The first-place horse of the Kentucky Derby may be stripped of its victory over a failed drug test, but that won’t matter to the people who won money off the result.
Even if officials decided to strip Medina Spirit of the victory and give it to Mandaloun, the runner-up, those who won bets will likely keep their winnings.
Kristin Voskuhl, the executive adviser for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that the bets are finalized.
“The investigation into Medina Spirit will not affect the wagers or payouts to patrons who placed bets on Derby Day,” she said, citing “810 KAR 6:030E Section 10,“ which reads in part: “A subsequent change in the order of finish or award of purse money that may result from a subsequent ruling by the stewards, judges, or commission shall not affect the pari-mutuel payout.”
Bob Heleringer, the author of Equine Regulatory Law, told the Courier-Journal that bets are final once the race is concluded regardless of mistakes or an appeal.
He called it “one of the most irrevocable standards in racing.”
The last horse to be disqualified for a positive drug test was Dancer’s Image in 1968, prompting the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to recognize the runner-up, Forward Pass, as the winner of that year’s Derby, except for pari-mutuel payoffs.
Pari-mutuel bets, which are one type of bet in which the bettor is going up against others in a pool as opposed to going up against “the house,” are unlikely to be affected this time as well.
Darren Rovell, the executive producer for the Action Network, a sports outlet with a gambling focus, also said that bettors who placed money on Medina Spirit will be able to keep those winnings.
Medina Spirit won the May 1 race, which is the first leg of the Triple Crown. But that victory has come into question after the horse tested positive for 21 picograms of betamethasone, which is 11 picograms above the legal limit in Kentucky racing, after the Derby.
Betamethasone is a corticosteroid, which means it’s a human-made steroid that acts as cortisol, a natural hormone produced by the adrenal gland. One picogram is one-trillionth of a gram.
MEDINA SPIRIT WINS KENTUCKY DERBY
Bob Baffert, Medina Spirit’s trainer, was suspended indefinitely from the Derby following the positive test.
The positive test, however, won’t automatically disqualify Medina Spirit, who will keep racing as Derby officials await another sample to come back before making a decision to disqualify the horse.
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After the positive test result was reported publicly, Baffert said, “Yesterday, I got the biggest gut punch in racing for something I didn’t do. It’s disturbing. It’s an injustice for the horse,” according to NBC Lexington affiliate LEX 18.
