Owner West Says No Preakness for Maximum Security

In an exclusive May 6 interview with NBC's Today Show, owner/breeder Gary West announced that Maximum Security, who was disqualified from his first-place finish in the May 4 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs, will not run in the May 18 Preakness Stakes (G1). 

When asked by Today co-host Craig Melvin whether the colt would run in the second leg of the Triple Crown, since a "rematch would be good for the sport and it would be an opportunity for you to prove that your horse is the best out there," West, who owns the colt with his wife Mary, said he feels no pressure to run the son of New Year's Day back so soon. 

"No we're not going to run in the Preakness," West said. "There is no Triple Crown on the line for us and there is no need to run a horse back in two weeks if you don't want to."

During the broadcast, West also said he planned to file an appeal Monday with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission of the ruling by the stewards, which was subsequently denied later that day. West reiterated his belief that the regulatory panel that disqualified his horse lacked transparency.

"I was a bit shocked and surprised that the (race) stewards wrote a statement that was probably prepared by their lawyers and refused, literally refused, to take a single question from the media. So they've been about as non-transparent about this whole thing as anything I've ever seen in my life.

"I think this is something that's big enough that the entire racing world is looking at this and I think they deserve an opportunity to really know what's going on," he added.

West also said he was perplexed that the stewards did not post an inquiry sign immediately following the race.

"The thing that is kind of mystifying to me is that the stewards were either looking at a high definition television or looking at it with binoculars and our horse was in the lead the whole way around and they looked at what the rest of the world looked at and they didn't file a stewards' inquiry," West said. "I can't imagine it was very obvious to them at the time either."

Maximum Security was disqualified from first place to 17th after the three stewards unanimously determined the colt had interfered with War of Will coming out of the far turn, causing chain-reaction interference with Long Range Toddy and Bodexpress.

The trophy and garland of roses went to Country House, the second-place finisher who was elevated to first as a result of Maximum Security's DQ.

Wearing a blue sport coat and while polo shirt, 73-year-old West was interviewed early Monday by Melvin and co-host Savannah Guthrie via remote satellie from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., with a case filled with trophies earned by the West's horses in the background.

"Winning it was probably the most euphoric thing Mary and I have ever had in our lives. It was literally like the old TV show, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat all within a 22-minute period of time,'' West said of the emotional outcome of the race and subsequent disqualification. "We were stunned, shocked, and in complete disbelief. It had never been done before."

Maximum Security is expected to arrive at Monmouth Park early Tuesday morning at the barn of his trainer, Jason Servis. The colt was scheduled to leave Louisville, Ky., Monday afternoon. 

For his part, Servis—who Monmouth Park-based—said he is just now starting to get over the disappointment of the Derby disqualification.

"Surprisingly, the day after was not too bad for me," he said. "I don't know if it was getting some satisfaction from the horse running the way he did but I felt a little better the day after.

"It's like I told my wife—I don't want to dwell on it every day. It's a hard thing to get over but I have to move forward. I actually need to get back to work."