LEXINGTON, Ky. — Beleaguered thoroughbred racehorse Medina Spirit, the first-place finisher at the 2021 Kentucky Derby, has died. 

California Horse Racing Board Equine Medical Director confirmed the Bob Baffert-trained 3-year-old colt collapsed and died Monday morning at Santa Anita Park after completing five furlongs during his second workout since finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, according to Ray Paulick of The Paulick Report. 

Blea said the horse’s blood, hair, and urine would be tested. A complete necropsy, including toxicology, forensics and tissue sampling, will be performed to try and identify the cause of death.

Trainer Bob Baffert released a statement reading, "It is with great sadness that I am reporting Medina Spirit passed away today from a heart attack at Santa Anita following a workout. My entire barn is devastated by this news. Medina Spirit was a great champion, a member of our family who was loved by all, and we are deeply mourning his loss. I will always cherish the proud and personal memories of Medina Spirit and his tremendous spirit. Our most sincere condolences go out to Mr. Amr Zedan and the entire Zedan Racing Stables family. They are in our thoughts and prayers as we go through this difficult time."

Medina Spirit’s Kentucky Derby win has not been certified after a positive post-race test result for betamethasone, a therapeutic medication prohibited on race day. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has not had a hearing, which is required to disqualify Medina Spirit. Baffert’s attorneys released a statement Friday, Dec. 3, claiming tests conducted by a New York laboratory have “definitively confirmed” Medina Spirit tested positive for a corticosteroid not through an injection, but from an ointment used to treat a skin rash.

“It has now been scientifically proven that what Bob Baffert said from the beginning was true — Medina Spirit was never injected with betamethasone, and the findings following the Kentucky Derby were solely the result of the horse being treated for a skin condition by way of a topical ointment — all at the direction of Medina Spirit’s veterinarian,” Baffert’s attorney Craig Robertson told The Associated Press in an email.

Since winning The Derby, Medina Spirit has run four times, finishing third in the Preakness Stakes and winning the Shared Belief Stakes and the Grade 1 Awesome Again. According to Paulick, Baffert planned for Medina Spirit to race in the Saudi Cup in February.

Churchill Downs sent Spectrum News 1 a statement regarding the horse's death.  It says, “Churchill Downs mourns the tragic loss of Medina Spirit and extends our deepest condolences to his fans and all who loved this horse.”

Clark Brewster, an attorney representing Medina Spirit’s owners, said the horse will be buried in Kentucky.

According to an article in the Pasadena Star-News, Media Spirit is the 20th horse to die at Santa Anita in 2021. The track reported 20 such deaths in 2020 and 37 horses died in 2018-19 in racing or training incidents.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office investigated the deaths and concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing, but made a series of recommendations to improve safety at California race tracks.

A monthslong investigation by state regulators in 2019 found no evidence of illegal medications or procedures. Still, it determined most of the horses had “preexisting pathology,” according to a report by the California Horse Racing Board.