Cause of Marion-bred Medina Spirit's death inconclusive but compatible with cardiac issue

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) released the results of Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit’s necropsy on Friday, stating that “a definitive cause of death was not established despite extensive testing,” though some findings were compatible with “a cardiac cause of death.”

The horse, who was trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Amr Zedan of Zedan Racing Stables in California, died suddenly on Dec. 6 after a workout at Santa Anita Park in California.

Gail Rice, who bred Medina Spirit at her farm in north Marion County, says the results were exactly what she was expecting.

Kentucky Derby champ Medina Spirit dead: 'We'll never get to know just how good he was'

Auction alert: One-of-a-kind Ocala horse farm owned by Florida’s Waldrep Dairy family up for sale

Equestrian news: WEC's plan for old Ocala Jockey Club clears first hurdle; includes hotel, stadium, homes

"They weren’t going to find anything wrong in that horse. They weren’t going to find anything controversial in that horse,” she said. “They took such good care of him, you know. It had to just be one of those things. Their heart, sometimes those vessels are weak, and they just don’t handle the pressure.”

A release from the CHRB detailed that the 3-year-old's postmortem examination was performed by an expert pathology, toxicology and equine drug testing team that is part of the California Animal Health and Food Safety diagnostic laboratory system of the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

The necropsy included examination of the horse’s body and internal organs, tissue sample collection and specimen collection for toxicology, drug testing and genetic testing. Medina Spirit was cremated after the examination.

Finding 'compatible with... a cardiac cause of death'

Along with the inconclusive findings, the report detailed that omeprazole, an anti-ulcer medication, and furosemide, a diuretic, were detected in blood and urine samples, which was consistent with the medication report already filed with CHRB.

“No other drugs, heavy metals (including cobalt), or toxicants were detected. Thyroxine levels were below normal reference limits,” the report stated.

Rice was glad to hear there were no heavy metals detected, especially because she prioritizes nutrition for her mares and foals, though Medina Spirit hadn’t been in her hands since he was around 8 months old.

"Nutritionally, the horse seems healthy and grew up to be a brilliant racehorse," she said.

The report also noted that “degenerative joint disease was seen in the fetlock and elbow joints,” which Rice explained was comparable to arthritis in humans.

“The swollen lungs and foam in the trachea (windpipe), enlarged spleen, and congestion and mild hemorrhages in other tissues seen on the postmortem examination are common in horses dying suddenly, and are compatible with, but not specific for, a cardiac cause of death,” the report continued.

Rice admits that the horse industry has more to do as far as testing is concerned, but says the University of California was thorough in its examination, and she concurred that Medina Spirit likely suffered from a heart attack of sorts.

“We were hopeful that the necropsy would have revealed more information about the pathophysiology that led to Medina Spirit’s sudden cardiac arrest, but it appears that his tragic death was an act of God and was not preventable," Baffert's attorney, Clark Brewster said in a statement distributed to the Star-Banner by public affairs firm Trident DMG.

Brewster stated that the results were consistent with other reports of sudden deaths during workouts.

"Investigators determined that a possible defect in Medina Spirit’s cardiac conduction system, which regulates electrical activity in the heart, is a possible explanation," Brewster stated. "Extensive toxicological testing on multiple samples found no unexpected substances and nothing to suggest that Medina Spirit’s cardiac arrest was caused by the use of medications.”

The CHRB’s report stated that research is continuing worldwide “to better understand and prevent these catastrophic deaths.”

Samples of Medina Spirit’s heart tissue were also sent to the University of Minnesota and UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory for research programs investigating potential genetic causes of sudden death in racehorses.

Medina Spirit Derby victory still to be decided

“I believe that they need to quit picking on Bob Baffert now. That’s my big opinion,” Rice said, referring to the continued dispute over Medina Spirit testing positive for betamethasone after the Derby in May.

The anti-inflammatory medication is legal but not on race day. Medina Spirit’s team argues the rule only applies to the injected corticosteroid, whereas it was applied to Medina Spirit topically in an ointment to treat dermatitis.

A hearing scheduled for Monday in Kentucky will determine whether Medina Spirit’s race victory will be upheld or if the horse will be disqualified, which would make second-place finisher Mandaloun the victor.

“I believe they should leave the horse with the win, and I know that I have a personal connection with the horse, but I don’t believe that the horse should be taken down. It wasn’t an illegal drug in that horse. It was an ointment,” Rice said. “We’ll see what the Kentucky Horse Racing commission decides.”

Rice also noted that Medina Spirit came in second in the 3-year-old male category at Thursday night’s 51st annual Eclipse Awards for 2021 performances in the horse industry. He received 84 votes behind Essential Quality’s 131 first-place votes.

Contact reporter Danielle Johnson at djohnson@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala-bred Medina Spirit's necropsy: No cause of death established