(Reuters) – Horse trainer Bob Baffert has doubled down on his defense of Medina Spirit’s Kentucky Derby win a year ago, reiterating his claim to ESPN that he did not knowingly cheat.
The Hall of Fame trainer will be absent from the sidelines at Saturday’s “Run for the Roses,” serving a suspension after Medina Spirit tested positive for a banned substance and was stripped of the win in the first leg of the 2021 Triple Crown.
Baffert, who has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the saga, told ESPN in a Friday segment that “when the facts some out” a different story would be told and that his primary interest was restoring Medina Spirit’s legacy.
“I never got my due process with Churchill Downs,” the six-time Derby winner told ESPN.
Baffert is also barred from competing in the other two legs of the American thoroughbred racing triumvirate, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes.
Two Baffert-trained colts will be at the starting line on Saturday, however, after Messier and Taiba were both transferred to his former assistant Tim Yakteen.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
