Completed Pass Aims for Second McKay Turf Sprint Win bloodhorse.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bloodhorse.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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English Channel-sired Man o War winner Channel Cat, John Velazquez aboard
Is there a less-appreciated upper-tier sire in the country than English Channel?
Channel Cat s victory in the Grade 1 Man o War Stakes was a reminder of the excellence that the stallion imparts to his offspring and that English Channel showed emphatically during his own racing career.
The 19-year-old son of Smart Strike and the Theatrical mare Belva proved himself a hickory racer, winning 13 of 23 starts over four seasons and $5.3 million. At the races, English Channel began his career the right way: winning his debut at 2 at Saratoga.
USA TODAY
Medina Spirit is going to run in the Preakness after all. Trainer Bob Baffert has a new person to throw under the bus. And thus, the attempted whitewash of a positive drug test that is likely going to cost Baffert his seventh Kentucky Derby title has begun in earnest.
After abandoning the ridiculous pretense that Medina Spirit was somehow sabotaged or a victim of cancel culture yes, Baffert went there in multiple interviews Monday he took another step closer to the truth Tuesday when he acknowledged in a statement that Medina Spirit had been treated for dermatitis with an anti-fungal ointment called Otomax up until the day before the Kentucky Derby. One of the ingredients in Otomax? Betamethasone, the steroid that showed up in Medina Spirit’s post-race drug test.
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Craig Roberston, attorney for trainer Bob Baffert, told the
Daily Racing Form on Monday that he is prepared to file a temporary restraining order if Pimlico Race Course attempts to deny Medina Spirit entry into Saturday s Preakness Stakes.
The Preakness Stakes draw was originally scheduled for Monday, but Pimlico management pushed entries back to Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern following Baffert s Sunday morning announcement that the Kentucky Derby winner had tested positive for 21 picograms of betamethasone.
Robertson said he planned to reach out to Pimlico on Monday regarding the legal issues involved with denying Medina Spirit entry to the Preakness. Only the first post-race sample has been tested at this point; this is not enough to disqualify Medina Spirit. That would be possible after the results are confirmed by a second test of the split sample, which has yet to be completed.
Hammonds to Retire from BloodHorse bloodhorse.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bloodhorse.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.