Del Mar punishes trainers Baffert and Brinkeroff

The Del Mar stewards finished the short Fall meeting Sunday by fining trainer Bob Baffert for a medication violation and suspending trainer Val Brinkeroff 45 days for a positive test for another medication more than a year ago.

Baffert, the most recognizable figure in the sport, was fined $2,500 after Merneith tested positive for Dextrorphan, a metabolite often found in cough remedies. The drug is a Class 4 violation. The most severe are Class 1 and the least impactful are Class 5. Class 4 contains many therapeutic medications.

Merneith, a 3-year-old filly, finished second in an allowance race at Del Mar on July 25, which is when the sample was collected. A split sample tested later had the same result. At a hearing Nov. 11, Craig Robertson, Baffert’s attorney, made the case that the horse was accidentally exposed to cough medicine taken by a groom who had the coronavirus. Groom William Alonzo testified at the hearing as did Dr. Stephen Barker, a retired professor from Louisiana State University who often appears as an expert witness in medication cases.

Baffert recently announced a series of new barn protocols and oversight in a year, which in addition to Merneith, two other horses had a combined three medication positives. Merneith is the only horse that had a violation in Southern California, where Baffert runs his stable. The cases are in various stages of adjudication and appeals.

Robertson did not respond to a message from The Times for comment or say if an appeal is planned.