Legendary trainer Bob Baffert will be allowed to race a horse in the 2025 Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs announced Friday that its suspension of Baffert is now rescinded. reports the Los Angeles Times.
The Kentucky Derby headquarters announced that Baffert’s suspension was lifted after He posted a statement on social media. taking responsibility for Medina Spirit’s positive drug test after the 147th race of 2021.
“I am responsible for any substances found on the horses I train,” Baffert said in the statement, “and I have paid a heavy price with a three-year suspension and disqualification from Medina Spirit’s performance.”
Baffert, a six-time Kentucky Derby winner, was suspended after the 2021 event after first-place winner Medina Spirit tested positive for a corticosteroid called betamethasone. The drug is injected into joints to reduce pain and swelling.
Betamethasone is allowed up to a certain level in horse racing. But according to drug test results, Medina Spirit tested positive for 21 picograms of betamethasone, more than twice the permitted amount. The horse was disqualified, making second-place finisher Mandaloun the winner, and Baffert was given a two-year ban.
Despite the positive test results, Baffert insisted that Medina Spirit had never been treated with betamethasone. However, another of his horses, Gamine, tested positive for the same substance after finishing third in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks. Gamine was disqualified and Baffert was fined $1,500.
Despite the results, Baffert insists Medina Spirit has never been treated with betamethasone. Another of his horses, Gamine, tested positive for the same substance after finishing third in last year’s Kentucky Oaks. Gamine was subsequently disqualified, the owners’ prize money was taken away and Baffert was fined $1,500.
Medina Spirit’s disqualification cost Baffert what would have been a record seventh Kentucky Derby victory and kept him out of horse racing’s signature event.
The ban was extended to three years In 2023, when Churchill Downs deemed Baffert still unwilling to accept responsibility for Medina Spirit’s positive drug test, demonstrating that he “cannot be trusted to avoid future misconduct,” his status was set to be reviewed after the suspension ended in 2025.
Baffert’s horses also had Failed 30 drug tests for the past 40 years, including four in a six-month period, including the 2021 Derby. He is the most successful trainer in American horse racing, with his horses winning seven Kentucky Derby titles and sweeping the Triple Crown events (the Derby, Belmont Stakes and Preakness) twice in a five-year span from 2016 to 2021.
It was included in National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 2009.
“We are pleased that Mr. Baffert has taken responsibility for his actions, served a substantial penalty and is committed to competing in full compliance with the rules and regulations going forward,” Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said. In a later statement.
“All parties agree that it is time to close this chapter and focus on the future,” the statement continued. “Mr. Baffert is welcome to return to any of CDI’s racetracks, including our flagship Churchill Downs, and we wish him and his connections good luck in their future competitive endeavors.”
