This was the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby. In 1968, a winner was disqualified after failing a drug test. Dancer's Image always had sore ankles; the Sunday before the Saturday race, the barn vet gave him an injection of phenylbutazone (commonly called "bute"), thinking the drug would have passed out of the colt's system in 6 days. It did not. The urine sample came back positive for a controlled substance and the first place prize money and acclaim went to Forward Pass.
In the 1984 running of the Kentucky Derby, Gate Dancer bumped into another horse multiple times during the stretch run, knocking the other horse toward the inner rail. The jockey claimed foul, and Gate Dancer, who had finished fourth, was moved back to fifth place. The horse he had interfered with was awarded fourth place and that portion of the winner's purse.
The race today was different. I am not a steward, but I do not agree with their decision - and not because I am a huge fan of Maximum Security and/or his connections. Maximum Security lead the race almost from the first step out of the starting gate. Coming around the last turn, the crowd of 150,729 people began to roar. There was also a lengthy puddle of water on the race track, where he was racing about one path out from the inner rail. It had rained heavily just before the race, and it was still raining. Coming around the turn, with the roar of the crowd and the puddle in front of him, Maximum Security slowly angled away from the rail, about the width of three horses. War of Will was right on the heels of Maximum Security, and Tyler Gaffalione had to slow and steady his horse to keep from clipping heels and falling. Country House also moved wider, as he was outside of War of Will and moving up alongside Maximum Security. Luis Saez, the jockey on Maximum Security, took the horse back to the second path as soon as they straightened out from the turn and entered the straight homestretch. Julian Prat, riding Country House, moved from the sixth lane to the fourth lane. Several horses came up to challenge Maximum Security and Country House, but faded back.
Maximum Security passed under the finish line, followed by Country House, Code of Honor, Tacitus, and Improbable. People were astounded when Country House's jockey, Julian Prat, claimed foul. He said he was interfered with in the stretch by Maximum Security bearing out, and that, had that not happened, his colt might have won the race. After watching five different camera views of the race for 20 minutes, and interviewing the two jockeys on the telephone, the Stewards took down Maximum Security's number as the winner, placed him 17th in the order of finish, and placed Country House's number on top.
Veteran jockey Jerry Bailey was on the live NBC broadcast of the race and follow-up, and while the Stewards were watching the videos of the race, he stated that Maximum Security had definitely interfered with War of Will, but he did not believe that he had interfered with Country House. He said he would not have made the claim of foul that Prat made. One of the other announcers asked if some jockeys would have made the claim "just in case the Stewards might change their minds" and Jerry said, yes, that was certainly the case. He was surprised with the Stewards decision.
Country House was declared the winner, with Code of Honor in second place, Tacitus in third, Improbable in fourth and Game Winner in fifth. The rest of the finish was in this order: 6th, Master Fencer (JPN); 7th, War of Will; 8th, Plus Que Paefait; 9th, Win Win Win; 10th, Cutting Humor; 11th, By My Standards; 12th, Vekoma; 13th, Bodexpress; 14th, Tax; 15th, Roadster; 16th, Long Range Toddy; 17th, Maximum Security; 18th, Spinoff; and 19th, Gray Magician. Long Range Toddy had to be pulled up, or slowed, to stop from colliding with War of Will, who slowed down when Maximum Security slowly veered to the right. That is why Maximum Security was placed behind him in the finish. Maximum Security finished the race 1 3/4 length in front of Country House, running the 1 and 1/4 miles on a sloppy track in 2:03.93.
Country House was a 65 to 1 long shot in the betting for the day, so the payouts were high. A $2 win bet paid $132.40; a $2 place bet paid $15.20; and a $2 show bet paid $5.60. If you placed a $2 perfecta bet, your return was $3,009.60; a $2 trifecta paid $22,950.60; and the superfecta paid $102,800.20.
Just before Maximum Security started to move left - from left,
Country House, War of Will, Maximum Security and Code of Honor
Maximum Security finishing in front by 1 3/4 lengths
Country House (left) was declared the winner; War of Will at right
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