why was bob baffert suspended

Bob Baffert was suspended for three years from Churchill Downs because his 2021 Kentucky Derby-winning horse, Medina Spirit, tested positive for betamethasone, a corticosteroid that is legal as a therapeutic but prohibited on race day in Kentucky. This was not an isolated incident, as Medina Spirit was the fifth horse trained by Baffert to fail a drug test within 12 months, and overall the 31st horse he trained to test positive. His initial suspension was two years, starting in June 2021, but an additional year was added in July 2023 after Baffert continued legal appeals and was seen as spreading a false narrative about the drug test results. Medina Spirit was posthumously stripped of the Kentucky Derby title in February 2022. Baffert took full responsibility for the episode in July 2024, which led Churchill Downs to lift his suspension, allowing him to return to racing there in 2024.