The Friday Show: Adding An Asterisk To An Arkansas Derby Winner
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Charlatan's victory in the Arkansas Derby was restored by the Arkansas Racing Commission despite a failed drug test for lidocaine
It's been almost a year since Bob Baffert-trained Gamine and Charlatan won races at Oaklawn – Gamine in an allowance race and Charlatan in a division of the Grade 1, $1-million Arkansas Derby – and then subsequently were disqualified when post-race drug tests detected the prohibited drug lidocaine.
Those disqualifications were appealed, as was a 15-day suspension given Baffert by the Oaklawn board of stewards. Earlier this week after a two-day hearing, the Arkansas Racing Commission voted unanimously to restore the horses' wins, eliminate Baffert's suspension and instead fine him $5,000 for each positive.