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(Reuters) – Kentucky Derby-winning horse Medina Spirit will compete in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes after clearing pre-race drug tests, race organisers said on Friday.
The Bob Baffert-trained horse tested positive for the anti-inflammatory drug betamethasone after winning the first of the three famed Triple Crown races on May 1, raising questions over whether the three-year-old colt would be allowed to race at Pimlico Race Course.
Medina Spirit was cleared to compete after “undergoing three rounds of out-of-competition blood sample testing as part of the condition of entry,” Pimlico owner Stronach Group said in a statement.
Baffert, one of the most recognizable figures in the world of professional horse racing with a record seven Kentucky Derby titles, said the prior failed drug test may have been due to the use of an anti-fungal ointment.
On Tuesday he reached an agreement with Maryland state horse racing regulators that included “rigorous testing and monitoring” to allow him to compete.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Christian Radnedge)