Spinnable Sports Your Sports, Our Spin
This is not the way Bob Baffert likely imagined this week playing out following an unexpected and exciting victory at the Kentucky Derby with Medina Spirit. However, following a failed post race drug test Baffert has been suspended from Churchill Downs and the derby win is under heavy speculation. Should the win be revoked, credit for the victory would go to the race’s runner-up Mandaloun.
Kentucky Derby winning horse Medina Spirit has tested positive for an anti-inflammatory, trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday.
Baffert denied any wrongdoing, calling the news “the biggest gut punch in racing for something I didn’t do.” https://t.co/mCYf6P20QM pic.twitter.com/HfF8M2cJUk
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 9, 2021
While talking to media Baffert denied all claims because of course he did. What else would he do? Cheaters never admit the level at which they have been cheating, but instead they apologize specifically for whatever they were caught doing. Baffert claims that both doping and cheating are terrible for the sport, and he wholeheartedly denies any and all claims of wrongdoing. Yet this is his 29th failed drug test throughout his storied career as a trainer. At some point the evidence becomes clear enough that even the Baffert fans, myself included, can see that something strange seems to be happening.
Breaking News: Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a post-race drug test, once more putting the practices of his Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert under uncomfortable scrutiny. https://t.co/YRBVDnVR2X
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 9, 2021
Thoughts?
So is this a simple misunderstanding as Baffert claims, or are we on the cusp of unraveling a much deeper and darker doping scandal? Is Baffert really one of the greatest horse trainers in history, or is he merely a cheater that’s been scheming the system for years? Time will tell.
