Medina Spirit fails drug test

[skydy]

@BrendaJane

I prefer a young horse not to be worked to that point.
And the pricetag has little to do with this. I understand the economy of racing, but also see that longevity isn’t a thing the industry is concerned about.
Here is the problem:
the Derby (and similar races) are to select the future generation breeding stock.
If a horse can’t be sound at the beginning of his 3 year campaign he needs to be in a field somewhere to heal and grow up.
Now, with the Derby win under his belt - controversy or not - he will be on the fast track to the breeding shed (because he might not survive a 4 year campaign on 4 legs!)
And that will be passed on to the next generation.
The backside is concerned with the selling aspect, the front side with transparency for the betting public.
Exceller Fund and similar organizations get to pick up the useable pieces.

Here is what I think what happened:
Medina SPirit was never meant to bother the finishline.
He was 3rd choice at best.
I bet he was supposed to be the rabbit.
The industry might hail the cheap horse, but they don’t respect them. They are hoping for all the cheap horses to be snapped up now at auction.
And of course most are cheap for a reason.

So no wonder Baffert had an OS moment there.
Either the field didn’t consider the horse could win, or the horse didn’t know not to. (and I don’t blame the Jockey…that’s 10% of the purse for him!)

I prefer young horses not to be worked to the point of needing invasive treatment.

*Assuming the residue was from injections.

I am quite astonished at the nonchalant approach to horse wellfare.
I for one can go for the rest of my life without seeing another horse break down in a spectacular fashion!

Bolding is mine. I’m having a difficult time understanding this.

The rabbit for which horse?

What does the bolded paragraph in your post mean? Do you think Medina Spirit was meant to lose? Race fixing?

[Event_Horse]

@skydy

The fact that Baffert gave thyroxine to every horse in his barn, off label, proved to me that he will try medication to get an edge. He stopped giving thyroxine after the 7th horse dropped dead, and there were no more sudden deaths.

Agreed. Incredibly sad for those horses. Maybe Baffert should play the lottery, because he keeps having things “happen” that are so statistically improbable.

In light of the scandal with Jason Servis, it makes one wonder if there wasn’t some other “undetectable” factor also at play. (Ironic that the owners of Maximum Security moved their horses from one scandalous trainer to another.)

In the case of Servis, one of the conspirators claimed the drug given was generally undetectable, but might result in showing up as low-levels of Dexamethasone. Does anyone know if Dexamethasone and Betamethasone are similar?

[skydy]

They are similar in that they are both corticosteroids with anti-inflammatory effects, but they are different drugs.

[BrendaJane]

No, I never said race fixing.
I said that Medina Spirits was supposed to stay Cinderella without the Ball.
Baffert had at least one, if not 2 (I didn’t follow as closely) horses in the race prior to them dropping out. Life is good was the favorite.
In the olden times entries fot seeing that Medina Spirit rm the same barn were one under betting rules, so when the strategy called for one horse to set the pace for the other - and then fade away as expected, the betters were no worse for the wear.
Of course, when the horses don’t belong to the same owner…
That isn’t a new strategy. And of course, I would not expect any trainer to admit to that (I as owner would be livid!)
I am venturing a guess that Medina Spirit was never expected nor considered to hit the wire.
And of course since the entry fees were paid, oh, why not race him, no valid excuse to pull him,
And accept the pity when the Cinderella story ends there in front of the Twin Spires, so sad the favorite had to drop out.

I am just wondering what the owners are going to do, with Baffert suspended from Belmond…

[skydy]

I know what a “rabbit” is but I still don’t understand what you mean. For which horse in the Derby do you think Medina Spirit was a rabbit?

[skydy]

NYRA Suspends Baffert

NYRA is unhappy. No assistant trainers allowed either. Wow. No Saratoga…

[Texarkana]

@skydy

The ointment excuse throws a wrench in the sabotage theory doesn’t it?

He had a big problem in 2011-2013.

The fact that Baffert gave thyroxine to every horse in his barn, off label, proved to me that he will try medication to get an edge. He stopped giving thyroxine after the 7th horse dropped dead, and there were no more sudden deaths.

I don’t know that it does only because I don’t believe the ointment excuse for a second. He was scrambling for an excuse and after several attempts came up with one.

I am not trying to start a “Baffert is being framed” campaign. He is only a victim of himself and I’m livid with him. I’m just saying it has happened before, there’s been a big change in his frequency of positives, and it wouldn’t surprise me.

I vividly remember the off label thyroxine. I also vividly remember scooping it out to horses myself back in the early 00s, under the direction of my employers. Baffert didn’t invent that, but he did have the most visible consequences from it. In a strange way, while it was awful to lose the horses, I’m glad something happened to stop the practice. It was widely used and not limited to racing.

It is a rare person who doesn’t try to gain a competitive edge in sports somehow.

[skydy]

Of course people try to find an edge in competitive sports, but it’s different when you are experimenting with yourself and when you are experimenting with horses.

Not that the former is not unsportsmanlike, but the latter is just so wrong.

I’m really surprised that anyone who has the smallest inkling about what thyroxine does, would actually give it to horses off label.

