Was Medina Spirit victim of cancel culture? Bob Baffert calls Kentucky Derby win valid: ‘America is different’
Medina Spirit trainer Bob Baffert pushed back against claims that his racehorse had illegally won the Kentucky Derby, blaming cancel culture for the allegations.
“[This] did not happen. That horse has never been treated with (betamethasone)," Baffert said during an interview on Fox News’ 'America’s Newsroom' on Monday, May 10. "Actually, it’s a legal therapeutic medicine, and the amount that was in it wouldn’t have any effect on the horse anyway. But we don’t … that horse was never treated with that, and so that’s the disturbing part of it.”
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The celebrated racehorse trainer said he "never thought" he would have to fight for his and "this poor horse’s reputation. Because of the new regulations the regulators have put, they’re testing these horses at contaminated levels, and it’s been a horrible experience.”
“It did not happen, and that’s the really seriously troubling part of it,” he continued. “[We’re hiring] investigators, but sometimes you never find out. It’s just a tragedy what happened in this race.”
“We live in a new world now. These horses don’t live in a bubble,” Baffert said on Sunday, May 9, after Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone, a corticosteroid banned above a certain level in racing. “They’re in an open farm. People are touching them. He went from the Derby to after the Derby, everybody’s out there touching them. I mean there’s so many ways these horses can get contaminated and when they’re testing at these really ridiculously low levels … I’ve been saying it for over a year now these are gonna get innocent people in trouble and this is what happened now.”
Baffert had previously said he was "shocked" because Medina Spirit had allegedly “never been treated with betamethasone.”
The Churchill Downs racing complex released a statement after the news of Medina Spirit’s positive drug test. “Given the seriousness of the alleged offense, Churchill Downs will immediately suspend Bob Baffert, the trainer of Medina Spirit, from entering any horses at Churchill Downs Racetrack," it said. "To be clear, if the findings are upheld, Medina Spirit’s results in the Kentucky Derby will be invalidated and Mandaloun will be declared the winner.”
Speaking to Fox News, Baffert's attorney Craig Robertson said that his client is prepared to file a temporary restraining order (TRO) if the horse is not allowed to enter the Preakness. If the TRO is approved by a judge, Pimlico Race Course will not be able to ban Medina Spirit from taking part in the event.
Baffert, however, believes the Medina Spirit investigation will “take months.” “With all the noise … We live in a different world now. This America is different. It was like a cancel culture kind of a thing so they’re reviewing it. I haven’t been told anything. We’re prepared to run,” he said, the Daily Wire reported.
“We did not cheat to win the Kentucky Derby,” Baffert insisted. “I want to protect my legacy. I’ve trained great horses. I’ve trained the best horses that have run through there. My record proves it," he continued. "This is horrible what has happened. The horse never got that medication. It’s an injustice to the horse. He’s a great horse. He ran hard. He deserved to win that race and it kills me because these horses are like my children and for something to happen to him like that is horrible but we have to deal with it and hopefully it will get resolved," Baffert added.