Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit stripped of win, Mandaloun declared champion

The 2021 Kentucky Derby winner has lost its title after a positive drug test.

Medina Spirit was the first horse to cross the finish line during the race, but after having a positive drug test, Mandaloun has been declared the race winner, The Associated Press reported.

Mandaloun had finished in second place, WLKY reported.

Medina Spirit died on Dec. 6 after a workout at Santa Anita. A necropsy was performed earlier this month and at the time showed no definitive cause of death, the AP reported.

The horse had failed a drug test shortly after the Kentucky Derby, WLKY reported. He had 21 picograms of betamethasone, about twice the legal limit of the steroid. It is legal in Kentucky except on race day.

In addition to Medina Spirit losing the title, his trainer, Bob Baffert, has been suspended for 90 days and will have to pay a fine of $7,500, WLKY reported.

Baffert said the steroids were from an ointment he used on a skin condition and was not injected into the horse.

Baffert was already suspended by Churchill Downs and was not allowed to enter a horse in the 2022 and 2023 Kentucky Derbies, WLKY reported. He also lost his record-breaking seventh Kentucky Derby victory, The New York Times reported.

He’s also not allowed to enter horses at tracks in Belmont, Saratoga and Aqueduct.

Medina Spirit’s owner Amr Zedan will not get the $1.8 million check from the Derby win. It will now go to Mandaloun’s owner, Juddmonte, which was founded by Saudi Arabian Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, the Times reported.

The 2022 Kentucky Derby is scheduled to be run on May 7.

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