Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit will be allowed to race in the Preakness Stakes after failing a drug test

  • Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit will race in the Preakness Stakes this weekend.

  • The news comes after Medina Spirit failed an anti-doping test after winning at Churchill Downs.

  • Trainer Bob Baffert initially disputed the failed drug test, bizzarely citing "cancel culture."

  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit will be allowed to enter the Preakness Stakes competition with "rigorous conditions," the Maryland Jockey Club announced Tuesday.

In a statement, the Club said that Maryland Racing Commission will administer and oversee additional testing and monitoring for trainer Bob Baffert's horses.

After winning the Kentucky Derby, Medina Spirit tested positive for banned drug. Baffert at first disputed the test, arguing that his horse was a victim of "cancel culture."

"We live in a different world now, this America is different, and it was like a cancel culture kind of a thing," Baffert told Fox News.

Baffert elaborated on his dispute with the test at a news conference on Sunday.

"I was totally shocked when I heard this news," Baffert said. "I am the most scrutinized trainer. And I am OK with that. The last thing I want to do is something that would jeopardize the greatest sport. I'm worried about the sport. This is a pretty serious accusation. We're going to get to the bottom of it. We didn't do it ... There's problems in racing. But it's not Bob Baffert."

On Tuesday, Baffert changed his tone.

In a statement from his lawyer to ESPN and other media publications, Baffert said Medina Spirit had been treated for dermatitis ahead of the race, which he believes may have led to the positive drug test.

"Yesterday, I was informed that one of the substances in [the ointment] Otomax is betamethasone. While we do not know definitively that this was the source of the alleged 21 picograms found in Medina Spirit's post-race blood sample, and our investigation is continuing, I have been told by equine pharmacology experts that this could explain the test results," Baffert said in the statement.

Given the Medina Spirit's inclusion in the Preakness field, the Maryland Jockey Club added that a series of additional pre- and post-race tests would take place for competitors, all reviewed by the MRC as well as two independent laboratories.

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