Lab results: Medina Spirit is only Derby day drug positive

Medina Spirit was the only horse to fail a drug test on Kentucky Derby day at Churchill Downs, according to the test results obtained by Horse Racing Nation through an open-records request to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

There were also no positive tests on Kentucky Oaks day.

The records, which do not list the name of any horse, include the results of 50 tests performed on May 1, along with 56 performed on April 30.

Of the 50 horses on the May 1 test, only one test result was labeled as “pending,” indicating that result has not been finalized, likely due to the split sample having not been tested.

According to attorneys for the KHRC, certain parts of the results were withheld due to the ongoing investigation into the one positive test.

“In this instance, the KHRC has withheld a final laboratory report and redacted client ID numbers included in preliminary laboratory reports related to Derby samples collected on May 1, 2021,” Jennfier Wolsing and T. Chad Thompson, counsel for the KHRC, said in a response to HRN’s request. “Releasing that information would eliminate a split laboratory’s ability to conduct a blind analysis, which is integral for the purpose of avoiding any perceived bias or manipulation in connection.”

Trainer Bob Baffert confirmed in a May 9 news conference that it was Derby winner Medina Spirit who tested positive.

Despite the records request for drug test results from April 30 and May 1 coming up with 12 pages of responsive records, the KHRC refused to release them via email as requested. When HRN filed a similar request in 2020 after Gamine tested positive for betamethasone after the Kentucky Oaks, responsive records were provided through email.

The full May 1 lab reports are available below.