subject of an unfair rush to judgment.  We asked all along that everyone wait until the facts and science came to light.  Now that it has been scientifically proven that Mr. Baffert was truthful, did not break any rules of racing, and MEDINA SPIRIT's victory was due solely to the heart and ability of the horse and nothing else, it is time for all members of racing to come together for the good of the sport.  Mr. Baffert has been a tremendous ambassador for the sport throughout his 46 year Hall of Fame career and he has every intention of continuing to do so.

Clark Brewster: As Legal counsel for, and on behalf of, Abr Zedan and Zedan Racing Stable, owner of Medina Spirit, winner of the 147th Kentucky Derby, it is extremely gratifying to learn that the New York Racing Laboratory through its Director Dr George Marlin has scientifically confirmed that no Betamethazone Acetate was found in the post race urine specimen of Medina Spirit. Dr Maylin reported that components of an ointment used to treat a skin lesion was confirmed through metabolite confirmation and that no Acetate that is part of the injectable Betamethazone was present. The Kentucky Racing Commission has steadfastly enacted rules relating to corticosteroid joint injection and have drawn a bright line rule that no injections are permitted within 14 days of a race. Now there is zero doubt that the 14 day rule some thought might have been violated by the earlier less specific testing is revealed as premature judgment. That groundless accusation is without scientific merit.
Zedan is proud to have stood by Bob and is ecstatic that Medina Spirit will receive the honor of his great victory.

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The Protonico colt's Derby win is in jeopardy due to a positive post-race test result for betamethasone, a therapeutic medication that is not allowed on race day. Trainer Bob Baffert and his attorney have claimed the positive is a result of a topical cream (Otomax) used to treat a case of dermatitis on the colt's hindquarters. Though the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has not yet held a hearing, required to disqualify Medina Spirit.

Counsel for Medina Spirit's trainer Bob Baffert and owner Zedan Stables, Craig Robertson, filed a civil suit against the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on June 7 demanding their right to test the split urine sample, which sat undisturbed in the commission's freezer. Remnants of the original biologic samples were initially sent to be tested for those ingredients, but they were reportedly damaged before arrival at the plaintiffs' choice of labs, the New York Equine Drug Testing and Research Laboratory.

Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate ordered June 16 that the remaining urine sample be flown to the New York lab, that two KHRC representatives travel with the sample, and that plaintiffs fund the flight. Upon arrival, the KHRC was to retain 5 milliliters of the sample, while the remainder was to be tested for clotrimazole, gentamicin, and betamethasone valerate, active ingredients in the topical cream Otomax.

On July 14, the sample was flown to New York accompanied by Dr. Clara Fenger and Tom Huckeby, representing Baffert and Medina Spirit's owner, Amr Zedan, as well as by KHRC executive director Marc Guilfoil and equine medical director Dr. Bruce Howard.

On Aug. 9 in Judge Wingate's courtroom, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's general counsel Jennifer Wolsing explained: “My understanding is that an affirmative defense is being mounted by the plaintiffs, to the extent that there may be some evidence as to how this substance (betamethasone) was introduced to the horse.

“We can't have a stewards hearing until those testing results have come back, because that appears to form the basis of the defense the plaintiffs want to mount. We would really like those results so that we can press forward with a stewards hearing and find out more about this case.”

When that hearing occurs, Medina Spirit could be disqualified and Baffert could be fined and/or suspended by the KHRC. A suspension would be reciprocated across other racing jurisdictions.

Since his run in the Kentucky Derby, Medina Spirit has run four times. He finished third in the Preakness, then won the Shared Belief Stakes and G1 Awesome Again, and finished second in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic.

Read more at bloodhorse.com.

The post Testing On Medina Spirit’s Urine Sample Ready To Proceed In New York appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Baffert team has asked for an additional urine sample because it believes further testing can prove that the drug in question, Betamethasone, found its way into Medina Spirit through an ointment used to clear up a skin condition and not through an injection. The KHRC argued that it needs to retain what's left of Medina Spirit's urine sample in case there is a need for further testing on its part or some sort of unforeseen problem related to testing.

Wingate asked the two sides to negotiate and come to a compromise. He said that if the sides could not agree, he would issue a ruling Wednesday. Wingate made it clear that he wants at least some of the urine to be handed over to the Baffert team.

“You sort of see where I am going and I think that if you come up with something more palatable and are afraid of how I am going to rule then do it. Fair enough?” Wingate said.

The hearing was held over Zoom and, at times, only Wingate could be heard clearly. For the most part, the statements made by KHRC attorney Jennifer Wolsing were inaudible.

The lawyers representing Baffert and Medina Spirit's owner, Amr Zedan, are building a case that the drug got into the colt's system through the ointment. They have said that would be the sort of mitigating circumstances needed to conclude that there was no attempt to improve the horse's performance, reason enough for Baffert to be exonerated and the original order of the Kentucky Derby to be upheld.

