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LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – At first, after the grueling 22 minutes, an ugly purgatory whose owner of Maximum Security found that he had perfectly captured the "thrill of victory and the agony of defeat," was more than graceful.
Gary West and his wife Mary – philanthropists, telecom barons, horse owners – watched as their colt waded home on a cluttered track under Churchill Downs' iconic arrows, winning them the Kentucky Derby win they had missed for 40 years. years, before he's thrilled. d & # 39; them.
Three stewards, the version of the referees of the horse races, had just declared that, when Maximum Security had jumped of a puddle, it prevented the progression of its rival, War of Will, almost reversing the horseman of the buck, Tyler Gaffalione, of his horse. This meant that Maximum Security had made a mistake and could not be declared the winner.
"It's a horse race," said West, leaving the circle of winners he had long been trying to break so that Country House's connections could enter and hoist the most famous trophy of American horse racing. "Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes you win and you all lose in the same race. "
Later in the evening, however, West changed music. He criticized the stewards' decision and left open the possibility of appeal to the race authorities here or even to the courts. After all, for the first time in the history of the race, the horse that crossed the finish line first was disqualified for interference and forfeited its title.
"I think it's the most egregious disqualification from the history of horse racing, and not just because it's our horse," he says. West told The Associated Press by telephone Saturday night.
Hit by the New York Times early Sunday, West declined to comment on his next steps. Maximum Security coach Jason Servis was out on Sunday. Can you blame him? He has seen the greatest success of a staggering career being taken away from him.
Saturday night, Servis was numb, yesterday morning he was simply desperate. "For what it's worth, I think my horse was the best horse," SMS told Servis to Churchill Downs officials.
His colt returns to Monmouth Park on the Jersey Shore on Monday, but neither West nor Servis were able to decide if Maximum Security would be traveling to Baltimore in two weeks for the second leg of the Triple Crown.
"We did not even talk about Preakness," said Servis.
It is an unknown territory, even in a sport that embraces thieves, place "Guys and Dolls" in the American lexicon and is now facing an uncertain future after a surge of deaths in Santa Anita Park this winter – 23 over a period of three months – left animal Human rights defenders and many members of the general public wonder if horse racing is too cruel and could be better banned.
Even President Trump made a point on Sunday, saying the decision was "not good". He wrote: "It is only in those days of politically correct that such a reversal could occur. The best horse did NOT win the Kentucky Derby – not even close! "
D & # 39; AGREEMENT.
Bill Mott, coach of Country House, who finished second but was officially the winner of the long shot by 65 strokes of the 145th race of the famous American race, was empathetic to West, Servis and all those riders who had to tear their victory, maximum security. tickets.
Of course, the Hall of Fame would have preferred his first win in Derby to be straightforward. But he went on to say that what is right was right, especially in these difficult times for the sport.
"I really believe that the call that was made yesterday really shows the integrity of the sport," said Mott. "It was not an easy call, but if they let it go yesterday, we would have talked a lot more about it."
The most interesting prospect, however, came from coach Mark Casse, whose foal, War of Will, was the hardest hit and was lucky enough to be out of the race in good health.
"Even if I want to win the Kentucky Derby, I feel lucky today because I just got him out and made him run, he's perfect," Casse said. "The world of horse racing should be happy War of Will is such an athlete because not all horses go down there."
Although Casse or Gaffalione did not formulate an objection about the incident, he knew that maximum security was going to be reduced.
"They had to take it down," Casse said. "Many people said that the best horse had won, you know, maybe he did it. But we would have liked the chance. Should he have gone down? Absolutely. It does not matter whether it's Kentucky Derby or not. The horse put people's lives in danger, he put the life of the jockeys in danger. "
So why did not he call foul? He and Servis are friends, he said. He respects the Wests. He loves sports and, yes, there is a code.
"If I say fault, it would ruin the greatest achievement of his life and the only thing to do is to place me in sixth place," he said. "Do you want to claim a fault? No. Should Tyler have made a mistake? No, I'm holding on to that.
Now the question is whether the Wests will do it. When something happens for the first time in the 145-year history of the greatest horse race in America, the code of conduct can be a bit vague.
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