Al’s Derby 2021 bets – I hope you cashed that ticket

Minutes after I first heard the report Sunday about allegations that Medina Spirit’s 2021 Kentucky Derby win might be thrown out, I placed a call to a friend who had placed my bet to make sure he had cashed that ticket in before now.

Seems Medina Spirit, who was the first across the Kentucky Derby finish line for a 12-1 payoff, might have had too much of a pain reducing drug in his system when the results from the post-race blood tests came back – a week after the race.

Trainer Bob Baffert, whose Derby champions numbered six prior to the 2021 race on May 1, announced on Sunday morning that the blood test had come back showing that Medina Spirit had tested positive for betamethasone, which is an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid and used in race horses to relieve joint pain.

While the drug is allowed for use in race horses in minute quantities, the post-race blood test revealed Medina had more than twice the legal limit in his system.

A second independent split test is being performed now, and depending on those results, the suspension will either be reversed, should the results from the first test prove to have been incorrect, or if those test results are confirmed, likely the title will be stripped from Medina Spirit, awarded to the second horse across the finish line, Mandaloun.

Then the appeal process by Baffert would begin and the horse racing industry – and fans like myself – will likely spend several months in a “wait and see” mode.

But, I did learn one thing Sunday morning shortly after hearing the report. My ticket has been cashed, my friend is holding on to my winnings, and they ain’t getting it back.