Bob Baffert has been permanently banned from Churchill Downs...

... at least until he tells what Churchill Downs believes is the truth about Medina Spirit and the drugs the trainer had him on.

The announcement came today, as the Kentucky Derby racetrack extended Bob Baffert's ban at least another 18 months, to the end of 2024, for continued obfuscation, at least in the eyes of the racetrack, surrounding Medina Spirit and the 147th Derby.

But it is now clear:  Bob Baffert has been permanently banned from Churchill Downs until the racetrack is satisfied as to Baffert taking responsibility for drugging Medina Spirit.

Baffert has trained the last two Triple Crown winners:  American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018.  He has trained six Kentucky Derby winners.  There is already evidence Justify was on illegal drugs.  He was disqualified provisionally from the win at the Santa Anita Derby in 2020, but the California commission decided that the results were, in fact, consistent with feed contamination.

I have a gut feeling this is no longer about Medina Spirit, or at least Medina Spirit alone.  I think it's clear that the real questions probably extend, at minimum, to American Pharoah and Justify...

My guess:  Bob Baffert will never be allowed to race at Churchill Downs again.

And another piece of evidence as to why:  As of the increasingly convenient death of Medina Spirit, 74 horses in the care of Baffert have died in the last two decades.