Kentucky Derby Winner, Medina Spirit, Fails Drug Test

(SOUNDBITE OF 147TH KENTUCKY DERBY TELECAST)

LARRY COLLMUS: They're off in the Kentucky Derby.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

And here's how the final seconds of the race's 147th running sounded on NBC Sports.

(SOUNDBITE OF 147TH KENTUCKY DERBY TELECAST)

COLLMUS: Here's the wire. Bob Baffert does it again. Medina Spirit has won the Kentucky Derby.

MARTIN: Yes, the race happened two weekends ago, but Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a post-race drug test and may have his victory revoked.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BOB BAFFERT: I was totally shocked when I heard this news. It was just shocking. You know, I still - I'm trying to absorb it right now. I'm the most scrutinized trainer, and I have millions of eyes on me. But you know what? I don't have a problem with that.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We're hearing Medina Spirit's trainer, Bob Baffert, who has been suspended now by officials at Churchill Downs. He denies any wrongdoing and plans to enter the horse in Saturday's Preakness, the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BAFFERT: Pretty serious accusations here. And so - but we're going to get to the bottom of it and find out. We know we didn't do it.

MARTIN: This year was Bob Baffert's record seventh Kentucky Derby victory. But the Hall of Fame trainer has faced recent allegations of doping. In a little more than a year, five horses he has trained have failed drug tests.

INSKEEP: Baffert insists that no one on his team administered an excessive amount of an anti-inflammatory drug to Medina Spirit. The test it sampled from the horse showed 21 picograms of betamethasone. The allowable limit in Kentucky is 10. Here's Baffert again.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BAFFERT: It's a complete injustice. And I'm going to fight it tooth and nail.

MARTIN: If Medina Spirit's positive test is confirmed, the colt would become the third winning horse to be stripped of its title in the race's long history. The Derby's runner-up, Mandaloun, would be declared the winner.

INSKEEP: In that case, Bob Baffert and his team would have an opportunity to appeal.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOALS SONG, "2 TREES") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.