Bob Baffert Backs Off 'Cancel Culture' and 'Pee-Tainted Hay' Excuses

Well, so much for cancel culture in the case of Medina Spirit and trainer Bob Baffert. Though Medina Spirit won the Kentucky Derby on May 1, a subsequent positive drug test has since called the victory into question.

In case you missed it, Baffert's horses have now failed five drug tests in just more than a year, and as a result, he has been suspended by Churchill Downs. He now cannot enter horses into races at the track for the duration of the suspension.

At first, Baffert told anyone who would listen that he was being victimized by "cancel culture." While cancel culture has indeed claimed many victims, he is not one of them.

Instead, Baffert acknowledged in a statement Tuesday that Medina Spirit was treated with the drug Otomax, which contains betamethasone.

"So much for conspiracy theories," wrote Tim Sullivan of the Louisville Courier-Journal.

"Bob’s horses have now failed at least 29 drug tests during his four-decade career as a trainer," wrote OutKick's Joe Kinsey. "In one of the cases, Bob blamed a groom who took a leak on hay in a horse stall. The horse, Baffert claims, then ate the hay and tested positive."

As for this weekend's Preakness ... well, Medina Spirit is headed there for now, but without Baffert.

“I go to Baltimore to have a good time. It’s a fun trip,” Baffert told The Associated Press. “I don’t want to take away from the horses. I think it’d be a distraction if I went. I think it’d be a distraction if I win."

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Sam Amico spent 15 years covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated, FOX Sports and NBA.com, along with a few other spots, and currently runs his own basketball website on the side, FortyEightMinutes.com.