Medina Spirit fails drug test

[Horse_Rider]

I’m aware? I’ll believe everything Bob Baffert says when horses fly.

Which is to say, I know Bob Baffert said the horse had never had betamethasone. He was obviously wrong. Am I still supposed to believe if he “forgot” one medication he definitely isn’t “forgetting” any others?

The discussion on injections is theoretical. Bob’s not being punished based on them guessing he might be lying about the horse’s exposure route. He’s getting punished because he had a positive test and that’s not allowed.

[AffirmedHope]

And he’s the trainer of both modern day TC winners. What an absolutely dark stain on the already well tarnished reputation of racing

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

@Horse_Rider

One thing I will point out is that it probably totally inaccurate to assume that just because you are “supposed” to rest a horse after a joint injection, it means you “have” to rest a horse after a joint injection. If you ask 10 vets what their post joint injection protocol is, you will get 11 answers. I have heard and seen anywhere in the spectrum from:
Wrap and stall for 24 hours, paddock x 48 hours, turnout x 48 hours, then slow intro to work over the next several days.
to…
Give 'em the rest of the day off, one low impact day, and then put 'em to work to get that joint moving - that tiny needle puncture is plugged with fibrin by now and you don’t want that spreading.

Fair point. A lot of factors do play into post injection protocol, depending on the horse, what was injected, etc.

And fair point on the immediacy of steroids. A lot does depend upon the issue they are being used for. General inflammation and soreness in a youngsters joint? Yeah… they probably will provide immediate relief. Different than getting that hylaronic acid working it’s way into older arthritic hocks to provide some cushion for a few months…

And your earlier point about authorities not bothering to test for the other key ingredients in Otomax is well taken… it sure would be easy for someone inject a joint then apply a little Otomax topically, and point to the Otomax as the cause of the betamethasone positive… if they were an unethical and deceptive sort of person… which is all too common. I was just curious as to whether or not Baffert even requested additional testing like that.

As for Baffert’s claim that the horse never received injected betamethasone… like many, I’m not buying the denials. It’s been too much for too long with him.

[Mara]

My late grandfather suffered from terrible osteoarthritis of the spine from an early age. When he was in his 50s corticosteroids were approved and became available via prescription. Cortisone was hailed as a “miracle drug”, and it was, for a short while. Dosing instructions were pretty much “take as needed for pain”.
He wasn’t the only one whose tissues were destroyed and who ultimately died from kidney failure.

Also, the more you take the less effective it becomes over time. I have UC; when I was first diagnosed with it I did the 30 day taper protocol and went right into remission. When I flared again three years later, the prednisone didn’t work, which is apparently pretty common. Now on Humira.

[Event_Horse]

@Horse_Rider

We have no evidence that Bob injected the joint. He might not have. He might have injected it at 14 days and thought he was clear, or 21 or 30, or whatever, and had a horse with an odd metabolism that took longer than expected to clear it.

Yes, but if that was true, then it should have been done by a vet and it should have been in the vet records. At least, that’s how it should have been done per the rules.

[Horse_Rider]

I touched on this point before, but I’ll repeat it. Yes, a scrupulous vet should keep records. I am not trying to besmirch vets here (I am one), but you can absolutely pay plenty of people enough money to keep it off the record. I can also tell you that I know of at least a few circumstances in which trainers had “the regular vet” who saw them for all the normal, above board stuff that got turned over when it came time to prove vaccination, etc., and then the other vet who would swing by and do all the “irregular” stuff - maybe not illegal stuff, but things like an injection or two or maybe sell you that mystery bottle of compounded material out of the boot of their car - you know, the stuff with a name like “Max Red” that was compounded under the name of the vet’s dog…

An equine vet friend sent me a video of three vets discussing the myriad of “interesting” drugs they’d received for testing from thoroughbred stables. The presentation was actually to the Jockey Club, or at least some race association, but alas, I can’t find it at the moment.

(Edited for spelling mistake that messed up the meaning.)

[endlessclimb]

There’s a vet in Indiana that did the “late night” stuff…

[Maythehorsebewithme]

I like and respect my current vet. He works at a track part time, and every time he prescribes something, after going over all the usual information about how to use, side effects, etc., he will comment, if appropriate, that “This will test.” I am sure that if asked he would give details about possible length of time to wait before showing.

