Mandaloun sign posted at Churchill Downs after Medina Spirit stripped of 2021 Derby win

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The traditional sign honoring 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun is now in the paddock at Churchill Downs.

In the rain, a track worker changed out the sign that had been posted under the board in the center of the paddock after Medina Spirit was stripped of the victory Monday after a ruling by state racing stewards.

Medina Spirit finished half a length ahead of Mandaloun in the race, giving Baffert what was then his seventh Kentucky Derby title. Baffert was subsequently banned for two years by Churchill Downs following the positive test.

Monday's decision by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission makes Medina Spirit the second horse in the 147-year history of the race to be disqualified for a banned substance. The first was Dancer’s Image in 1968, a decision that gave Forward Pass the victory. The only other disqualification was in 2019 when Maximum Security was penalized because of interference, giving Country House the win.

The racing commission also suspended Baffert for 90 days and fined the Hall of Fame trainer $7,500 on Monday. The decision followed a Feb. 14 hearing that was closed to the public and media.

Medina Spirit died of a heart attack in December. The colt tested positive after the race last May for a steroid, betamethasone, that is legal in Kentucky but banned on race day. The positive test threw the world's best-known horse race into turmoil and cast an unflattering spotlight on Baffert, considered the face of horse racing after he guided horses to the Triple Crown in 2015 and 2018.

Following the announcement by the racing stewards, Churchill Downs issued a statement declaring Mandaloun the Kentucky Derby winner and congratulating owner and breeder Juddmonte Farms, trainer Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux. Cox becomes the first Louisville native to win the Derby, and Mandaloun's owners will receive the $1.8 million winner's purse.

Mandaloun is in Saudi Arabia for Saturday's $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh. The winner receives $10 million.

Clark Brewster, an attorney for Baffert, said he would appeal the ruling.

Medina Spirit’s name is down from the Paddock and replaced with Mandaloun. @WDRBNews @ChurchillDowns pic.twitter.com/uf6hsKHRt5
— Lexie Ratterman (@LRatterman_WDRB) February 22, 2022

“This ruling represents an egregious departure from both the facts and the law," Brewster said, “but the numerous public statements by KHRC officials over the last several months have made perfectly clear that Bob Baffert’s fate was decided before we ever sat down for a hearing before the three stewards, one of whom is directly employed by Churchill Downs as the racing director at Turfway Park.”

The California Horse Racing Board said it will honor Baffert’s suspension at its tracks. He is based at Santa Anita, where he has already won some of this season’s 3-year-old prep races for the Kentucky Derby.

The CHRB also said it will honor any stay or preliminary injunction if granted by Kentucky racing officials or a court.

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