What's YOUR opinions on the incident & DQ of Maximum Security?
Upon seeing the replays, I saw nothing wrong that MS' jockey, Saez, did wrong. The horse became a little skittish & veered in front of 2 other horses.(A 1200 lb. horse will sometimes go where it jolly well pleases!) Seems those 2 horses & their people had the most reason to object, as MS didn't visibly interfere with Country House at all!
I saw the horse to MS' immediate right have to pull up rather sharply to avoid a collision. Same for the next horse to his right, but it seems the horse on the immediate right was charging hard & had a chance to take the lead, but, being cut off, lost his momentum. IMHO, THAT team had the best grounds to object!
It IS legal, of course, for a jockey, if his mount has established a position, to go slightly slowly to hold a horse back who's immediately behind him. However, that was NOT the case in the Derby, as MS moved into the other horses' lanes while very close to them, cutting them off. So, again IMHO, the stewards were right in sustaining the objection.(Still wondering what woulda happened had the two teams whose horses were cut off had filed objections!)
However, I've heard MS' team is gonna appeal the decision.We'll hafta just wait -n-see the results!
The 2019 Kentucky Derby Controversy
Re: The 2019 Kentucky Derby Controversy
I didn't think it was right. The stronger horse won on a sloppy track and had it taken away. Imagine the uproar if either horse goes on to win the next two races.
Re: The 2019 Kentucky Derby Controversy
Mike Watchmaker of The Daily Racing Forum emphatically said they made the right decision. He said MS went 3 or 4 lanes over from his path. After watching the replays today I kind of agree, still think MS would have won had he stayed in his lane. Interestingly he thought the horse did it on his own and not the jockey.