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Medina Spirit Collapses, Dies After Santa Anita Workout

This year's Kentucky Derby first-place finisher Medina Spirit collapsed and died after a workout at Santa Anita Park on Monday morning, the California Horse Racing Board's Equine Medical Director Jeff Blea confirmed. Trained by Bob Baffert, the 3-year-old son of Protonico had just completed five furlongs in 1:01.40 in his second work since finishing second in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

“I spoke to the attending veterinarian, and when they got to him on the track he had already expired,” said Dr. Blea, former American Association of Equine Practitioners president, speaking from the AAEP convention in Nashville, Tenn. “Not sure where on the track it happened but it was post wire.

“I will have them draw blood and pull hair and will try and get urine for testing. He'll go out to UC Davis in San Bernardino, for a full and
comprehensive necropsy including toxicology, forensics and tissue sampling. We will take a close look at the heart to try and identify the cause of death.”

The colt's Derby win remains in jeopardy due to a positive post-race test result for betamethasone, a therapeutic medication that is not allowed on race day. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has not yet held a hearing, required to disqualify Medina Spirit, but on Friday attorneys for Baffert released a statement claiming that tests conducted by a New York laboratory have “definitively confirmed” Medina Spirit tested positive for a corticosteroid not through an injection but because of an ointment used to treat a skin rash.

Medina Spirit was bred in Florida by Gail Rice, mother of Eclipse Award finalist Taylor Rice (apprentice jockey) and mother-in-law to top jockey Jose Ortiz, out of the Brilliant Speed mare Mongolian Changa. The mare failed to produce milk when Medina Spirit was first born, and Rice had to turn to her only other broodmare, Scribbling Sarah, for assistance. The young Medina Spirit thrived, and his own mom started producing milk several hours later.

Unfortunately, Rice's divorce forced the sale of Medina Spirit as a yearling. He brought the bottom-dollar bid of $1,000 at the OBS Winter Mixed sale in early 2019.

Bloodstock agent Gary Young saw the 2-year-old Medina Spirit at the 2020 OBS July sale, and recommended the purchase to Amr Zedan, who was able to purchase the colt for $35,000.

Medina Spirit won the G3 Bob Lewis, then underwent throat surgery after a sound defeat in the G2 San Felipe. The colt rebounded to run a good second in the G1 Santa Anita Derby before heading to Louisville.

Medina Spirit has run four times since his Kentucky Derby win, finishing third in the Preakness Stakes and recording victories in the Shared Belief Stakes and the Grade 1 Awesome Again. Overall, the colt's record includes five wins, four seconds and a third from 10 starts, with earnings of $3,545,200.

Baffert had been aiming Medina Spirit at the Saudi Cup in February.

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Santa Anita Brings Back ‘Ship & Win’ Program For Upcoming Winter/Spring Meeting

As part of a continuing effort to attract new horses and thus help to ensure better field size, Santa Anita Park will again be offering significant bonuses to horsemen bringing out of state horses to run at Santa Anita's upcoming Winter/Spring Meet which opens on Dec. 26.

Eligible horses will receive a $5,000 bonus as well as purse money 35 percent above their allotted purse percentage for one start. Horses who become eligible at the 2021 Del Mar Fall Meet will also be eligible for Ship & Win bonuses for their first start at Santa Anita's Winter/Spring Meet.

The $5,000 bonus will also apply to any stakes horse that meets Ship & Win eligibility guidelines, but those horses will not be eligible for the 35 percent purse increase.

“All of us have been gratified at the success of the Ship & Win program this year, at both Del Mar and here at Santa Anita,” said Chris Merz, Santa Anita Director of Racing and Racing Secretary. “We're certainly hoping to continue to attract more out of state horses this winter and spring and given the significant amount of money available, this has certainly incentivized our horsemen to go out and procure additional racing prospects.”

Santa Anita's Winter/Spring Meet Condition Book One is available online at santaanita.com. For additional information regarding Santa Anita's 2021-22 Ship & Win Program, please visit our website or call the Santa Anita Racing Office at (626) 574-RACE.

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Hall Of Famer John Velazquez Will Ride Full-Time At Santa Anita This Winter

For the first time in his illustrious 32-year career, Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will ride full-time this winter at Santa Anita, beginning with the track's opening day, Sunday, Dec. 26.

