I'm not condoning cheating, obviously, but that isn't what I saw yesterday. The second place, now first place winner was NOT the best horse by any means and wasn't even the horse directly affected by the supposed lane deviation.

Watching Maximum Security run on that muddy track was actually thrilling. Now, I could care less about watching again and I doubt I am alone (though I hope to learn that MS goes on to win Preakness and Belmont).

On edit:
Please, DUers, don't point out that Trump agrees with me. I just learned that and frankly I'm beside myself, though I still hold to my opinion. A "stopped clock" and all that...

I thought it was the right call. Dropping him out of the top three was a little strange.

You have your opinion and many join me in mine. Given the horse awarded the substituted "win" was not even the horse impacted, this is beyond ridiculous.

It is rare that I want a wealthy as hell owner to prevail, but I hope he does litigate this.

There's no lanes in a muddy pasture, horses bump all the time, "Get out of my way!"

It's a wonder they din't all end up in a big Talladega wreck on the last turn

On the outside, hard enough to make the jockey pull up. The DQ was earned. Jockey fucked up. If you have ever been around the track, you know the jockey AND the horse are a team. I've bet many a race on a better jockey on a lesser horse and won doing just that.

The vast majority of people do not care which horse wins. That majority also doesn't understand any of the arcane rules that apply to it.

It is a silly entertainment with a bit of a financial factor involved.

It's a sport with people riding horses.

That said, were there any bettors who held winning trifecta or superfecta bets?

https://www.kentuckyderby.com/news/2012/06/14/derby-field-be-set-new-point-system-not-graded-earnings

Somebody probably made money on it somehow.

...on first read, it feels like you're right about the $$$. The Derby is monetizing its trademark.

If I had to guess, I'd say those qualifying races are paying handsomely for the rights to market themselves as part of the "Road to the Kentucky Derby" and Churchill Downs Inc is the beneficiary.

When in doubt, follow the money. lolol

Thanks.

21 horses in a 3 year old career is dangerous, and we have lost close to 39 horses this campaign. If we lost a horse at the derby, and we could have had 3 go down when you look how close their legs were, the sport might lose more viewers. Women watch the horse racing on tv. Women are the ones who go see the champs on the Kentucky tours. My daughter and I went just last week, and saw Justify and Pharoah. I'm still not over Barbaro.

The call was good, too many good horses and jockeys could have been injured, or worst. I don't think the young Maximum Security was malicious, just young and possibly spooked from the noise.

They need to cut the field to 15, and raise the entrance fee.

So, what can be done to change the system? Also, the jockey blamed Maximum Security by saying the horse was a baby and got scared when he (the horse) heard the crowd cheering. Do you agree with the jockey? Was the horse scared due to a lack of racing experience?

The horse spooked over the water on the track. You can see it on video. The noise from spectators in the infield may have contributed. I've been there--its deafening. Not like any other race.

The jockey was right--all of these horses are babies. He wasn't blaming his mount, he was giving an explanation. I'd be willing to bet very few had slogged thru so sloppy a track before. Not much to be done about that either--it rained all day here yesterday. Dragging it multiple times can only do so much.

Horses will spook at the stupidest things sometimes. I've had them jump five feet sideways over a piece of paper on the ground, and god forbid, a plastic bag blowing around. Their eyes are on the sides of their heads, so something straight in front of them can look like the boogeyman. They can leave you hanging in the air like Wiley Coyote. Young racehorses are not trained beyond some basic fundamentals. They are trained for speed.

Not an excuse for bumping another horse, just explanation. His jockey did a good job of controlling him. Still, I thought it was a bad call since he was leading start to finish. I don't think it effected the field behind him other than elevating another horse to first.

Horse racing is always going to have its bumps and jostling. There are not "lanes" to stay in. May the best horse--on a given day--win.

Horses at 3 years old are like teenagers. Some of them can be hard to handle, some are easily spooked. Some are very mature and nothing bothers them. I have seen horses jump shadows on the track. I have seen horses look towards the crowd as they cheered. I have seen horses jump the inside railing. Jockeys are some of the most underrated athletes in all of sports, You have to be in great shape to handle 1200lbs of muscle, with mind of its own, moving at 40mph.

Stewards have to be strict when horses move out of their lane because if they let that slide jockeys would be able to cheat during the races. They could move their horses out oftheir lane to cut off other horses. Really good jockeys know how to slowly move their horse over to impede another horse without running into the other horse.