Medina Spirit is gone from Churchill paddock, not forgotten

Louisville, Ky.

It was pouring rain Monday morning as Todd Herl of the Churchill Downs sign shop climbed almost to the top of a yellow fiberglass Green Bull ladder just outside stall 15 in the track’s paddock. With a few spins of a power drill and an exchange with his help on the ground, the task was done in less than four minutes.

When Herl carried away the sign that had denoted Medina Spirit as winner of the 2021 Kentucky Derby, there was a new one in its place. Mandaloun’s name now hangs over the paddock, one day after the disqualification of Medina Spirit.

The old sign was taken into storage, according to a representative for Churchill Downs. He said he did not know what might have become of the sign from the last time such a disqualification occurred, that one involving Dancer’s Image in 1968.

Just across from the paddock, hanging over the tunnel that horses take to the track for races, was the name Forward Pass, whose 1968 victory was finalized in 1972 after a lengthy court battle over a drug test.

“Mandaloun,” said the green sign, a slightly brighter shade than some of the others decorating the side of the barn. “2021 Kentucky Derby winner.”

If Baffert were to lose that appeal to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, the next step would be to challenge the ruling in a Kentucky courtroom. That process could drag out for years.

In the entrance to the barn, where Baffert stood to hold a news conference May 9 to claim his innocence after Medina Spirit’s betamethasone violation, sat heavy machinery.

It is unknown who will take over the barn next, since Churchill Downs stall applications are not due until March.

The 2022 Kentucky Derby will be run May 7, barring any strange circumstances. Until that day, when the next group of winning connections exit the tunnel to see their horse’s name hung above the paddock, Mandaloun’s sign will remain for all to see.