I am really sad for Medina Spirit, and for his owners and his breeder, who is a small operation and bred her horse of a lifetime. Barbara Livingston has been posting some haunting photos of him; he really had a sensitive eye.
I can see the rationale for the decision, but at the same time, I thought the additional testing provided pretty good proof that the drug detected came from an ointment applied, not from injection. If they were going to DQ Medina regardless, they could have done it at the beginning, as soon as the split sample came back positive as well. I know most here have no love for Baffert, but it’s a bit odd that they waited this long and banned him for 90 days NOW, which prevents him from entering horses in the Derby. I am not suggesting they did it on purpose, but may have considered it a bonus for waiting this long.