At the 2022 Preakness Stakes later this year, there won't be any horses racing that were trained by Bob Baffert. On Monday, the Maryland Racing Commission announced that Baffert is banned from competing at the Preakness Stakes as a result of drug violations among his horses in other states over the last year.
Maryland Racing Commission executive director J. Michael Hopkins sent a letter to the Center for a Humane Economy, Animal Wellness Action and the Animal Wellness Foundation requesting that Baffert be suspended in Maryland due to the fact that he's been suspended from competing in other states.
"The Racing Commission recognizes a suspension through reciprocity of any individual who has been suspended in another racing jurisdiction as a matter of course," Hopkins told WBAL-TV 11 in an email.
In February of 2022, Medina Spirit, a horse that was trained by Baffert, was officially stripped of its 2021 Kentucky Derby victory. Baffert was also then suspended from competing at Churchill Downs, the site of the Kentucky Derby, for 90 days.
Medina Spirit tested positive for a banned substanced, betamethasone, shortly after securing the victory in last year's Kentucky Derby. Betamethasone is legal in Kentucky, but it's illegal to be used on the day of a race. Baffert was also fined $7,500 and all of the purse money from Medina Spirit's win was forfeited.
Medina Spirit died on Dec. 6 during a workout in California's Santa Anita Park. A necropsy of the animal found no definitive cause of death.
