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Wiedmer: Kentucky Derby result just one more problem the thoroughbred racing industry doesn’t need

Luis Saez rides Maximum Security, right, across the finish line first as Flavien Prat on Country House, left, follows in second during Saturday's Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Country House was declared the winner after Maximum Security was disqualified for interference after a review by race stewards.
Luis Saez rides Maximum Security, right, across the finish line first as Flavien Prat on Country House, left, follows in second during Saturday's Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Country House was declared the winner after Maximum Security was disqualified for interference after a review by race stewards. Luis Saez rides Maximum Security, right, across the finish line first as Flavien Prat on Country House, left, follows in second during Saturday's Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Country House was declared the winner after Maximum Security was disqualified for interference after a review by race stewards.

By Mark Wiedmer 5 min read

photo Mark Wiedmer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Friday night, my daughters about to experience their first Kentucky Derby, my youngest child Ella Beth made a prediction concerning the world’s most famous horse race.

“Dad,” she said, “I think something historic is going to happen at this Derby. I don’t know if it’s going to be good or bad. But it’s going to be historic.”

Unfortunately, she wasn’t so prescient regarding any betting tips concerning who might win.

But at roughly 6:53 p.m. Saturday, Maximum Security having apparently raced to victory against 18 overmatched foes atop a sloppy track, the following words arrived from the Churchill Downs public address announcer: “Hold all tickets! Hold all tickets! A riders’ objection has been placed by the second-place horse Country House against the first-place horse Maximum Security.”

The 21 minutes and 57 seconds of surreal silence that followed will go down in history as the most uncomfortable ever endured at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. Would the racing stewards, could the racing stewards possibly take down a Kentucky Derby winner, especially one that pretty much led wire to wire?