On May 18, 1880, the sixth Kentucky Derby was run at Churchill Downs in dust five inches deep. Jockey George Garret Lewis broke in front with Fonso, who kicked up a dust cloud obscuring the path of the other four contenders. The rider of Kimball, who finished second, was highly offended (not to mention filthy), and lodged a claim of foul against the winner. “Take it up with housekeeping,” said the stewards, denying the claim.
In the 59th Derby in 1933, jockeys Don Meade aboard Brokers Tip and Herb Fisher riding Head Play wrestled it out down the stretch in the famous “Fighting Finish” Run For The Roses. Brokers Tip won by a nose, Fisher whacked Meade with his whip past the finish line and both riders went at it in the jockeys’ room, earning 30-day suspensions. Fisher then claimed he was fouled in the race. Meade claimed “I couldn’t push him away because he had ahold of me, so I had to get ahold of him. So from there down to the wire, that’s where it was—grab and grab and grab. It was more or less everyone for himself.” Fisher’s claim of foul was summarily dismissed.
In 1959, jockey Bill Boland rode the hair off the famous Sword Dancer, but was beaten a nose by Tomy Lee, under Hall of Fame jockey Bill Shoemaker. Boland couldn’t believe he lost and promptly claimed foul, alleging excessive bumping through the stretch. The stewards laughed it off, deciding Sword Dancer was the aggressor.
The only Kentucky Derby disqualification of an apparent winner in all of history occurred in 1968, long after the race was actually won by owner Peter Fuller’s Dancer’s Image. On the Tuesday following the race, it was announced that a post-race urinalysis of the winner revealed the presence of a prohibited medication (phenylbutazone). The final result was overturned and Forward Pass was named the winner. Fuller initiated litigation that lasted until 1972, to no avail.
In 2001, Jockey John Velazquez aboard second-place Invisible Ink claimed interference at the quarter-pole by upset winner Monarchos and his fiesty rider Jorge Chavez. It was disallowed. Monarchos paid $23 to win, Invisible Ink paid $48.60 to place and the 16-13 Exacta was a whopping $1229.
Just to show they’re not totally unreasonable, the stewards did actually disqualify a Derby runner for on-track antics in 1984, although it wasn’t the winner. Gate Dancer finished fourth on the track under Eddie Delahoussaye, just ahead of fifth-place Fali Time, but was cited by the stewards for interference and the order of finish transposed.
The Dilemma
Less than a week before the 145th Kentucky Derby, Maximum Security was a mere 12-1 shot, ignored by most of the experts as the beneficiary of a slow pace in his Florida Derby victory and no match for then-favorite Omaha Beach or Bob Baffert’s trio of sharpshooters. The Flying Pie, being wiser than most, had Maximum Security picked third with a shot to win. When Omaha Beach scratched, however, the betting public immediately jumped on MS and by race time he was a 9-2 favorite.
When the gates opened, Maximum Security went right to the lead, edged away up the backstretch while slightly off the rail and continued to lead around the far turn and into the stretch. Near the 5/16 pole, early videos appeared to have him veer out into the path of War of Will, forcing that horse to nudge out Long Range Toddy and Bodexpress. Luis Saez attributed this to his mount being startled by the great wall of sound which emanates from the massive grandstand crowd when the horses reach the stretch. To his credit, Saez quickly straightened his horse out and went on to win by a comfortable margin. When the race was over, however, claims of foul were lodged by the riders of Long Range Toddy, who had dropped from contention and Country House, who finished second.
At first, it seemed the result would stand, since Derby tradition held that winners were never taken down. But time went by and the television replays seemed to show the back legs of Maximum Security mingling with the front legs of War of Will. At the time and from that vantage point, it seemed that the winner might have fouled War of Will and created the ruckus which led to the complaint. Nonetheless, there was plenty of race left and several horses had the opportunity to catch the leader if they had The Right Stuff. They did not and he pulled away to a convincing win. Despite the ruckus, we felt the result should stand. The best horse won and he certainly did not greatly inconvenience Country House, despite the protestations of Bill Mott, the latter’s trainer. The stewards ultimately felt different and disqualified Maximum Security. It was hard to argue they were incorrect since it appeared at the time that Maximum Security had moved into the path of War of Will, initiating the foofaraw. The owners of the favorite requested a meeting with the stewards to watch the tape and get the stewards’ reasoning, a fair ask. The stewards impolitically refused, but maybe they shouldn’t have. A later tape seemed to reveal a different picture.
