Medina Spirit, who won the Kentucky Derby on May 1 to give the trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh victory in the race, was nearly excluded from the Preakness Stakes when it was disclosed that he had failed a drug test after the Derby.
Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone, a corticosteroid, but officials in Kentucky are awaiting results from a second sample to determine if his Derby victory will be overturned. That could have set up an awkward situation if Medina Spirit had won the Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown.
The results from a second sample are not expected for several weeks.