Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Trouble tracks back to last year’s Derby
From DQ to doping, chaos persists in ‘sport of kings’
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — 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 DQ 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 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 Labor 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. Defense attorneys are waiting to review all of the government’s evidence against their clients. No trial date has been set.
The coronavirus brought the nation to a virtual standstill in midMarch. 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.
Pimlico Race Course announced Wednesday that the Preakness also will be run without fans.
Not having fans at any of the Triple Crown races dents the big economic boost received by the tracks and cities.
The sport already was on edge after a rash of horse deaths at Santa Anita and other tracks.
“What could go wrong now?” wondered Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, whose wife regularly asks him: “What’s the latest? Any more Scud missiles drop?”
Several have landed close to home. On the same day the 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 Class 2 drug. Both horses were disqualified and stripped of their purse money. Baffert is appealing his 15-day suspension.
Gamine is the early even-money favorite for the $1 million Kentucky Oaks on Friday.
Charlatan and Nadal were Baffert’s top two Derby candidates. Charlatan was sidelined 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.”