New York Denies Appeal of Brick Ambush DQ

Owner/breeder Dean Reeves said he knows well that decisions made by sports officials during competition aren't always embraced, but the call and the decision are made and the game moves on.

In the case of his 2-year-old colt Brick Ambush , however, he appealed a stewards' ruling that disqualified the colt from second to last in the Dec. 16 Great White Way Division of the New York Stallion Series with the hope of getting a more detailed explanation for the call. Instead, Reeves received a statement from New York Gaming Commission acting secretary Kristen Buckley Dec. 18 that said:

"This decision to not find interference by the horse Antonio of Venice  was a judgment call based based on questions of fact, which the stewards are empowered to make pursuant to Commission Rule 4039.20 (9 NYCRR § 4039.20), and the decision is therefore not appealable to the Commission, pursuant to Rule 4039.5.

"New York Courts have long held that stewards' placement decisions are questions of fact that cannot be appealed."

The New York Gaming Commission's Response to the Appeal

Reeves said he wasn't surprised the disqualification was upheld but he is extremely disappointed that no one offered a more detailed explanation to the ruling. After conducting his own review of the race at the top of the stretch, where the interference occurred, using a series of images representing the race in one-tenths of a second intervals, he believes there is no valid explanation.

"I think they blew it, and they know it," he said. "It is one thing not to DQ the No. 1 horse (Antonio of Venice), instead they go just to the No. 12 (Brick Ambush) when at no point do you see my horse interfere."

Posted on the New York Racing Association website Dec. 16 under "Stewards Decisions" was the following: "At the 1/4 pole #12 Brick Ambush (Junior Alvarado) came in, causing a chain reaction. The #11 Solo's Fury  (Jose Lezcano) pushes down into the #7 The Big Torpedo  (Javier Castellano). After reviewing the video and speaking with the riders, the stewards disqualified the #12 Brick Ambush for interference and placed him behind the #11 Solo's Fury."

Manuel Franco, who was aboard Antonio of Venice, said in a post-race interview that the stewards got the call right.

"I held my spot inside (at the top of the lane) and the pressure was coming from outside," Franco said. He added that he thought he hadn't interfered with The Big Torpedo. "Javier (Castellano) wasn't there yet, he was trying to get there."

Reviewing the video frame by frame, however, Reeves said it is clear to him—and to many people he's heard from since the race—that Antonio of Venice was trying to squeeze into a space that wasn't there and appears to instigate bumping that pushed The Big Torpedo to his outside into Solo's Fury. Brick Ambush was running four-wide through the turn at that point.

"(Stewards) are covered by the rules, and the decision has been made. Fine," Reeves said. "Why not just show us how the decision was made? If they can show me, then OK. But I've been in racing since 2007 and I have never seen this much uproar over a DQ — even in the Kentucky Derby. Even then, the stewards showed where the interference (caused by Maximum Security) occurred."

The DQ meant that instead of earning $100,000 for second, Brick Ambush made $2,142.

Reeves said he has accepted he cannot appeal the decision and has no intention of pursuing legal action.

"It is frustrating," he said. "This game is hard enough. I don't need the stewards helping me find more ways to lose."