Betamethasone

As a Clinical Pharmacologist (human) and an avid horse player, I have grown tired of these instances of biologic samples from horses having banned substances found and the "interesting" explanations as to how the exposure happened. One recent example was a story of a horse in which three samples of blood had metformin (a drug used to treat type II diabetes in humans) detected. The explanation was that a groom and later the trainer was taking metformin and "touched the horse's face." This explanation is questionable from a clinical pharmacology...

Trainer Bob Baffert took to X late Monday afternoon to report that he has told his legal team to drop the appeal to the result of the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, from which Zedan Racing Stable's Medina Spirit (Protonico) was disqualified for a betamethasone positive. The post read: "I have instructed my attorneys to dismiss the appeal related to the disqualification of Medina Spirit in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Zedan Racing owner, Amr Zedan, and I have decided that it is best to positively focus on the present and future...

A federal judge in Kentucky has dismissed the class-action lawsuit against trainer Bob Baffert and Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), that was initiated by a group of horseplayers who alleged negligence, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment because their losing pari-mutuel bets on the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby weren't honored as winners after Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive for and was subsequently disqualified for a betamethasone overage. The July 20 order tossing the case out of United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky (Louisville Division), could have ramifications on a...

The hearing officer assigned to oversee trainer Bob Baffert and owner Zedan Racing Stables' appeal of penalties related to the drug disqualification of 2021 GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) has issued a recommended order to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) that the underlying stewards' rulings be affirmed in their entirety. The 47-page report was made public via press release by the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet early on the Friday evening of the long Memorial Day holiday weekend. Its issuance comes 765 days after Medina Spirit crossed the...

The debate over whether or not Medina Spirit's 2021 GI Kentucky Derby disqualification for betamethasone was the result of an injection or the application of an ointment was a focal point in the fourth day of testimony at Bob Baffert's appeal before a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) hearing officer in Frankfort, Kentucky, on Thursday. That argument has percolated for the better part of 16 months in various hearing and courtroom settings. It is now being brought up again in front of the KHRC hearing officer to adjudicate the Hall-of-Fame...

FRANKFORT, KY - After a brief private meeting between attorneys and the hearing officer to discuss "confidentiality" matters, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's hearing addressing trainer Bob Baffert's appeal continued, slowly but surely, on Wednesday in Frankfort, KY. While Tuesday's session focused on the KHRC's medication rules, along with those established by the industry's Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) and the model rules of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI), the center of interest Wednesday was the corticosteroid betamethasone itself. The day started off with Dr. Heather Knych,...

Trainer Bob Baffert spent 2 1/2 hours on the witness stand testifying at a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) appeal hearing Monday. Baffert's intent by filing the appeal is to clear from his record a 90-day suspension he has already served while also reversing the KHRC's disqualification of Medina Spirit from the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. Those penalties were the result of the Baffert-trained colt returning a positive for betamethasone after crossing the finish wire first in America's most historic and important horse race. Beyond the already-served suspension (which ran...

Judge O. Peter Sherwood, the retired New York Supreme Court justice who served as the hearing officer in NYRA's dispute with Bob Baffert, has issued his report, recommending that Baffert receive a two-year suspension. "NYRA has reasonably concluded that it will not condone Baffert's reckless practices, outrageous behavior and substance violations, each of which compromises the integrity of the sport," Sherwood wrote. "I conclude that NYRA has reasonably determined that he should be excluded from the Racetracks for a lengthy period." The report has been sent to a three-person panel...

Two weeks after a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge denied trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan an "emergency" stay in their fight against the penalties levied against them by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) over Medina Spirit (Protonico)'s betamethasone positive in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, a separate three-judge panel denied a motion for interlocutory relief that will keep the case from proceeding any deeper in that same court. The Apr. 15 ruling did, however, note that the judges' order was not a ruling on the merits of...

I am writing to try to clear up some of the confusion concerning the science around betamethasone as it pertains to its use in racehorses. I am a (human) clinical pharmacologist and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. Why are there different forms (salts) of betamethasone (in this case acetate and valerate)? Many drugs do not dissolve well in water, so other molecules are added to them so that they can dissolve in water in order to make useful dosage forms. Sometimes these other molecules are added to...

With the clock ticking toward the Apr. 4 deadline for trainer Bob Baffert's looming 90-day suspension, a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge now wants to figure out whether the original venue chosen for legal action last month by the owner and trainer of disqualified 2021 GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit constitutes the correct county-level court. Dick Downey of the Blood-Horse first reported on the judge's order requesting briefs from the movants (Baffert and Zedan) and the respondent (the KHRC) covering just that single issue to be filed with the...

Trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan filed motions with the Kentucky Court of Appeals on Thursday in an attempt to legally block a series of looming penalties related to the equine drug positive rulings of Medina Spirit in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. The most severe of those sanctions is a 90-day suspension for Baffert that is set to start Apr. 4. The Mar. 24 filing came barely 72 hours after a lower court rejected Baffert and Zedan's plea for a stay or temporary injunction that would have kept...