Medina Spirit first crossed the line in 2021, but the horse was later tested positive for a banned substance, meaning the result was canceled.
The horse’s trainer, Bob Baffert, was subsequently suspended for two years from Churchill Downs, and first-place Mandaloun was announced as the race winner.
Baffert later made a lengthy statement that an ointment used to treat dermatitis may have caused the positive test.
The episode, which took another sad turn after Medina Spirit died unexpectedly in December, no doubt continues to overshadow the performance, which was first held back in 1875, but Derby is eager to leave the controversy of the past.
Without Baffert, who has won the race a record-breaking six times, the field is wide open for what promises to be an exciting competition.
Named the “Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” – a nod to its approximate maturity – Derby is the first race in the coveted Triple Crown of American horse racing, which also includes the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.
Justify – trained by Baffert – was the last horse to win all three races back in 2018.
Them to look at
Despite Baffert being excluded from the race, two of his former horses have a good chance of success.
Messier and Taiba are among the candidates who have been passed on to Baffert’s former assistant Tim Yakteen, who has been training the horses for this weekend’s showpiece for just over a month.
Yakteen says he has had no communication with Baffert up until the race, but has met with extra attention with some claiming it is the 69-year-old trainer’s horses in all but name.
“I have to be honest, I did not realize it would be like this, but I would never have hesitated,” Yakteen told reporters when asked if he had hesitated to take the horses into his barn.
However, Epicenter and Zandon seem to be the two excellent choices heading into the race with both horses having great potential.
Epicenter’s trainer Steve Asmussen is the most successful in North American horse racing history, but has failed to win the Derby in all of his 23 attempts.
Zandon, meanwhile, comes after an impressive performance last time-out, which has established it as a race favorite.
This is how you look
The derby will be broadcast in the US on NBC, the NBC website and its app covering all of Saturday’s races starting at noon.
The iconic race is set to start at. 18:57 ET.