LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The legal race for the 2021 Kentucky Derby has come to an end. Amr Zedan, owner of Medina Spirit, and trainer Bob Baffert have ended their legal challenge to a disqualification handed down by the Kentucky Racing Commission after the colt tested positive for a race-day prohibited substance after crossing the finish line first in the 147th Run for the Roses.

In a filing in Franklin Circuit Court on Monday, Baffert and Zedan filed a “Stipulation of Dismissal” stating that they, “agree and stipulate to dismiss the above cause of action in its entirety, with prejudice.” The cause of action was an appeal of the KHRC’s decision to disqualify the colt, filed in September of 2023.

Attorneys for Baffert and Zedan had argued in court and before the racing commission that the presence of betamethasone, a steroid, above the permissible amount in a urine test taken from Medina Spirit after the Derby was the result of an ointment given to the colt for a skin condition, and was not administered via injection. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission determined that the manner of administration did not matter if the amount was in excess of permissible levels.

In subsequent arguments, Baffert’s attorney Clark Brewster had noted that the amount of betamethasone found in Medina Spirit’s sample was within the allowed limits of new guidelines through the since-established Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act.

Bob Baffert

Bob Baffert, with attorney Clark Brewster, outside the federal courthouse in Louisville on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.

Regardless, the decision of Baffert and Zedan ends a long and bitter legal struggle that could have stretched several more years, at least. Baffert, who remains under a suspension from Churchill Downs, is ineligible to train horses for Kentucky Derby 150, and owners must move horses under his care to an eligible trainer by Jan. 29 in order for them to be able to compete for points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

This decision has no immediate impact on that suspension by Churchill Downs, which reiterated via e-mail on Monday that, "Today's dismissal of appeal does not change the current suspension or deadline to transfer horses for the upcoming 150th Kentucky Derby."

Baffert last challenged the Churchill Downs suspension in Federal Court last April, but Churchill’s right to enact the suspension was upheld.

In a statement to the social media website X, Baffert sad, “Amr Zedan and I have decided that it is best to positively focus on the present and future that our great sport offers. We thank the KHRC and Churchill Downs for listening and considering our point of view and we are grateful for the changes and clarity that HISA brings to our sport.”

Medina Spirit died in December of 2021 from a suspected cardiac event after a routine workout at Santa Anita Park.

Baffert currently trains Nysos, a three-year-old by 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, who is 2-0 in his first two starts with a combined margin of victory of 19 ½ lengths in those races.

Brewster, who has represented Baffert passionately over the past three years, himself has an ownership stake in a Derby contender – Track Phantom, trained by Steve Asmussen, who is the current co-leader in Derby points.

Medina Spirit, who was stripped of his Derby win in February of 2022, had made Baffert the winningest trainer in Kentucky Derby history, with seven wins in the race. Without that victory, Baffert slipped back into a tie with Ben Jones as the race’s winningest trainers.

Mandaloun, trained by Brad Cox and owned and bred by Juddmonte Farm, has been the recognized winner of the Derby since 2022, and the dismissal of the Medina Spirit appeal will allow prize moneys to be distributed.

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