Kentucky Derby winning horse victim of ‘cancel culture’ after drug test, Baffert says
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Kentucky Derby winning horse victim of ‘cancel culture’ after drug test, Baffert says
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert was suspended indefinitely from racing at Churchill Downs after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for the anti-inflammatory steroid betamethasone, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported on Sunday.
Baffert, who announced that he plans to head up his own investigation into the allegations, went on Fox News Monday morning claiming that he and the horse are a victim of “cancel culture.”
“With all the noise going out, we live in a different world now,” Baffert said to Fox News. His comments came after being asked his thoughts on if Medina Spirit will run in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on May 15.
“This America is different and it was like a ‘cancel culture’ kind of a thing. So they’re reviewing it.”
Cancel culture became a popular phrase during the 2020 elections, and is defined as the “practice or tendency of engaging in mass canceling as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure,” according to Merriam-Webster.
The Herald-Leader said that horses trained under Baffert have “failed at least 29 drug tests in his four-decade career. In addition to Medina Spirit, Baffert has won the Kentucky Derby with Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998), War Emblem (2002), American Pharoah (2015), Justify (2018) and Authentic (2020).”
During a news conference at Churchill Downs on Sunday, Baffert said that the Kentucky Racing Commission told his assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes that Medina Spirit tested positive for 21 picograms of the steroid post race.
“I don’t know what’s going on in racing right now, but there’s something not right,” Baffert said. “I don’t feel embarrassed, I feel like I was wronged. We’re going to do our own investigation. We’re going to be transparent with the racing commission like we’ve always been. […] This horse was never treated with this. He’s a great horse. He doesn’t deserve this.”
Medina Spirit’s second drug test, which is required by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to disqualify a horse , and the results can take days, or weeks, to come back, USA Today reports.
Baffert said he plans to run Medina Spirit in the upcoming Preakness.
Preakness officials announced that they will decide if Medina Spirit races in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the New York Times said.
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They have been testing horses for performance enhancing or pain killing drugs for many decades. The winner of the Kentucky Derby in 1968 was disqualified for that reason.
The main drug that is given to race horses is now legal and has been for a long time. Lasix is given to race horses to prevent a breathing disorder, and it is not uncommon for half the field or more in a given race being on Lasix.
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I wasnt aware that Baffert was a Fox News fan, but he used Fox to complain about how unfairly he is being treated. That lowers him about six pegs in my book.
Testing a race horse for illegal drugs is not cancel culture. It has been going on forever.
That was the first and only other time a horse was disqualified for such a reason. To the outside world (those who don't follow the game), the Kentucky Derby is the event that brings the sport to their consciousness, if only for that first Saturday in May. If the Derby loses it's integrity, the sport loses it completely.
The main drug that is given to race horses is now legal and has been for a long time. Lasix is given to race horses to prevent a breathing disorder, and it is not uncommon for half the field or more in a given race being on Lasix.
In some cases the drug was given simply because the competition used it. That being said, 2021 was supposed to be the beginning of the end for Lasix in the Derby:
I wasnt aware that Baffert was a Fox News fan, but he used Fox to complain about how unfairly he is being treated.
I don't think Baffert is a political being, though he may know how to use politics. Please note that it was on Fox News and only there that Baffert used the term "cancel culture." Obviously, he wanted to plead his case, in that manner there. I doubt it will help him.
There are people who will see him on Fox and then say that he is a victim of cancel culture. That is ridiculous and Bob Baffert knows it.
That is what he must be thinking/hoping.
That is ridiculous and Bob Baffert knows it.
As do we all.
Is this the last call for Bob Baffert?
Should be, from my understanding this is not the first time one of his horses has been caught/accused of something like this.
I hate to see him go, but I agree.
It’s like I tell Astros fans: Don’t cheat and we won’t call you a cheater. Pretty simple.
A super hard concept for some to grasp I guess.
Welp, by using the phrase cancel culture he is admitting to being a cheating son of a bitch. When someone cries “cancel culture” what they are actually saying is “I shouldn’t be held accountable for my actions.” The use of cancel culture is more or less an admission of guilt.