[2tempe]

Well, this is a statement. Good for them. Maybe announcements like this will begin to have some impact. a bit of bad press and slaps on the hand weren’t doing it. I hate to wish bad things on anyone, but he wont starve, nor will the horses who can’t go there. Two thumbs up for NYRA

[LaurieB]

@BrendaJane

No, I never said race fixing.
I said that Medina Spirits was supposed to stay Cinderella without the Ball.
Baffert had at least one, if not 2 (I didn’t follow as closely) horses in the race prior to them dropping out. Life is good was the favorite.
In the olden times entries fot seeing that Medina Spirit rm the same barn were one under betting rules, so when the strategy called for one horse to set the pace for the other - and then fade away as expected, the betters were no worse for the wear.
Of course, when the horses don’t belong to the same owner…
That isn’t a new strategy. And of course, I would not expect any trainer to admit to that (I as owner would be livid!)
I am venturing a guess that Medina Spirit was never expected nor considered to hit the wire.
And of course since the entry fees were paid, oh, why not race him, no valid excuse to pull him,
And accept the pity when the Cinderella story ends there in front of the Twin Spires, so sad the favorite had to drop out.

I am just wondering what the owners are going to do, with Baffert suspended from Belmond…

Just to add a dose of reality to your speculation…
Medina Spirit was never meant to be anyone’s rabbit. I imagine you haven’t watched his previous races. If you had, you would know that he qualified to run in the Derby on his own merits.

BB had 2 other horses that also qualified to run in the Derby, Life is Good and Concert Tour. Both were removed from consideration weeks before the race ran, which was also weeks before the Derby entry fee of $50,000 was due. (To me, $50,000 constitutes a valid excuse.)

Your “guess” that the horse’s owners somehow figured it was a good idea to spend $50,000 to enter a rabbit in a race for which no rabbit was needed boggles the mind.

As for the Belmont, Baffert wasn’t planning to run either of his horses in it anyway.

[Where_sMyWhite]

@skydy

NYRA is unhappy. No assistant trainers allowed either. Wow. No Saratoga…

That was a pretty good spanking by NYRA. New York is in rare form today with the New York State Gaming Commission revoking Linda Rice’s license and hitting her with a pretty decent fine $50,000, for a “corrupt” scheme to gain an edge with her horses by obtaining the names of entries in races before the cards became final.

As for some of the other rambling and conjecture here… racehorses are athletes and should be treated as any athlete where medications may be appropriate. But, rules and procedures should also be followed.

As for ‘running horses into the ground’ and other comments… painting a fairly broad brush where maybe a little pointy brush is appropriate. My expectation of a racehorse is they are started and moved along in training as it fits the individual. Each should progress at their own pace. If keeping a horse comfortable means it can have a good second career, I’m all for that.

[skydy]

We’ll see how effective the Baffert suspension is. Apparently he has a good lawyer . I think the “temporary” nature of the suspension was a good move on that account.

Honestly, it is unfair to the people who wager to allow this to continue. I think that angle will be more likely to cause a judge to rule against him than will the horse welfare cause.

[BrendaJane]

LOL
well, our cynicism differs then.
Oh, he wasn’t gonna run the Belmont?
WHEN did he decide that!

Alas, it is moot.
Of course the horse earned his way into the Derby.
Or he would not be there.
That does not mean they expected him to actually bother the stewards,

[BrendaJane]

the betting public will always win over animal welfare.

[skydy]

In this case it doesn’t really matter. Humans and horses will both win.

[BrendaJane]

@Where_sMyWhite

As for some of the other rambling and conjecture here… racehorses are athletes and should be treated as any athlete where medications may be appropriate. But, rules and procedures should also be followed.

Seeing that horses can’t read the medication label…
nor can they give conscent
And if the scheme fails they will lose their lives.
Your exampke is lane on all 4.

Which is not to say that human athletes should be treated the way they often are.
Because like the horses, they are generally young and don’t understand the issue and long term consequences

So the trainer gets to sit and enjoy retirement, while the athlete is cripled…

[LaurieB]

@BrendaJane

Oh, he wasn’t gonna run the Belmont?
WHEN did he decide that!

Since you asked…the decision was announced 2 days ago.

[skydy]

@BrendaJane

LOL
well, our cynicism differs then.
Oh, he wasn’t gonna run the Belmont?
WHEN did he decide that!

Alas, it is moot.
Of course the horse earned his way into the Derby.
Or he would not be there.
That does not mean they expected him to actually bother the stewards,

It doesn’t mean that he was entered as a “rabbit” for some non-existent horse either.
Do you understand that an owner/trainer can supplement a horse to run in a race if there is space? Not all horses “earn” their way, some have it paid. “Rabbits” especially.

What is it with the bizarre conspiracy theories? Your theory, as is true of most conspiracy theories, doesn’t make sense to me.

[Equkelly]

@Event_Horse

I just have to say - I really appreciate this forum. The posts I’ve seen are by true horse people who think of the horse’s well-being first, are willing to read up / research topics, and use common sense.

Lol… you haven’t been here long enough then.

[Exracehorserider]

And you have to wonder why a horse with that level of care would even have dermatitis… Seems like that would be noticed before it even really showed…