Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, who faced controversy after winning in May, died Monday during a workout at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.
The cause of death for the 3-year-old horse is not clear, and testing will be done to find the cause, said Dr. Jeff Blea, the California Horse Racing Board’s equine medical director.
“I spoke to the attending veterinarian, and when they got to him on the track, he had already expired,” Blea told the Paulick Report. “Not sure where on the track it happened, but it was post-wire. I will have them draw blood and pull hair and will try and get urine for testing. He’ll go out to [the University of California,] Davis, in San Bernardino for a full and comprehensive necropsy, including toxicology, forensics, and tissue sampling. We will take a close look at the heart to try and identify the cause of death.”
MEDINA SPIRIT CLEARED TO RACE IN PREAKNESS DESPITE FAILED KENTUCKY DERBY DRUG TEST
Following the Kentucky Derby but still during the Triple Crown races, Medina Spirit tested positive for an illegal steroid called betamethasone, which called the win into question.
Medina Spirit’s trainer, Bob Baffert, told officials that the drug was part of a topical ointment given by his veterinarian for a skin condition. The drug in an ointment is legal, even on race day, according to the Associated Press. A recent lab result, released earlier this month, confirmed the drug came from an ointment rather than an injection.
“It has now been scientifically proven that what Bob Baffert said from the beginning was true — Medina Spirit was never injected with betamethasone and the findings following the Kentucky Derby were solely the result of the horse being treated for a skin condition by way of a topical ointment — all at the direction of Medina Spirit’s veterinarian,” Baffert’s lawyer Craig Robertson told the Associated Press in an email.
After the Kentucky Derby, Baffert was banned from entering horses into races at Churchill Downs for two years. He was also banned from entering horses in New York, including at the Belmont Stakes, another leg of the Triple Crown. The final leg is at the Preakness Stakes in Maryland. Officials in Kentucky have not determined whether the confirmed ointment is enough to throw out the case against Baffert and Medina Spirit.
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Medina Spirit most recently placed second at the Breeders’ Cup Classic, a race held in Del Mar, California, last month. He has won a total of five races and placed second in four.
