UPDATE: The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has denied the appeal of Maximum Security's disqualification. The decision from Saturday, that Maximum Security did impede the path of several horses in the race, will stand. Country House remains the named winner of the Kentucky Derby.
On Saturday, an unbeaten horse won the prestigious Kentucky Derby. Twenty-two minutes later, officials took the award away—but hoopla surrounding “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” is far from over.
Three-year-old Maximum Security emerged victorious in a muddy 1 ¼-mile race. But the horse’s triumph over second-place finisher Country House didn’t last long. It seems that all the horses ran, but Maximum Security may not have “run in such a way [to] win.” (See 1 Corinthians 9:24.)
Kentucky Horse Racing Commission chief steward Barbara Borden says riders of horses Long Range Toddy and Country House lodged complaints against Maximum Security for interference. “We had a lengthy review of the race,” Borden says. “We determined that [Maximum Security] drifted out and impacted the progress of” other horses. Race stewards dropped Maximum Security to 17th of 19 horses, behind all the horses he hindered.
Runner-up Country House became the winner—to the astonishment of Maximum Security’s team, which insisted the horse did not cut off its competitors.
Maximum Security is the first Derby winner to be disqualified because of interference.“I think this is the most egregious disqualification in the history of horse racing, and not just because it’s our horse,” says Maximum’s Security’s co-owner Gary West.
West’s team is exploring appeal options. They must wait until Thursday to see a replay of the incident. “If we can’t appeal to the stewards,” West says, “our other options are the state racing commission. If those don’t work, we might go to legal options. ... But we have not seen what they saw.”
West insists there wasn’t much jockey Luis Saez could do to control Maximum Security on a sloppy track. “When you’re leg weary, you’re not going to run straight all the time,” West says. “Horses don’t either.”
(Luis Saez riding Maximum Security, second from right, goes around turn four with Flavien Prat riding Country House, left, Tyler Gaffalione riding War of Will, and John Velazquez riding Code of Honor, right, during the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby. AP Photo/John Minchillo)