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| Tyler Gaffalione and War of Will: Troublemakers. |
Not So Fast, My Friend!
On May 6th, Horse Racing Nation revealed a contrasting piece of evidence of the shenanigans. In a video played at 8% of the original speed, they noted a consistent line in the racing surface and Maximum Security’s position in relation to it. Behind him, War of Will and Long Range Toddy nudge toward the rail as Maximum Security holds his path.
“Just past the minute mark, Maximum Security hasn’t moved out, but War of Will is now positioned inside the line, nearly clipping heels with the leader. There were three strides in which they could have made contact, with War of Will’s left front appearing to land between Maximum Security’s rear legs on one of them. After a third stride in close quarters, Maximum Security then veered. Ben Glass, racing manager for Gary and Mary West, who own Maximum Security, said Monday that he’s unsure stewards had access to this angle when making a decision. ‘We don’t know if they have NBC cameras. We do.’”
Anyone viewing the HRN tape will clearly see Tyler Gaffalione on War of Will move up into Maximum Security, in direct contrast to the early tapes, which seem to indicate differently. The appeal of the race by the Wests was immediately turned down, perhaps too immediately. Glass now says he will represent the Wests on Thursday in a meeting with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to watch the film. What looked like a fait accompli may just be a prelude to more hijinks.
https://www.horseracingnation.com/news/Watch_New_video_key_to_Maximum_Security_s_Kentucky_Derby_appeal_123#
The Need For Speed
At present, Maximum Security’s connections do not intend to run the horse in the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore on May 18. Classics horses rarely run two weeks apart due to the short recovery period and with the Triple Crown no longer an inducement, the West family sees no reason to stress their valuable asset. If, however, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission quickly amends the result and makes Maximum Security the winner, the MS connections still have time to change their minds. For the first few days after a big race, the horses basically rest, so Maximum Security has lost no ground. If the result is reversed and the connections of Country House decide to take the matter to court, the final reckoning could be far in the future, but at least Maximum Security would get his deserved opportunity to contend for a Triple Crown. So stay tuned. A flying saucer could land on the Churchill Downs infield tomorrow.
Looking Ahead
Depending on the resolution of the Maximum Security affair, the Preakness could be a singular spectacle or an unfulfilling disappointment. We have already lost Omaha Beach, the apparent leader of the three-year-old crop, until Summer and Bob Baffert’s interesting trio may scatter to the four winds. Improbable was a respectable fifth in Louisville and Game Winner sixth, so at least one of them should compete in Baltimore against the Derby winner. Trainer Mark Casse could be back with his troublemaker, War of Will, who was running well until the fracas started. Code of Honor, the place horse, and Tacitus, who ran third, are possibilities. The only other Derby horse likely to show up at the Preakness is Bodexpress, who drew in when Omaha Beach scratched and finished a dowdy 13th. Big whoop.
Others on the likely list are Sueno, who finished third in the Louisiana Derby, Alwaysmining, winner of the Federico Tesio at Laurel, Anothertwistafate, winner of the El Camino Real Derby, Signalman, third in the Blue Grass, and Laughing Fox, winner of the Oaklawn Invitational. Also, Blue Grass winner Owendale, Mr. Money, winner of the Pat Day Mile and Fountain of Youth runner-up Bourbon War, fourth in the Florida Derby.
All just fine. But much, much better with Maximum Security. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.
That’s all, folks….
bill.killeen094@gmail.com
Addenda: We got a stream of emails following the Derby Saturday, asking what happened. When Bill went to the gym Monday morning, a small knot of curious folks were waiting for him, looking for his pronouncement. The latest Kentucky Derby wrangle is bumfuzzling millions and the situation changes daily, confusing everyone. We thought we’d better clarify as much as we can as soon as we can, so we’re early this week. Don’t expect another column Thursday, we’re already worn out.
