Medina Spirit, who led from start to finish in the Kentucky Derby on May 1 to post a hard-fought half-length victory in the race, tested positive for betamethasone, a regulated anti-inflammatory, after the race, according to his trainer, Bob Baffert, who acknowledged the test result Sunday morning during a press conference on the backside of Churchill Downs.
The NBC-TV broadcast of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday had a 7.1 rating and a 22 share, according to the network, figures that represent a decline from the broadcast of the race in 2019, the last time it was held on the first Saturday in May.
Medina Spirit, a $1,000 yearling who was later purchased for $35,000 on behalf of Amr Zedan as a juvenile, became the seventh Florida-bred to win the Kentucky Derby.
Expectations were lower this year, but the exhilaration was just as high as in previous years for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who captured his record-setting seventh Kentucky Derby victory Saturday with 12-1 shot Medina Spirit.
John Velazquez will turn 50 later this year, considered old by jockey standards. But the Hall of Fame rider showed age is only a number after completing a sweep of the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby with his wire-to-wire victory aboard Medina Spirit for trainer Bob Baffert in Saturday’s Run for the Roses.
Total handle on the Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville was down 3.7 percent when compared to the total amount bet on the 2019 edition of the race, the last time the race was held on the first Saturday in May, according to charts of the races.
The 147th Kentucky Derby was barely 10 minutes old and Brad Cox, whose runners Mandaloun and Essential Quality finished second and fourth, respectively, in what was the trainer’s first appearance in the race, was already looking forward to next year. “Can’t wait to be back here,” Cox said. “We’ll be back, too. Promise.”
Complete order of finish of the 2021 Kentucky Derby on May 1, 2021, at Churchill Downs.
