CNN
,
The New York Racing Association announced Thursday that a three-member hearing panel has decided to suspend Hall of Fame horse trainer Bob Baffert for one year.
69 year old Baffert was Suspended After the victory of the Medina Spirit in 2021 Kentucky Derby was disqualified.
The horse failed a drug test after crossing the finish line first in the Derby, a race Baffert has won on six previous occasions.
Baffert, two-time horse racing winner triple Crownappealed the KHRC’s decision, but the Kentucky Court of Appeals rejected their motion for emergency relief on April 1. His suspension began on April 4.
According to a NYRA press release, after a two-month review of the 50-page report, the panel made the decision to suspend Baffert for 365 calendar days.
However, the panel credited Baffert with serving 59 days after being placed under temporary suspension by the NYRA in May 2021 on top of a 90-day suspension by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Baffert’s NYRA suspension runs through January 25.
“It was a fair and deliberative process that has resulted in the lengthy suspension of the sport’s foremost coach,” said NYRA President and CEO Dave O’Rourke.
“However, it is not just about Bob Baffert or any one person, but about protecting the integrity of the game here in New York. Today’s decision advances that goal.”
After last year’s Derby, the Medina spirit was found to contain betamethasone—an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid sometimes used to relieve joint pain—in a blood sample. Kentucky Horse Racing Rules do not allow this and ask trainers to stop using therapeutics 14 days before an event.
CNN has reached out to Baffert’s representation for comment.