Country House, a 65-1 longshot, on Saturday won the 145th Kentucky Derby after wire-to-wire leader Maximum Security was stunningly disqualified from the top spot.
It was the first time that the horse that crossed the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby was denied victory because it hindered another horse.
Maximum Security, trained by John Servis and ridden by Luis Saez, was running comfortably in front on the sloppy Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Kentucky, but the colt moved sharply out from the rail as the field turned for home.
Photo: Bloomberg
After an objection and a nail-biting 20-minute review, he was ruled to have interfered with War of Will and other horses — a move that stewards ultimately judged significantly affected the outcome of the race.
The result gave trainer Bill Mott a first Kentucky Derby victory at the age of 65.
“First of all, I think our horse ran great,” Mott said. “As far as the win goes, it’s bittersweet. I’d be lying if I said it was any different. You always want to win with a clean trip and have everybody recognize the horse as the great athlete he is. Due to the disqualification, probably some of that is diminished.”
Country House jockey Flavien Prat of France also won his first Derby — after crossing the line 1.5 lengths behind Maximum Security.
“We had a pretty good trip and then when I came around the turn, I was outside — and all of a sudden, there was a real move from the inside to the outside,” Prat recalled as trainers, jockeys and a crowd of 150,729 waited in suspense for the outcome of the stewards’ inquiry.
“I did actually claim foul,” Prat later confirmed, as did the rider of Long Range Toddy.
“I thought [Maximum Security] had shifted out a lot. We had been slightly bothered in that incident,” Prat added.
Mott had no doubt that the right decision was made.
“This is horse racing,” he said. “There are two horses in the race that lost all chance to win a Kentucky Derby [when Maximum Security veered off the rail] — and they were in a position at that time to hit the board.”
“I know the stewards had a very difficult decision,” Mott added. “I’m glad I wasn’t in their shoes. With that being said, I’m damn glad they put our number up.”
However, it was a massive blow for Servis and Panamanian jockey Saez, who said that previously unbeaten Maximum Security was startled turning for home by the roar of the crowd.
Saez thought that he had steadied his mount before any harm was done, but he ended up placing 17th in the 19-horse field.
“I thought I never put anybody in danger,” Saez said.
Code of Honor finished second after the disqualification, followed by Tacitus.
In a prepared statement, Barbara Borden, chief steward for the state of Kentucky, said that Maximum Security’s misstep affected several horses.
“We had a lengthy review of the race. We interviewed the affected riders. We determined that the 7 horse [Maximum Security] drifted out and impacted the progress of the number 1 [War of Will], in turn interfering with the 18 [Long Range Toddy] and 21 [Bodexpress],” she said.
“Those horses were all affected, we thought, by the interference, therefore we unanimously determined to disqualify number 7 and place him behind the 18 — the 18 being the lowest-placed horse that he bothered, which is our typical procedure.”
Trainer Bob Baffert, seeking a record-equaling sixth Kentucky Derby victory a year after guiding Justify to the coveted Triple Crown, had three horses in the race, but none was a factor.
The end to Saturday’s race will do little to ignite enthusiasm for racing in America, where 23 horse deaths in a three-month span at the Santa Anita Park racetrack in California have put the sport under scrutiny.
The only other time an apparent Kentucky Derby winner lost a victory was in 1968, when Dancer’s Image tested positive for a banned medication and Kentucky racing officials redistributed the purse sometime after the fact, making Forward Pass the official winner.
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS