Medina Spirit, the Kentucky Derby winner trained by Bob Baffert that tested positive for betamethasone after winning the 2021 Triple Crown race, died on Monday while training at Santa Anita Park.
The horse's owner, Amr Zedan, confirmed Medina Spirit's death to Thoroughbred Daily News, speculating that he suffered a heart attack. The California Horse Racing Board's Equine Medical Director Dr. Jeff Blea told industry publication Paulick Report that the horse ran five furlongs prior to collapsing on the track and that a necropsy is needed to confirm the cause of death.
“I spoke to the attending veterinarian, and when they got to him on the track he had already expired,” Blea told Paulick Report.