Medina Spirit’s Kentucky Derby win is in doubt after a failed drug test.
The thoroughbred tested positive for a large amount of the steroid betamethasone.
For now, the first-place finish still stands.
Medina Spirit will be disqualified if a second test confirms the situation.
Tons of gamblers out there love to bet on horse racing. Unfortunately, those gamblers are now stuck wondering about what will happen to their Kentucky Derby wagers.
What happens to Kentucky Derby bets?
If you managed to pick Medina Spirit as the Derby winner, then congrats, you’re in the clear here.
Your bet will still stand even if Medina Spirit ends up being disqualified.
However, there is some bad news for gamblers that bet on second-place Mandaloun.
Mandaloun will go into the history books as the winner of the 2021 Kentucky Derby if Medina Spirit is disqualified.
Despite that, gamblers who bet on Mandaloun to win the race will not have their losing tickets corrected to fit the new situation.
In a nutshell, everything gambling-wise should remain the same.
There’s thankfully some precedent to go off of here.
Dancer’s Image bets stood in 1968
It’s been quite some time since a Kentucky Derby winner was retroactively disqualified.
Dancer’s Image was the last horse to find itself in this situation back in 1968.
At the time, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission naturally anointed the second-place horse as the new winner.
Pari-mutual payoffs did not change for that Derby despite the disqualification.
Obviously, 1968 was a long time ago.
Betting on horse racing is a lot easier than it used to be thanks to online apps like TVG.
We also have a more recent disqualification to go off of from last year’s Kentucky Oaks.
The third-place horse in that race was disqualified, and yet wagering on the race remained unchanged.
Kentucky Oaks might not be the Derby, but it still provides some confidence that Medina Spirit’s situation won’t leave winning gamblers out to dry.
Medina Spirit runs at Preakness Stakes
The Kentucky Derby might be in some hot water, but the Triple Crown chugging ahead.
The 2021 Preakness Stakes will be taking place this Saturday, May 15.
Medina Spirit will be racing despite the doubts surrounding its Kentucky Derby win.
If a second test confirms the use of betamethasone, Medina Spirit will have its Derby result voided and will be disqualified from the Preakness Stakes as well. However, Baffert has already lawyered up and will file an injunction if Pimlico tries to keep the horse out of the field.
The results of that second test are currently pending and could potentially take weeks to come back.
Medina Spirit will be hitting the track at Preakness this weekend unless those test results come back quickly.
The results might not end up disqualifying the horse, but Medina Spirit’s Preakness status is worth keeping an eye on for Triple Crown gamblers.
