Results of drug tests from the Kentucky Derby and Oaks used to be standard procedure. By now, a declaration of intent would normally have been issued.
The process was anything but normal in 2020 and 2021 due to disqualifications. This new federal regulation has further altered it.
The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit, which stated it would only disclose failed drug tests if any, was deferred to by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Monday. The Commission had previously released its yearly statements six days after the 2023 Derby and four days after the 2022 Derby.
“HIWU maintains the same results management and public-disclosure procedures for all races,” spokesperson Alexa Ravit wrote in a text to Horse Racing Nation late Monday afternoon. “These procedures are followed in accordance with (the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s) anti-doping and medication-control program rules. As part of these procedures, HIWU does not publicly report negative results. Any adverse analytical findings (positive tests) from the Kentucky Derby or races run on Kentucky Derby weekend would be reported as per the ADMC program’s public-disclosure rules.”
Therefore, no news is now excellent news. The most recent instance of a medicine violation under investigation occurred on April 17, according to the HIWU decisions webpage.
Instead of waiting around for something not to happen, Ravit stated that the KHRC could still report if all horses not appearing in the HIWU portal had clear post-race testing from the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on May 3 and the Kentucky Derby on May 4.
“Since HIWU has a voluntary implementation agreement with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission,” she wrote, “they will receive all test results and may announce test results at their discretion.”
A KHRC spokesperson received a question concerning that exact section of the HIWU statement on Monday after business hours, but the spokesperson hasn't responded yet.
Two days after the Preakness Stakes the previous year, on May 22, federal medication laws went into force for the first time for this year's Derby. Before those regulations eventually took effect, they were given a four-day false start in March 2023 by a federal judge in Texas. After that, the rules had to go through a waiting period. State regulators and horsemen's organisations are still pursuing legal actions in an attempt to have HISA ruled unlawful.
The post-race results from the Derby and Oaks gained more significance when two horses trained by Bob Baffert tested positive for betamethasone, a medication that is acceptable as long as it is not detected in testing conducted on race day. Gamine's 2020 Oaks third-place finish was voided, and Medina Spirit's 2021 Derby victory was ruled invalid.
Baffert argued that since the skin ointment applications occurred prior to the KHRC's prescribed two-week withdrawal period, the drug applications were lawful. Churchill Downs Inc. 's ensuing two-year suspension of Baffert in 2021 was prolonged indefinitely through at least the end of 2024. Baffert's and his clients' owners lost their pleas in court and administrative proceedings to be restored sooner.