I have not shown since the 90’s, have never shown my current horse, have no intention of showing ever again. He knows that. I think it is almost a reflex for him to say that (and a good one.)

[ravenclaw]

A while back, BB had some horses die (I think they just dropped dead) and they were all being given a certain drug. Does anyone know what drug it was and what was the reason for giving it? I’m just curious. I remember hearing that he stopped giving the drug and then the deaths stopped.

[Where_sMyWhite]

Thyro-L

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/117195/chrb-sudden-death-report-revealed

[On_the_Farm]

@Where_sMyWhite

@Mander

Not sure all the people who bet on Mandaloun but won’t receive a payout because the betting is final will feel so optimistic.

But they knew when they placed their bets and the race was declared official that from the handicapper perspective, results were in, done, final.

Happy, probably not, but the risk that the players take. I am more than sure they’ve all lost $$ when a horse was DQ’d after the race was official.

How on earth would the bettors be tracked down to give then revised payouts (or collect revised payouts)?

I know this was way up in the thread but your question is reasonable. For the bettors who wager via track accounts such as NYRABets, proving a bet was made is not very difficult as they are catalogued within the system.

[Ponycatraz]

Wasn’t Thyro-l used because it masked rat poison?

[trubandloki]

@Ponycatraz

Wasn’t Thyro-l used because it masked rat poison?

Why would someone give their horse rat poison?

[Event_Horse]

@trubandloki

Why would someone give their horse rat poison?

See below - lengthy but worthwhile read. Explains in detail the Thyro-L and the rat poison. Horrific.

Deadly to Horses: The Baffert Effect – Part 1

Deadly to Horses: The Baffert Effect – Part 2

[Ponycatraz]

Great article. I just remember the rat poison being talked about at The STB tracks I groomed at many years ago. Really good to see an explanation of “why”.

[Texarkana]

@Event_Horse

See below - lengthy but worthwhile read. Explains in detail the Thyro-L and the rat poison. Horrific.

I either had never heard or had forgotten the story about the groom & the morphine. Wow. Why is anyone still believing a word he says?

Everyone used Thyro-L in the 00s. Everyone used clenbuterol. I can’t say everyone used diphacinone, but anti-coagulants in general were not uncommon.

This quote really spoke to me from the second part of the article:

“When your prime argument boils down to the seemingly rampant drugging of racehorses being OK because the drugs are legal therapeutic medications – without addressing whether a particular horse needs the medication – you are missing the essential point of the case made by those opposing the racing’ industry use of drugs. I doubt there is a sensible person who would oppose medications for an animal who needs it. But when the nation’s two leading trainers are administering drugs – albeit legal ones – without regard for the medical needs of a particular horse, we are no longer talking about therapeutic drugs, but rather drugs they hope will be performance-enhancing.”

[Bogie]

Wow. Those posts are scary – and that’s from 2014. They don’t call him Teflon Bob for nothing.

[Paint_Party]

I found this excerpt to be extremely disturbing. I truly had no idea that BB was known to have coerced employees to lie for him. How can anyone believe his excuses?

On May 3, 2000 the horse “Nautical Look” tested positive for morphine… If administering morphine to enhance a horse’s performance isn’t bad enough, Baffert had the audacity to coerce a groom in his employ to lie to investigators. Baffert testified that the positive finding was a result of “unintentional contamination” from a food source containing poppy seeds…he repeatedly contacted his groom and encouraged him to admit to eating bakery products while in close proximity to “Nautical Look”. Unfortunately for Baffert the groom told the truth and testified he had not consumed any food while handling the horse.

[Ghazzu]

There are any number of showhorse trainers who employ the same tactics.

[ASB_Stars]

@Ghazzu

There are any number of showhorse trainers who employ the same tactics.

This was the point that I was making. It isn’t just racing, by a long shot. And, while what Baffert is doing is heinous, the fact that he is at the top of the sport is no small part of this. It’s going to be challenging at smaller tracks across the country. But, Bob gets sent the best, and should have no excuse for this crap.

Neither should the others, but I expect it from the bottom feeders.