In yet another twist to the Medina Spirit case, the post-race urine sample from the 2021 Kentucky Derby winner has apparently been tainted and seriously depleted, leading the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to file a motion for order in Franklin Circuit Court in Kentucky.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reported that the KHRC is alleging a “lack of candor and contemptuous conduct” by the New York Equine Drug Testing and Research Laboratory and its director, Dr. George Maylin, in the handling of a split sample delivered to the New York lab July 14.

The complexion of the Triple Crown trail will change next year as Oaklawn Park announced Tuesday that the Arkansas Derby will be run five weeks ahead of the Kentucky Derby on April 2 instead of its traditional three weeks out, and that the purse of the Grade 1 race would be boosted from $1 million to a Derby prep-high $1.25 million.

A Kentucky judge has ordered the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to allow further testing on a urine sample from Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit at the request of the horse’s connections.

A split of the post-Kentucky Derby blood sample pulled from winner Medina Spirit confirmed the presence of the regulated corticosteroid betamethasone, the attorney for the colt’s trainer, Bob Baffert, confirmed Wednesday.

The split sample tested positive for 25 picograms per milliliter of blood serum, according to the attorney, Craig Robertson. That concentration is consistent with the result of the initial test, which tested at 22 picograms, Robertson had said earlier.

Medina Spirit, who led from start to finish in the Kentucky Derby on May 1 to post a hard-fought half-length victory, 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.

In 2019, the race portion of the broadcast had a 9.8 rating and a 25 share. Last year, when the Derby was held on Sept. 5 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the broadcast had a 4.8 rating and a 14 share.

Almost a quarter-century ago, Bob Baffert began his run into the Kentucky Derby record book with a modestly priced Florida-bred. The Hall of Fame trainer recorded his record seventh Derby victory with another one.

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. Baffert’s seventh Derby win allowed him to break a tie for most wins in the race with the legendary Ben Jones.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - 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.

Baffert's win broke a tie with Ben Jones for most Derby victories, but - unlike many past ones, including 2018 with Justify and 2015 with American Pharoah - this one was more unexpected, Baffert said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - 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.

Total handle on Saturday’s Derby race, which was held under coronavirus restrictions that limited attendance to roughly one-third of capacity, was $153.66 million, compared to the record $159.61 million bet on the race in 2019, according to the charts. Both races had 19 horses.