The 146th running of the Preakness Stakes, the second installment of horse racing’s vaunted Triple Crown, was a go Saturday amid controversy over Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit’s failed post-race drug test.
The Maryland Jockey Club, which runs the Preakness, said on Friday that the Bob Baffert-trained colt passed all drug tests ahead of the event at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
Organizers had struck a deal with Baffert, the Southern California-based trainer who has won a record seven Kentucky Derby runs, to test the colt ahead of Saturday’s race. Baffert-trained horses Concert Tour and Beautiful Gift also underwent three rounds of testing, the jockey club said Thursday.
However, the tests by Industrial Laboratories in Colorado and by the University of California at Davis’ Maddy Laboratory haven’t quieted critics.
“The status quo remains, and it’s business as usual in Baltimore,” Animal Wellness Action executive director Marty Irby said in a statement Saturday.
“American horse racing continues to be marred by scandal after scandal and the decision to allow Medina Spirit to run in the 146th Preakness Stakes today is no exception,” he said.
PETA weighed in on the controversy on Twitter.
“Any trainer who dopes horses is cheating and risks a lawsuit,” the animal-wellness group tweeted.
A group of Kentucky Derby bettors on Thursday filed a class-action suit against Baffert in Los Angeles federal court. It alleges “a pattern of racketeering activity” in horse racing.
“Baffert’s multiple and repeated acts of illegally doping and entering horses into thoroughbred races in the State of California and elsewhere constituted a pattern of racketeering activity,” the filing said.
Baffert’s attorney, Craig Robertson, said in an email that “the lawsuit is completely frivolous and has zero legal merit. We will be promptly moving to have it dismissed.”
On Tuesday, Baffert said Medina Spirit was treated for dermatitis with a topical ointment called Otomax, which contains race-banned betamethasone, thus setting off the positive drug test.
Kentucky Derby organizers suspended the trainer and said if the test results hold, Medina Spirit will be disqualified and second-place finisher Mandaloun will be declared the new Derby winner.
Post time for the Preakness is 6:47 p.m. ET, and the race will air on NBC. In early action, bettors made Medina Spirit a 9-5 favorite in the 10-horse field.
David K. Li, Diana Dasrath and Juliette Arcodia contributed.