2021 Breeders' Cup Classic: Medina Spirit strengthens case for Eclipse Award, but the debate has just started

DEL MAR, Calif. - Even in defeat, trainer Bob Baffert believes Medina Spirit gave a performance worthy of a championship in Saturday’s $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar.

Though he finished second in the Classic, 2 3/4 lengths behind front-running Knicks Go - who basically cemented Horse of the Year and older dirt male champion awards - Medina Spirit finished three-quarters of a length in front of Essential Quality and 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Hot Rod Charlie in fourth.

Add that to Medina Spirit’s first-place finish in the Kentucky Derby - where Hot Rod Charlie was third and Essential Quality fourth - and a win against older horses in the Grade 1 Awesome Again at Santa Anita, and Baffert believes Medina Spirit is the champion 3-year-old of 2021.

“Medina proved he’s the best 3-year-old,” Baffert said. “He proved it in May and he proved it today. The thing about horse racing, it all plays out on the track; the board tells you what happens.”

Of course, there’s the matter of Medina Spirit’s post-race medication positive that has put his Kentucky Derby victory in jeopardy. In his post-race sample following the Derby, Medina Spirit was found to have betamethasone in his system. A regulated corticosteroid, betamethasone is not permitted to be in a horse’s system on race day.

Baffert has maintained that the horse was given an ointment to clear up a skin rash that, unbeknownst to him contained betamethasone, and that he didn’t do anything wrong.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has not yet made a ruling on the Derby.

John Velazquez, who rode Medina Spirit in six of his eight races this year, including the Classic and Kentucky Derby, joined Baffert as declaring Medina Spirit the best 3-year-old.

“Absolutely, no doubt,” Velazquez said. “He proved it today.”

Velazquez said Medina Spirit broke slowly in the Classic or else he would have been “right next to” the front-running Knicks Go. Instead, the typically forward Medina Spirit was 2 1/2 lengths back.

“I don’t need to be that far back where I was,” Velazquez said. “My thing was to go as fast as I can and make him go faster. Now, he’s got kind of an easy lead the way the track is.”

Velazquez said he gradually advanced Medina Spirit into the race and was third, three wide, entering and around the first turn, outside of Art Collector. Medina Spirit and Art Collector, ridden by Mike Smith, chased Knicks Go through sharp fractions posted as 23.16 seconds for the quarter, 45.77 for the half, and 1:10.04 for six furlongs.

Medina Spirit remained three wide down the backside and came wider still in the lane. Medina Spirit was fourth at the quarter pole, but outfinished Essential Quality and Hot Rod Charlie, who saved more ground than did Medina Spirit.

“What a day to break slow,” Velazquez said. “I broke slow and I had to change everything. I’m not going to go from fourth to first. [Knicks Go] is already three lengths in front of me. I had to change my strategy. I moved little by little to the first turn, I lay third, I tried to save the most ground that I could. Mike is right next to me, so he stayed away from the other horse. I had to give him a chance, I can’t be that dumb and try to send him when I broke that slow. He ran a big race. Now, for all of you, who’s the best 3-year-old?

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Essential Quality can make a case with victories in the Belmont, Travers, Jim Dandy, Blue Grass and Southwest. His only two defeats came the only two times he faced Medina Spirit.

The Eclipse Awards are voted on by the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association, Daily Racing Form, and members of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. Typically votes are due in early January. The Eclipse Awards will be announced in early February.

The races are over. The debate is not.