LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP) — Maximum Security crossed the finish line first in the 2019 Kentucky Derby. What happened next set horse racing off on a yearlong odyssey of chaos: from a historic disqualification to doping, from lawsuits to a pandemic, and now a Triple Crown turned upside down.
Amidst the uncertainty, Tiz the Law has emerged.
A victory in the 146th Derby on Saturday (September 5) would put the colt bred in upstate New York in position to become racing's 14th Triple Crown winner going into next month's Preakness.
"If he won it, he'd have an asterisk," rival owner Jack Wolf said. "I'd rather have an asterisk than not have it."
The coronavirus upended the Triple Crown, turning the series from a five-week sprint into a 15-week marathon and scrambling the order. Instead of leading off on the first Saturday in May, the Kentucky Derby shifted to Labour Day weekend. It's being sandwiched between the Belmont Stakes in mid-June and the Preakness in early October.
It took until days before this year's race to confirm last year's Derby winner.
Maximum Security's owners sued in an effort to overturn the decision by Churchill Downs stewards that disqualified their colt for interference, an unprecedented move. Last week, a federal appeals court upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss the lawsuit by Gary and Mary West. They have dropped any further appeals. Country House, the second-place finisher, was declared the winner.
In March, Maximum Security's trainer Jason Servis was indicted, along with over two dozen other trainers, assistants, veterinarians and pharmacists, in connection with a horse doping ring. Federal authorities allege that Servis was part of a network of racing insiders that sold, distributed and drugged horses to enhance their performance. Defence attorneys are waiting to review all of the government's evidence against their clients. No trial date has been set.
In late February, Maximum Security won the Saudi Cup. However, the Wests have yet to receive US$10 million in purse money. It's been withheld by race organizers pending the outcome of their investigation, which was prompted by Servis' indictment. Maximum Security has never tested positive for an illegal substance.
The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia said the coronavirus pandemic has delayed the process, though it said purse money would be paid out to the owners of horses that finished second through 10th.
After Servis' indictment, the Wests hired Bob Baffert, a two-time Triple Crown winner, to train Maximum Security.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Change is slow in coming to the Kentucky Derby. From being run on the first Saturday in May to the playing of "My Old Kentucky Home" since 1921, tradition rules America's most famous race.
Custom is getting a swift kick in 2020.
The coronavirus pandemic forced the 146th Derby to be pushed back to Labor Day weekend, the first time since 1945 that it won't be held on its usual May date.
The 18-horse field will break from a new starting gate on Saturday, one to be used only for the Derby. It fits 20 horses, the typical size of the field, which is slightly smaller this year.
Derby horses have previously been loaded into two gates — a main gate for the first 14 runners and an auxiliary gate for the rest. Churchill Downs began using starting gates in 1930; the first electronically operated 14-stall gate was introduced in 1941. The track has used the auxiliary gate for the past 22 years.
"In the horse world, anything new no one wants to try," said starter Scott Jordan, who presses the button that springs the gate simultaneously in the Derby. "They don't like change."
Most American racetracks use 14-horse gates because there's rarely more than that in a given race. Overseas, it's common to have fields of 20 or more.
The new Derby gate, designed by an Australian company, was modified slightly to make room for an assistant starter in the gate with a horse after loading. Their job is to keep the horse under control and hold its head straight when the gate springs open. Overseas, it's common for a jockey to be alone in the gate and responsible for getting his horse off to a solid start.
"The starter is so important," said trainer Bob Baffert, a five-time Derby winner.
The partitions between the horses are narrower in the new gate, which puts the horses standing closer together.
"When they leave there if you break a step slow, there'll be a lot of bouncing out of there," Baffert said.
Tiz the Law, the early 3-5 Derby favourite, and 5-1 second choice Honor A. P. have stood in the new gate this week to familiarize themselves with it. Other Derby runners will visit the gate before Saturday.
Perhaps the biggest change with the new gate is that horses in the No. 1 and No. 20 posts would move in about 10-15 feet on each end, Jordan said. It's the result of the length of the gate being shorter than the two other gates combined and also takes into account the wide gap that existed between the two old gates.
It would have helped Lookin At Lucky, the Derby favorite in 2010. He got pinned to the rail coming out of the gate and had nowhere to go until making a late run and finishing sixth.
With only 18 horses entered, however, the No. 1 and No. 20 posts would not be used.
Finnick the Fierce drew the No. 1 post. The chestnut gelding is missing his right eye, the result of a congenital cataract, so he won't see the rest of the field on his right.
Authentic drew the No. 20 post, giving him less ground to make up as the field sprints away from the gate.
"For those two horses, it's a real advantage," Jordan said.
Jordan has one advantage this year. Without the noise from 150,000 raucous fans, he'll be able to hear his gate crew yelling if a horse isn't ready. Any other year, he'd have to watch for their frantic hand signals.
Still, the hits kept coming.
The coronavirus brought the nation to a virtual standstill in mid-March. Racing eventually resumed and fans went from cheering at the rail to yelling at their laptops and phones while betting online. Fans weren't allowed at the Belmont Stakes. At first, Churchill Downs was going to allow a limited number of spectators, then decided against it.
"Who would have ever thought you'd run the Kentucky Derby with no fans?" Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith said.
The Preakness also will be run without spectators; it was announced Wednesday.
Not having fans at any of the Triple Crown races dents the massive economic boost received by the host tracks and cities.
The sport already was on edge after a rash of horse deaths at Santa Anita and other tracks that extended into this year.
"What could go wrong now?" wondered Baffert, whose wife regularly asks him: "What's the latest? Any more Scud missiles drop?"
Several landed close to home throughout the spring and summer.
On the same day the Kentucky Derby would have been run, Baffert had two horses entered at Oaklawn Park. Charlatan won a division of the Arkansas Derby and filly Gamine won a lesser race. Both later tested positive for lidocaine, a numbing agent that is considered a Class 2 drug. Both horses were disqualified and stripped of their purse money. Baffert is appealing his 15-day suspension, which could be heard by the Arkansas Racing Commission in mid-September.
Gamine is the early even-money favourite for the $1 million Kentucky Oaks on Friday.
In early June, Baffert grieved the loss of Arrogate, the champion 3-year-old male horse of 2016. Under Baffert's tutelage, Arrogate became North America's all-time leading money winner. The horse was euthanized at age 7 after becoming ill.
Charlatan and Nadal were Baffert's top two Derby candidates. Charlatan was side-lined by a minor injury; Nadal got hurt and had to be retired. The five-time Derby winning trainer brought two other colts to Louisville.
"I can't wait until 2020 is over," Baffert said. "It's just one big asterisk."
