Medina Spirit

Medina Spirit (April 5, 2018 – December 6, 2021) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby before being disqualified. He came second in the 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic and third in the 2021 Preakness Stakes.

Medina Spirit qualified for the Kentucky Derby with a win in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes and second place finishes in the San Felipe Stakes and Santa Anita Derby. In the Kentucky Derby he was a long shot with post-time odds of 12–1. He crossed the finish line first in the Derby, but was later disqualified after testing positive for the anti-inflammatory steroid betamethasone. After the Kentucky Derby, Medina Spirit finished third in the Preakness Stakes, but a few days later the New York racing officials banned Medina Spirit and his trainer Bob Baffert from participating in the Belmont Stakes because of the drug violations. Later that year, Medina Spirit won the Shared Belief Stakes and Awesome Again Stakes before coming second in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Medina Spirit was a dark bay colt bred in Florida by Gail Rice. He was from the first crop of multiple graded stakes winner Protonico, who stands at Castleton Farm. Protonico is by Giant's Causeway, who was a multiple Group I winner in Europe, nicknamed the Iron Horse. Giant's Causeway was later a leading sire in North America. Medina Spirit was the first foal produced by Mongolian Changa, a daughter of Brilliant Speed, who won one of six starts.

Medina Spirit was foaled on April 5, 2018, on a 10-acre farm in Ocala, Florida. His dam was at first unable to produce milk for him. Rice used some colostrum that had been saved from another mare, providing the foal with crucial nutrients and antibodies. Mongolian Changa soon began to nurse normally and the colt developed into a "standout", known for his competitive spirit.

Medina Spirit attracted little attention when he was entered in the Ocala Breeders Sale of January 2019. He was sold for the minimum $1,000 (meaning he received only one bid) to Christy Whitman, who later resold the colt to bloodstock agent Gary Young who purchased him for $35,000 for Amr Zedan at the Ocala July Two-Year-Old Sale. Zedan had been interested in the colt in part because one of his friends, Oussama Aboughazale, had owned Protonico. Zedan named the horse for Medina, the second holiest city in Islam after Mecca and also the capital of the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia. Medina is the hometown of both Zedan and Aboughazale.

Medina Spirit was sent into training with Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, initially under assistant Mike Marlow. Medina Spirit kept surprising his connections by outworking the more expensive colts that Baffert's stable is known to attract. "He reminded me of Silver Charm", said Baffert, referring to his first Derby winner from 1997. "He doesn't know how much he cost."

Medina Spirit traces to the thoroughbred family numbered 2-n, and was its first Kentucky Derby winner.

In his only race as a two-year-old, Medina Spirit won his debut in a maiden special weight race over 5+1⁄2 furlongs at Los Alamitos Race Course on December 11, 2020. He vied for the early lead with Sensemaker, running the first quarter-mile in 22.20. He took the lead turning for home and kicked clear to win by three lengths.