princeofdoc said...

affert is still the trainer of record for Newgrange, and he's running in the Rebel at OP this Sat.....this colt is basically giving up the chance to run in the Derby if barns aren't changed in the next several days

This colt gives up a lot more than a shot to run in the Derby.   By being in the "Baffert Program", he risks giving up his health and mobility going forward, most likely.   

Did you read the necropsy report on Medina Spirit?   About how all 4 of his leg joints were pretty much toast........combine w/Gamine getting hock injections for no apparent reason  (sort of like no reason for those dead horses to have received Thyro-L; they had no thryroid diagnosis). 

Young horses shouldn't have such severe degenerative disease between the ages of 3-4.   Horses' muculoskeletal systems aren't even fully developed til about 5.    

However, if this is what running for basically ONE SINGLE YEAR does to a horse's joints (because that is basically all that Medina raced except for one maiden the year before)  then we need to rethink what the heck we are doing in U.S. horse racing.   

Don't expect the public to not find this cringe-worthy.  I support racing and even I find it cringe-worthy.  

Did you guy notice that most horses have about 2-4 races the year before the TC races begin?  That's average.   Do you notice that with Baffert, they get 1 maiden race in the Fall of the preceeding year.......then are immediately thrown into high level stakes races as soon as the calendar year turns over?  Maybe he knows his "program" doesn't let them last long.  

Anyway, a barn with millions and millions of $$ worth of horses.......and nobody in the barn can read the label on a veterinary preparation for a horse about to enter a TC race where the banned substances are clearly spelled out.    

Did CD ever put up Medina Spirit name in the paddock?  I never noticed.

I don't know, if they did  !

Do they have a ceremony for the colors of the winner painted like they do right after the race. !

That sounds more like Preakness and Travers.  I don't think CD does that.  They put the current years winner posted in the paddock,, which is all I know.

Found my answer

Medina Spirit Kentucky Derby sign removed in Churchill Downs paddock, Replaced with Mandaloun - YouTube

Derb win people are invited back for engraved trophies and recognition following year. 

Yes they did put up a KD win Medina Spirit sign and are replacing it right now 

I never did know. It took DRF about 5 seconds to change their page.

The whole thing is terribly sad to me. 

Because now Medina Spirit's plaque will be gone.... and he is gone as well. 

Erased.  In every way.  Thanks Bob. 

How long will this thread keep going?

I think the over-under is.... 2024?  Between Baffert appealing the suspension and Zedan (and Baffert) appealing the disqualification, both cases being tied up in the courts....

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/257123/baffert-suspension-delayed-khrc-stay-hearing-march-4

Remember when Maximum Security was disqualified I said this is crazy, it's the race that the stewards "put away the whistle", first nose at the line wins, period...  You can't tell me that from 1969 to 2021 every horse except Medina Spirit ran clean.  Just like you can't tell me that every Derby running from 1875 to 2019 had no interference, bumping, checking, bearing in/out, etc... until Max did it.  Come on.  20 horses on a 1 mile track with hairpin turns, that stuff's gonna happen.  it's making me wonder if the stewards really did "put away the whistle" for racing incidents BUT ALSO covered up any drug positives all those years, just to avoid all this.  

Four years in the courts for Dancer's Image set a bad precedent which made it the unwritten rule to never DQ in the Derby.  An unwritten rule that was broken when Max was DQ'ed, and again here... 

Trainer suspension shouldn't take too long in the courts, relatively speaking. But the Derby DQ...

All good points Tex. Mostly all true ,Beyond 2024 at this rate.

One of the biggest one's that irritates me is not calling interference coming out of the gate.

Like you noted I've seen in the Derby of things worse not getting called, I'm biased it cost me the superfecta

in Max Sec race.. Us cappers get on the pity pot poor me poor me many times because a big percentage think the Stewards

are biased with all of the non calls for years, then the Max Sec race, on the camera you could make a case for others being the culprit.

That is at the moment not drug related.

Spot On...!!

By time this is settled; the horse is now dead, the trainer and owner will be dead.

We'll All be Dead..

I'll take the Over and place the ticket in my Trust Fund. And assume the bets either way are put into annuities so the payout earns and profits from inflation.

:) I always wondered if this was a smile for light humor or mud caulks.