The Bob Baffert-trained horse was clean in the first of three additional tests
The tests were mandated after the colt tested positive for the steroid betamethasone following the Kentucky Derby
Baffert said Tuesday that he believed an ointment used to treat dermatitis was responsible for the results
He initially said Sunday that he did not know how the drug had entered the horse s system
The results of the other two tests are expected later today
BALTIMORE Even though Bob Baffert isn’t at Pimlico Race Course this week, his shadow hangs over the Preakness, the Triple Crown and horse racing.This should have been another celebration of Baffert, the face of the sport with two Triple Crown.
Bob Baffert in spotlight for wrong reasons going into Preakness
Saddles for Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness entrant Medina Spirit, left, and Concert Tour are seen on a railing in the stables ahead of the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Wednesday, May 12, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Julio Cortez
Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness entrant Medina Spirit is bathed after a workout ahead of the Preakness Stakes ahead of the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Wednesday, May 12, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Julio Cortez
Exercise rider Humberto Gomez, top left, takes Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness entrant Medina Spirit to the track for a training session ahead of the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Wednesday, May 12, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Julio Cortez
Medina Spirit, a 3-year-old colt trained by Bob Baffert for owner Amr Zedan’s Zedan Racing Stables, went wire to wire under jockey John Valazquez to win the Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky. The Derby win, a record seventh for Baffert, could be overturned if a second round of testing, known as a split sample, also shows the presence of betamethasone.
The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium states that betamethasone is “widely used in equine veterinary medicine as a steroidal anti-inflammatory.” Several equine products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration include betamethasone for intra-articular use in joints to control pain associated with inflammation and osteoarthritis.
About That Connection Between SGF-1000 And Dexamethasone Sponsored by:
When news broke last weekend that Medina Spirit had tested positive for the corticosteroid betamethasone, Paulick Report staff received several questions from readers asking about a phone conversation intercepted by federal agents. Court documents from the federal indictments of March 2020 recalled a conversation between trainer Jason Servis and veterinarian Dr. Kristian Rhein in which they were discussing a substance called SGF-1000, which prosecutors say was one of the misbranded or adulterated drugs at the heart of the case. Rhein told Servis that the substance could sometimes create a false positive for “dex,” widely believed to refer to dexamethasone, and Servis asked Rhein to alter his veterinary records to make it appear as though horses had been treated with dexamethasone in case of a positive test.