The 2022 Kentucky Derby has arrived, bringing with it excitement and great anticipation. While the field is full of plenty of horses that can contend at the run for the roses, there's one notable name missing from the stables this year. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has been banned from Churchill Downs after his former Kentucky Derby champion horse, Medina Spirit, tested positive for betamethasone, a Class C drug that was illegally detected in the horse's system on race day. A six-time winner of the Derby, Baffert is facing questions about his own legacy after Medina Spirit, who died on December 6, was stripped of the 2021 victory. In an interview with ESPN, Baffert made a shocking claim about Medina Spirit.

When asked directly if he knowingly cheated, Baffert vehemently denied it to ESPN: “No.”

“It killed me when they made a big deal taking [Medina Spirit's] name off, in the paddock,” Baffert said. “And they took my signs down at the barn. It's tough to see that, but you know what, at the end of the day, when the facts come out … it tells a different story.

“That day will come. Yeah.”

Baffert, who is suing Churchill Downs in an effort to get his Kentucky Derby ban uplifted, denied any cheating on the part of he or his team with Medina Spirit. The longtime trainer said that it “killed him” to see his signs taken down at the barn and in the paddock but remains confident that the “facts” will come out.

Baffert, 69, has come under fire for medication violations with other horses in the past. Medina Spirit allegedly died of a heart attack after a workout, though an autopsy failed to detect the true cause.

The 2022 Kentucky Derby will feature two horses, Messier and Taiba, who were in Baffert's stables before former assistant Tim Yakteen began training them.