War of Will, Maximum Security to meet?
There is an “extremely good shot” Preakness Stakes winner War of Will will run in the June 8 Belmont Stakes, trainer Mark Casse says.
“Now it’s just a matter of him saying he doesn’t want to go, that would be if he was lethargic or something in training,” said Casse, according to the track publicity staff at Pimlico. “There are only three Triple Crown races. They’re pretty important. I think if you can do it, you should do it.”
If War of Will runs in the Belmont, it’s possible he would be the only horse running in all of the Triple Crown races this year.
Of the four runners returning from the Kentucky Derby in the May 18 Preakness, War of Will was the only one to finish in the top five. Bob Baffert’s Improbable — the post-time favorite in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness — finished sixth. Win Win Win was seventh, and Bodexpress lost his jockey exiting the gate. being prepared for the Belmont.
West said last week that he will put up $20 million to challenge four other Kentucky Derby horses, including controversial winner Country House, to another race before the end of the year.
West, who has sued over Maximum Security’s disqualification from the Derby, is challenging Country House, War of Will, Long Range Toddy and Bodexpress.
In a statement, West said he would pay $5 million to any of those horses — up to $20 million for all four — if they finished ahead of Maximum Security in a race before Jan. 1, 2020.
They don’t even have to win the race to collect, West said.
But there’s a catch. West said any of those horses’ owners who take him up on his unique challenge would need to wager $5 million of their own money to pay if Maximum Security beats those horses.
West placed no restrictions on the race, saying it could be at any location or distance and on any track surface.
“Most experts agree that Maximum Security was the best horse in the Kentucky Derby,” West said the statement. “I don’t care to discuss the controversy surrounding the events of the race and the disqualification of my horse at this time, but I firmly believe I have the best 3-yearold in the country, and I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is.”
West said he plans to donate all of the potential winnings from the challenge, up to $20 million, to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. If no owners accept, he said, he will donate 10% of all of Maximum Security’s future racing earnings to the fund.
In the statement, West said his challenge had nothing to do with the disqualification. Instead, he said he hopes to generate additional interest in the sport, which has been in the spotlight in recent weeks following the unprecedented disqualification.
Country House won the race after the disqualification, and his jockey, Flavien Prat, was one of two to file an objection immediately after the race.
Prat was joined in that challenge by Jon Court, who was riding Long Range Toddy. War of Will was the horse that stewards said was interfered with, and Bodexpress was also interfered with during the run.