For the past two days, the biggest question swirling around the Stakes Barn at Pimlico Race Course was this: Will he be allowed to run, or won’t he?
The answer finally came Tuesday afternoon. Yes. Medina Spirit will be allowed to compete in Saturday’s 146th running of the $1 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.
The innocent horse, who is now in the middle of a percolating thoroughbred controversy, was installed as the 9-5 morning line favorite for the second leg of the Triple Crown.
A field of 10 was entered, including Medina Spirit’s stablemate, Concert Tour, the 5-2 second choice on the morning line.
Medina Spirit won the Crown’s first leg, the Kentucky Derby, 11 days ago, and then the fireworks started.
It was announced Sunday that the horse failed a post-Derby drug test, his trainer. Hall of Famer Bob Baffert was suspended from entering any horses at Churchill Downs (home of the Derby), and Medina Spirit’s eligibility to run in the Preakness was in jeopardy.
There is a chance that if a second sample from Medina Spirit taken after the Derby comes back positive, the horse could be stripped of his Derby win. The results of that sample have yet to be announced.
Things calmed down a bit Tuesday as the Maryland Jockey Club announced that Medina Spirit would be allowed to run in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness. Medina Spirit drew the No. 3 post position and will be ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who rode him in the Kentucky Derby.
In order to get the green light to run in the Preakness, Baffert had to agree that his horses in Baltimore — Medina Spirit and Concert Tour in the Preakness, Hozier in Saturday’s Sir Barton Stakes and Beautiful Gift in Friday’s Black Eyed Susan — be subject to rigorous testing and monitoring by the Maryland Racing Commission.
Another Baffert horse, Following Sea, a 3-year-old filly, had been considered to run in Saturday’s Chick Lang Stakes at Pimlico, but Spendthrift Farm, which owns the horse, announced in light of the Medina Spirit situation that they were sending the filly to trainer Todd Pletcher at Belmont Park. In addition, four 2-year-olds that Spendthrift has with Baffert on the West Coast would also be moved to another barn.
Baffert’s Baltimore horses had blood samples taken Tuesday, and results of those tests are due back Friday, said Dr. Dionne Benson, the chief veterinary officer for the Stronach Group Racing and Gaming, which runs Pimlico. If any of the Baffert horses fail a pre-race test, it will be scratched.
She said that there is no allowable level for betamethasone, the drug that was found in Medina Spirit after the Derby, in Maryland.
This means that Medina Spirit is still not home free to run in the Preakness. Earlier on Tuesday, Baffert issued a statement through his Lexington, Ky.-based lawyer, Craig Robertson, saying Medina Spirit’s betamethasone positive may have been the result of exposure from an ointment that was applied to the horse for dermatitis, a skin rash in his hind end.
According to Baffert’s statement, the last time Medina Spirit was administered betamethasone was April 30, the day before the Kentucky Derby. There is a chance the substance could still be in the horse’s system.
“The more information we have will allow us to reasonably predict where the medication will be on race day,” Benson said after the Preakness draw. “If it’s even going to be close, then we will enact our request for Mr. Baffert to scratch the horse.”
Baffert, who has been in Louisville since Sunday, flew home to California on Tuesday.
When asked for comment on Medina Spirit and the Preakness draw, he texted: “Sorry, but I am going to sit this one out.”
The Baffert horses will be saddled in Baltimore by his long-time assistant, Jimmy Barnes.
According to the Baffert statement, Medina Spirit began getting treatment with Otomax, an anti-fungal ointment after it was recommended by his veterinarian. Otomax contains betamethasone.
“On May 9, 2021, I held a press conference in which I stated that I intended to thoroughly investigate how this could have happened and that I would be completely transparent throughout the process,” Baffert said in his statement. “I immediately began that investigation, which has resulted in me learning of a possible source for the betamethasone, and now, as promised, I want to be forthright about what I have learned.
“Following the Santa Anita Derby (April 3), Medina Spirit developed dermatitis on his hind end,” Baffert said. “I had him checked out by my veterinarian who recommended the use of an anti-fungal ointment called Otomax. The veterinary recommendation was to apply this ointment daily to give the horse relief, help heal the dermatitis and prevent it from spreading. My barn followed this recommendation and Medina Spirit was treated with Otomax once a day until the day before the Kentucky Derby.”
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For now, Medina Spirit is part of 10-horse Preakness field. - Times Union
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