Also at issue is whether or not it matters where the Betamethasone came from. The courts and the KHRC might ultimately decide that is irrelevant, that the very presence of the drug is enough to warrant a disqualification, no matter the source of the drug.

“The rules of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission are clear,” said Baffert's lawyer Craig Robertson. “Some 63 times in their rules it states that a trainer is allowed to present mitigating circumstances in consideration of a penalty. Proving that this was an ointment and it did not come from an injection is, at the bare minimum, a mitigating circumstance. We should be allowed and should be entitled to present that evidence and obtain that evidence to scientifically prove these facts.”

Robertson also touched upon public perceptions involving this case and the potential damage that could be done to Baffert's reputation.

“From a public perception perspective, my client has been excoriated unfairly and publicly about this and he's been accused of injecting this horse to cheat to win the Kentucky Derby,” Robertson said. “That this is a banned substance. That this is doping. None of which is true. We have an opportunity to get scientific evidence to prove that it's not true and they're trying to keep us from doing that. That's not fair.”

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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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The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California by 2012 National Horseplayers Championship winner Michael Beychok of Louisiana; Justin Wunderler of New Jersey (known on Twitter as frequent Baffert critic @SwiftHitter); Michael Meegan of New York; and Keith Mauer of California. They allege they were denied winning bets on the Kentucky Derby in amounts ranging from $100 to as much as $100,000 because of Baffert's “multiple and repeated acts of doping and entering horses into Thoroughbred races, including the Kentucky Derby” that the complaint said constitutes “racketeering activity” under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and laws of the state of California, where Baffert and his stable are based.

Their bets were placed on Mandaloun and other horses in various wagering pools, but were deemed losers when Medina Spirit crossed the wire first and was declared the “official” winner. Eight days after the Derby, Baffert revealed that the 3-year-old Protonico colt tested positive for the corticosteroid betamethasone and Churchill Downs issued a statement immediately suspending Baffert from racing at the Louisville, Ky., track while the matter is being investigated. While only stewards representing the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission may disqualify horses, the track's statement said Medina Spirit would be disqualified from his Derby win if a split sample confirms the presence of the drug.

The suit was also filed on behalf of “all others similarly situated,” more specifically, “All Kentucky Derby bettors who would have won their bets and winnings had Medina Spirit been properly prohibited from competing in the Kentucky Derby…or competed without the aid of an illegal drug.”

Betamethasone is a legal therapeutic medication used to treat various maladies in horses but its presence is not permitted at any level in post-race drug tests. Baffert first claimed the horse or test sample were contaminated with betamethasone and days later said the positive test may have been caused by a prescription ointment, Otomax, that includes betamethasone as an active ingredient. Baffert said the ointment was used to treat dermatitis after Medina Spirit raced in the Santa Anita Derby on April 3.

In addition to allegations that Baffert violated the federal RICO Act through an enterprise with Zedan Racing “engaged  in activities affecting interstate commerce,” the plaintiffs also claim they and the class members were defrauded by a “misrepresentation” by Baffert in November 2020 after a series of medication violations that he was retaining Dr. Michael Hore to “ensure rule compliance” for his stable. A news report  earlier this week claims that did not happen.

The plaintiffs are asking the suit to be certified by the court as a class action case and seeking damages that include monetary relief for attorney fees and other expenses, injunctive relief “enjoining the Baffert defendants from engaging in any further racketeering acts,” Imposition of “reasonable restrictions” on Baffert's future activities in Thoroughbred racing, payment to the plaintiffs and class members for money they would have won “but for the illegal doping of Medina Spirit,” plus treble and punitive damages.

Craig Robertson, attorney for Baffert, said the lawsuit was “completely frivolous and without legal merit.”

Read the complaint here

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Her testimony was prescient. One year later, the FBI arrested a number of trainers, veterinarians and racing officials in a federal probe into doping and corruption at Penn National race course in Grantville, Pa.

Dr. Papp, who operates Hillcrest Meadow Equine and devotes considerable time and resources to the paracehorse.org rehoming, rehabilitation and rescue aftercare program, joins Paulick Report publisher Ray Paulick and editor-in-chief Natalie Voss to discuss the topic of the week – betamethasone, the drug found in the post-race sample of Medina Spirit after his first-place finish in the May 1 Kentucky Derby.

Bloodstock editor Joe Nevills drops by for his weekly Toast to Vino Rosso, a look at one of the first-crop foals by Spendthrift Farm's Breeders' Cup Classic-winning son of Curlin.

Watch this week's show, presented by Uptowncharlybrown Stud, below:

The post The Friday Show Presented By Uptowncharlybrown Stud: The Lowdown On Betamethasone appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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