Tag: Kentucky Horse Racing Commission

Medina Spirit warming up before his final race: the 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar. The Bob Baffert trainee died in December, nearly five months before Baffert lost a final legal appeal to stay his 90-day suspension. (Image: Anne M. Eberhardt)

Baffert’s 90-Day Suspension Starts Monday After Latest Court Setback

One of embattled trainer Bob Baffert’s last legal Hail Marys was swatted aside Friday when the Kentucky Court of Appeals denied his motion for an emergency stay of his 90-day suspension by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. According to the Thoroughbred Daily News, which first reported the story, that means […]

Bob Baffert lost his appeal to stay his 90-day suspension imposed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. (Image: Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia)

Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Rejects Baffert’s Appeal for Stay

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission voted to deny trainer Bob Baffert a stay of his 90-day suspension Friday, upholding a decision made by KHRC Executive Director Marc Guilfoil. This is the latest saga in the late Medina Spirit’s post-Kentucky Derby positive test for the anti-inflammatory betamethasone, banned on race days […]

Medina Spirit's half-length victory over Mandaloun in last year's Kentucky Derby was overturned Monday. Mandaloun was declared the official winner after Medina Spirit was disqualified for a drug violation. (Image: Coady Photography)

Stewards Strip Medina Spirit of 2021 Kentucky Derby Title

After nine months, numerous fits and starts and several legal challenges, Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards disqualified Medina Spirit as winner of the 2021 Kentucky Derby. The Monday decision came as a result of Medina Spirit failing a drug test for the banned-on-race day, anti-inflammatory betamethasone. Along with the ruling, […]

Jockey John Velazquez aboard Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit, with owner Amr Zedan (far left), trainer Bob Baffert (yellow tie) and the rest of the horse's connections. Zedan and Baffert's attorneys issueed a statement maintaining the horse's positive drug test was due to an ointment. (Image: Jamie Newell/TwinSpires)

Baffert Attorneys: Test Proves Cream Caused Medina Spirit’s Positive Test

The attorneys for Medina Spirit’s owner and trainer, Amr Zedan and Bob Baffert, issued statements late Friday claiming that tests performed by a New York laboratory confirmed their position that the Kentucky Derby winner’s positive test for the corticosteroid betamethasone came from the ointment Otomax and not an injection. Baffert’s […]

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit remains the focus of a legal battle over his urine sample. On Wednesday, a Kentucky judge allowed further testing on the colt. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Judge Grants Baffert’s Request for More Testing of Medina Spirit’s Urine

Kentucky Judge Thomas Wingate granted permission on Wednesday for a urine sample of Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit to undergo extra testing at a New York lab. Blood-Horse first reported that Wingate, a Circuit Court Judge from Franklin, Kentucky, specified the details for the sample’s transfer from the Kentucky Horse […]

Medina Spirit trainer Bob Baffert (left) and owner Amr Zedan flank jockey John Velazquez as they hoist the Kentucky Derby trophy. Baffert and Zedan filed suit Tuesday to protect Medina Spirit's Derby victory. (Image: AP Photo)

Baffert, Zedan File Suit Seeking Extra Testing for Medina Spirit

Bob Baffert and Amr Zedan, the trainer and owner of Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit, went on the legal offensive Tuesday, filing a lawsuit against the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. The suit, filed in Franklin Circuit Court in Kentucky, claims the KHRC’s ban on betamethasone applies only to injections and […]

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert doubles as the face of his sport. His face won't be around Churchill Downs the next two years after that track suspended him for two years. (Image: AP Photo)

Churchill Downs Drops Two-Year Suspension on Bob Baffert

In the wake of Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit’s split sample testing positive for the prohibited anti-inflammatory betamethasone, Churchill Downs suspended trainer Bob Baffert for two years, effective immediately. The ruling prohibits the Hall of Fame trainer from entering horses for races or occupying stall space at Churchill Downs, and […]

Bettors wagering on 26/1 Mandaloun to win the Kentucky Derby won't get rewarded if winner Medina Spirit is disqualified. Pari-mutuel payouts stand once a race is ruled official. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Can Mandaloun Bettors Profit From a Medina Spirit DQ?

One of the first questions many novice horseplayers asked when the news of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit’s positive drug test for excessive amounts of an anti-inflammatory medication was: “If he’s DQed, can I cash my Mandaloun ticket?” The answer is an emphatic “no.” Bettors holding Mandaloun tickets deserve props […]

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he will sign a bill legalizing historical horse racing machines the moment it hits his desk. (Image: Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press)

Kentucky Governor Chomping at the Bit to Sign HHR Machine Bill

With legislation legalizing historical horse racing (HHR) machines meandering toward his desk, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told a virtual meeting of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Tuesday he will sign the bill “as fast as it reaches my desk.” Beshear told the commissioners he couldn’t sign Senate Bill 120 last […]

Gamine, seen here winning the Test Stakes last summer, forfeited her third-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks after her second positive drug test. (Image: Coglianese Photo/HYRA)

Champion Sprinter Gamine Disqualified from Kentucky Oaks

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission formally disqualified Gamine from the 2020 Kentucky Oaks after the Bob Baffert charge tested positive for betamethasone. Along with that, the commission fined Baffert $1,500. As a result of the Jan. 30 ruling, posted on the KHRC website, Gamine forfeits the $120,000 she earned for […]

Historical Horse Racing (HHR) machines resemble slot machines, which are banned in Kentucky. They provided $2.2 billion to Kentucky's economy in 2019 and are a major economic engine for the state's key Thoroughbred industry. (Image: Canadian Thoroughbred Magazine)

Kentucky Supreme Court Rejects HHR Appeal, Lawmakers Up Next?

In the latest salvo fired in the ongoing debate about historical horse racing (HHR) machines in Kentucky, the state’s Supreme Court denied an appeal from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission requesting a second opinion on the legality of those machines. The Kentucky Supreme Court refused to reconsider its Sept. 24 […]

Derby City Gaming HHR machines in Louisville played their parts in fueling a $2.26 billion industry benefiting Kentucky racing and breeding. (Image: WDRB.com)

Kentucky Horse Racing Industry Goes on Offensive for HHR Machines

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association petitioned to file an amicus brief this week, seeking a return of the historical horse racing (HHR) machines recently outlawed by the Kentucky Supreme Court. The petition comes on the heels of an amicus brief filed last week by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce illustrating the […]