Bob Baffert attorney to appeal after Medina Spirit is stripped of Kentucky Derby win

On Monday, 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was officially stripped of that victory and trainer Bob Baffert was suspended for 90 days, given a $7,500 fine, and made to forfeit all purse money from the win by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission after the horse tested positive for the steroid betamethasone last May. 

Later in the day, Clark Brewster, an attorney for Baffert, announced in a statement he will appeal the ruling. 

"We are disappointed by the Commission's ruling, but not surprised," Brewster said, according to Paulick Report. "This ruling represents an egregious departure from both the facts and the law, but the numerous public statements by KHRC officials over the last several months have made perfectly clear that Bob Baffert's fate was decided before we ever sat down for a hearing before the three stewards, one of whom is directly employed by Churchill Downs as the racing director at Turfway Park. We will appeal, and we will prevail when the facts and rules are presented to detached, neutral decisionmakers.

"The Kentucky Rules of Racing, KHRC Rule 8:020-2, regulates only 'betamethasone acetate' 'via IA [intra-articular joint] administration' and prohibits its use only if that injection occurred within 14 days of the race. 

"The Kentucky Rules of Racing, Rule 8:010, Section 4, expressly permits trainers to administer ointments containing betamethasone under a rule captioned 'Certain Permitted Substances,' which states that 'ointments . . . and other products commonly used in the daily care of horses may be administered by a person, other than a licensed veterinarian if': (1) The treatment does not include any drug, medication, or substance otherwise prohibited by this administrative regulation; (2) The treatment is not injected; and (3) The person is acting under the direction of a licensed trainer or veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine in Kentucky and licensed by the commission." 

As noted by The Associated Press (h/t ESPN), Baffert admitted to treating Medina Spirit with a topical ointment that contained betamethasone after a test found that 21 picograms of the steroid were in the horse's body. Churchill Downs suspended Baffert for two years and, following Monday's development, named second-place Mandaloun as the winner of last year's Kentucky Derby. Mandaloun's owners will receive the winner's purse valued at $1.8 million. 

Betamethasone is legal in Kentucky but banned on race day.

"The unrefuted and undisputed facts established at the hearing were: (1) Medina Spirit was treated with an ointment, not an injection; (2) the trace amount of betamethasone detected could not have affected the horse in any way; and (3) the trace amount of betamethasone detected could not possibly have affected the outcome of the race," Brewster added in the release. 

"In other words, Medina Spirit would have won with or without the ointment because it was irrelevant in every way. The stewards' decision to rob Medina Spirit of a victory he earned was not in accordance with the law but instead represents biased, purposeful, and wrongful action." 

Medina Spirit died of a suspected heart attack after a workout on Dec. 6.