Medina Spirit heads to Preakness, minus trainer Bob Baffert

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit is headed to Baltimore for the Preakness Stakes while trainer Bob Baffert says he won’t attend the race to avoid being a distraction in the wake of scrutiny following the colt’s failed postrace drug test.

Medina Spirit’s Derby win by half a length over Mandaloun gave Baffert his record seventh victory in the sport’s premier race. That milestone is now in jeopardy following Baffert’s announcement that test results revealed the horse had more than twice the state-allowed amount of the steroid betamethasone.

Baffert is appealing the positive test and a part of the original sample will be re-tested.

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