Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a post-race drug test, once more putting the practices of his Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert under uncomfortable scrutiny.
The colt cannot be disqualified until a split sample confirms the result. Baffert will then have an opportunity to appeal. If disqualified, Medina Spirit would be stripped of the Derby title and the winning purse.
In a news conference Sunday morning outside of his barn at Churchill Downs, Baffert said neither he nor anyone on his team administered the drug betamethasone to Medina Spirit.
“I was totally shocked when I heard this news,” Baffert said.