Attorneys for the Kentucky Equestrian Commission, trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan made the orders suggested in Medina Spirit’s appeal on December 22, leaving the officer’s recommendation. The hearing is the next step in a long-running dispute over a race winner’s manager’s disqualification. The 2021 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).
A positive test result for betamethasone resulted in Medina Spirit’s disqualification and 90-day suspension and $7,500 fine against Baffert. Baffert and Zedan appealed, and a six-day hearing was held in August. Hearings officer Eden Davis Stephens will recommend whether the manager’s ruling should be followed. All commissions are free to accept or decline such recommendation.
Baffert and Zedan’s submissions were made together. Their summary of the proposed factual findings and conclusions of the legislation will feature Stephens’ rule, among other things, that the legal use of Otomax, an ointment containing betamethasone, leads to to a positive test for a drug that is a legal medication, but horses are not allowed on race day. Betamethasone is a corticosteroid with anti-inflammatory effects.
The trainer and owner’s findings confirm: there is no evidence that the drug came from an injection; that Medina Spirit benefited from Otomax used to treat rashes; that the amount of betamethasone currently available cannot affect his performance or endanger him; that the KHRC has illegally delegated a rule-making authority to a laboratory; that Kentucky’s zero-tolerance rule for betamethasone is arbitrary; and that even if an infraction by the coach is found, Medina Spirit’s disqualification will be rescinded.
The KHRC’s proposed findings cite a series of previous drug-positive cases from Baffert’s stables and his awareness of Kentucky’s betamethasone ban following a positive post-Longines Gamine test. Kentucky Oaks (G1) in 2020; that Baffert admits “his recent drug positivity has negatively affected horse racing;” that Baffert had failed to live up to his pledge to tighten stable management by 2020; and that he instructed employees not to use betamethasone.
The KHRC’s set of findings would indicate that Baffert said he was not aware Otomax contained betamethasone valerate; that the groom applied significantly more Otomas than veterinarian Vince Baker directed; and that Baffert, when informed of the positive test result by chief manager Barbara Borden in a recorded phone call, “naturally asserted that his barn did not use any ointments” and that the trainer told sports radio host Dan Patrick, “Nobody handles the horse… has any cream or anything like that. [that].”
According to KHRC records, when Borden told Baffert a veterinarian would search his cage for anything containing betamethasone, Baffert said, “No way. We’re not that stupid. I’m not that stupid.”
A key request by the KHRC contractor would be to exclude from the evidence testimony of Dr. George Maylin, head of the New York equine testing laboratory and key witness for Baffert, who said the result was positive. with betamethasone from Otomax. KHRC considers this conclusion to be inconsistent because the route of use is not differentiated in the regulations and because Maylin’s testing method is unique and has not been published nor reviewed.
Baffert and Zedan’s bid concluded by saying that the hearing officer should find the drug positive to be “an unintended result of the clearly authorized ointment and that such a low dose would not pose a danger to the horse or In these cases, the presence of betamethasone does not violate KHRC regulations.”
According to KHRC records, Dr. Steven Barker, who testified for Baffert, “later confirmed that the amount of betamethasone found in Medina Spirit’s blood… matched amounts normally found three days after injection. .” Baffert and Zedan emphasize that there is no evidence that Medina Spirit injected betamethasone.
