All the drug tests came back clean for the 18 horses who raced Saturday in Kentucky Derby 2023 and the 14 who ran the day before in the Kentucky Oaks (G1).
What most years has been a routine statement was released Friday afternoon by a spokesperson for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. It further validated the victories last week for Mage in the Derby and Pretty Mischievous in the Oaks.
“The KHRC received laboratory results from the University of Kentucky,” the statement said. “The post-race samples taken for the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby have been cleared.”
The last time there was a drug positive from either marquee race at Churchill Downs was 2021, when the late Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone. His Derby victory was erased the following winter by KHRC stewards after a lengthy legal fight brought by owner Amr Zedan and trainer Bob Baffert.
That battle has yet to be completely resolved, since a state hearing officer has yet to make her recommendation after Zedan and Baffert made their case again last summer that a legal ointment was used on Medina Spirit.
Gamine, also trained by Baffert, lost her third-place finish in the September 2020 running of the Oaks after she, too, had tested positive for betamethasone. Baffert said he followed KHRC guidelines that allowed for an injection of the medication more than 14 days before the race.
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