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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Do you remember this whole story about the call interfering with a missed pass in the NFC Championship game? How about ceaseless howling on NCAA tournament officials?
All this stuff is horse feathers compared to what happened Saturday in the Kentucky Derby.
The two best minutes in the sport were decided by the most controversial 22 minute replay in the sport. What was supposed to be the Bob Baffert Derby will always be known as Derby DQ.
Maximum Security, Derby's favorite, was declared winner of the race due to an incident.
Country House, a long game of 65 to 1, was covered with a blanket of roses and a controversy cover by the first disqualification of an apparent Derby winner for an incident on the track.
Cue the howl. Even the winning relationships looked like peppers sprinkled with mint juleps.
"It was a strange way to win," said coach Bill Mott. "We hate to come back in any way … as long as victory is lost, it's bittersweet."
And potentially for further examination. No one would be surprised if the maximum security officials requested a hearing with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission or in court.
With a winning $ 1.86 million purse on the line in the $ 3 million race, do not you consider your options?
Until further notice, Country House paid $ 132.40 on a $ 2 bet, the second most important win won by a winner of the Derby Story. Code of Honor finished second, just ahead of Tacitus, also coached by Mott.
These Bob Baffert horses, those who were supposed to give him his sixth Derby trophy, were fourth (Improbable), fifth (winner of the game) and 16th (Roadster). They have also finished the most controversial derby in years.
For 22 minutes, jockey Luis Saez, coach Jason Servis, homeowners Gary and Mary West and all those who bet on the favorite thought, Maximum Security, won the 145 Derby by almost two lengths on Country House on a sloping track.
The New York Times has sent an alert. WDRB too. A bouquet of roses was presented to the Wests, who went to the circle of winners.
Twitter percolated with congratulations. Pop the champagne. For the seventh consecutive year, the race belonged to favorite Derby, a former $ 16,000 horse who had won four straight victories. In two weeks in Baltimore, The Preakness is a story America can embrace.
Put the cork back in the bottle. Swipe the confetti. But above all, keep all the tickets.
According to Barbara Borden, the chief steward of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, two jockeys have raised objections about maximum safety for having held in the last corner with less than three-eighths of a mile to go.
One of them was Flavien Prat, the Country House rider, who already had three horses in width. The other was Jon Court on Long Range Toddy, who had two widths. A look at the recovery shows that Court did a great job in protecting his horse, but lost three or four lengths in doing so.
The closest maximum security horse was will war. Although the front legs of his horse were dangerously close to Maximum Security's rear legs, jockey Tyler Gaffalione did not object.
Think about it for a second. The most at-risk jockey did not ask for a review.
Country House has only been slightly affected. Prat said that he was a little turned to the side but that it was the other two foals that suffered.
Was this incident enough to change the outcome of the Derby?
Jerry Bailey is a Hall of Fame jockey with two wins in the Derby. He analyzed the race for NBC. Bailey said the maximum security had won.
"The best horse (maximum safety) won the race," Bailey said. In fact, Bailey has repeated it many times.
The stewards were not in agreement. By a 3-0 vote, they decided to place Maximum Security in 17th place, one place behind Long Range Toddy, the second horse that he prevented.
Of course, the stewards also refused to answer questions. They appeared for less than five minutes to read a three-paragraph statement concluding that Maximum Security interfered with War of Will, Long Range Toddy, and Bodexpress.
Borden said the maximum safety "drifted and hindered the progression (of these three horses) … so we decided unanimously to disqualify the number 7".
Again, no questions. Not a good look, given the stakes. How many jockeys did they interview? How difficult was the decision? Are they waiting for a call? There were others.
Mott agreed. It was a strangely unsatisfactory way for a Hall of Fame coach to win his first Kentucky Derby on his ninth attempt. But Mott argued that it was the right decision.
"He went out three ways and disturbed two horses," said Mott. "My heart is hurting a bit (for maximum security connections).
"If it was a Wednesday on the third race on the map, this horse is down."
Servis thought he won the Derby for 22 minutes. He wanted to interrupt a television interview after the race to join the circle of winners. Instead, he crossed a muddy track in the rain to get to his barn.
"I do not think it changed the outcome of the race," he said. "It looked like something had scared him in the infield, but I was not able to look at him so closely.
"I feel bad for the West (the owner). It seemed like he was a little ducked. It's tough. He has not sunk yet, but he will. "
The Kentucky Derby 145 debate has just begun.
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