Law to police doping in horse races not in play ’til 2022

For five years, a bill that would place the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in charge of fighting illicit drug use in horse racing went nowhere in Congress. In 2020, it finally passed — but that milestone came too late to resolve the crisis that enveloped the sport and its latest Kentucky Derby winner this week. Medina Spirit is entered in the Preakness Stakes, set to go for the second stage of the Triple Crown despite a doping positive at the Kentucky Derby that has shrouded its success and future. Because the newly passed law is not in play yet, the horse’s future is being left to state authorities in Kentucky and Maryland instead of USADA, which will govern the antidoping policy in horse racing starting in July 2022.