Gamine disqualified from Kentucky Oaks placing, Baffert fined $1,500
Gamine, the champion female sprinter of 2020, has been disqualified from her third-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on Sept. 4 for a positive of the regulated corticosteroid betamethasone, according to a ruling from Kentucky’s stewards.
Bob Baffert, the filly’s trainer, was also fined $1,500 for the positive. The ruling from the stewards noted that Baffert waived his right to appeal.
With the disqualification, Gamine’s 2020 record is now marred by two regulatory actions for post-race positives. She was also disqualified from a winning effort in an allowance-optional claiming race at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas in early May, the second race of her career.
Gamine tested positive for lidocaine in that race, and Baffert has appealed the ruling, contending that the positive was an inadvertent contamination from a stable employee who was wearing a lidocaine patch. Another horse in Baffert’s barn, Charlatan, also tested positive for lidocaine after winning that day at Oaklawn.
Betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory drug, is a Class C drug in Kentucky and one of the most commonly used corticosteroids in racing. The drug is currently not permitted to be administered within 14 days of a race. Under the KHRC’s guidelines, the recommended penalty for a positive is a $1,000 fine “absent mitigating circumstances.”
Craig Robertson, Baffert’s lawyer, said in a previous statement that Gamine was administered betamethasone 18 days prior to the Oaks.
The KHRC eliminated threshold levels on corticosteroids in August of last year, as part of a larger effort to tighten restrictions on the administration of the drugs. When the thresholds were eliminated, the KHRC amended its withdrawal guidelines on corticosteroids from seven days prior to a race to 14 days.
Gamine concluded her 2020 campaign with a 6 1/4-length victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, at even-money. She was credited with four wins from six starts, and earnings of just over $1 million.
Gamine remains in training with Baffert and is readying for the start of her 2021 campaign.