A 50-year-old native of Puerto Rico, “Johnny V.” as he's affectionately known, is Thoroughbred racing's all-time leading money winning jockey, with career purse earnings of more than $446 million from 6,357 wins. A winner of four Kentucky Derbies, including this year's running with Medina Spirit, Velazquez has won 17 Breeders' Cup races, including the 2020 Breeders' Cup Classic with Authentic.

A dominant force on the East Coast for many years, Velazquez, who broke his maiden in Puerto Rico on Jan. 3, 1990, began riding full-time in New York later that year and was soon befriended by legendary Puerto Rican Hall of Famer Angel Cordero, Jr., who served as an invaluable mentor as Velazquez sought to immerse himself in American culture.

When Cordero retired from the saddle, he became Velazquez's agent in 1998. The results were instantaneous and they were remarkable, as Velazquez, who rode “first-call” for top trainer Todd Pletcher, would go on to become Saratoga's all-time leading jockey and become America's leading rider by money-won in 2004 and 2005, winning Eclipse Award Champion Jockey honors in both years as well.

Although he enjoyed tremendous success with Cordero, Velazquez shifted gears in late 2019, as he hired superstar agent Ron Anderson, who at the time was working for Joel Rosario, whom he continues to represent.

“We're looking to winter out there instead of going to Florida, we're looking for some sort of change,” said Anderson, himself a Southern California native. “Johnny's at a point, we're looking for good horses, graded stakes and the like…He'll be in and out (of town) a little bit, but something different. I think he's very excited about being there. His wife Leona went out and got a place over the weekend.

“He'll be riding for everybody, Bob Baffert, Doug O'Neill, Richie Baltas, Dick Mandella, everybody. I'll piece that together as we go. The first condition book came out (Monday) and I've already got a few guys that are knocking on the door.”

Far beyond his tremendous success as a rider, John Velazquez, who also serves as Chairman of the Board of the National Jockeys' Guild and as a board member of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, is revered by jockeys and horsemen nationwide for his unwavering commitment to his fellow riders and the betterment of the sport in general.

“He's one of the greatest guys ever,” said Anderson. “What he does for the Jockeys' Guild and all the time he puts in, the meetings and following up with individual riders through a lot of situations…He's just different. He's really, really a special person at the end of the day. He's positive, he's classy, he's considerate, he's kind to everybody.

“As a rider, his numbers and his records speak for themselves. He's the number one leading rider of all-time. You'll see, he's just a special person.”

Anderson also noted that although Velazquez will be based at Santa Anita through the month of March, he will also be flying out of town to ride in major stakes such as the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park Jan. 29 and other races nationally and internationally as well.

Velazquez, a winner of Santa Anita's 2009 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, also notched a significant milestone at Santa Anita, when he passed retired Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey with his 661st graded stakes winner aboard the Baffert-trained Bast in the Grade 1 Chandelier Stakes here on Sept. 27, 2019—making him racing's all-time leading graded stakes winning jockey.

Velazquez will be joining a star-studded riding colony headed by the likes of Flavien Prat, Juan Hernandez, Umberto Rispoli, Joe Bravo, Abel Cedillo and fellow Hall of Famers Kent Desormeaux, Victor Espinoza and Mike Smith.

First post time for an 11-race card on Santa Anita's Winter/Spring Meet opening day, Dec. 26, is at 11 a.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

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Eclipse Awards At Santa Anita Park On Feb. 10; Tickets On Sale Now

Tickets for the 51st annual Eclipse Awards dinner are on sale now. The Eclipse Awards will be held on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., the first time racing's night of champions will be held on the West Coast since 2012.

Eclipse Award tickets are available for $425 each or $4,000 for a table of 10. For additional information, log on to the NTRA website at https://www.ntra.com/eclipse-awards/.

The “black-tie optional” Eclipse Awards dinner and awards ceremony will be held in an expansive chalet adjacent to Santa Anita Park's iconic clubhouse beginning at 4:00 p.m. (PT). The dinner and awards, which begin at 5:00 p.m. (PT), will be followed by an After Party in The Chandelier Room, Santa Anita's art deco masterpiece overlooking the racetrack and San Gabriel Mountains. The Eclipse Awards on Thursday evening kicks off a festive weekend of activities highlighted by racing Friday through Sunday. Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, will take place on Sunday, Feb. 13.

Eclipse Awards voting is conducted by the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), Daily Racing Form, National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) member racing officials and Equibase field personnel. The Eclipse Awards ceremony is produced by the NTRA.

The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies.

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