It was not an easy night for Country House. Try as he might, the 65-1 shot could not get by Maximum Security, and he was the second horse under the wire at the 145th edition of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
Maximum Security had gotten out of the gate quickly and was in the lead with every step he had taken. It appeared that trainer Jason Servis and jockey Luis Saez had a victory in the first jewel of horse racing's Triple Crown.
But as Servis called family members to celebrate and Saez proclaimed his joy when interviewed by NBC outrider Donna Brothers, disaster was about to hit.
The objection sign lit up on the Churchill Downs tote board because two jockeys had lodged complaints against Maximum Security.
Shortly after leaving the quarter pole and turning for home, the three-year-old colt veered sharply out of his running lane and nearly clipped heels with War of Will. In addition to interfering with that horse, he also forced Long Range Toddy to check.
Stewards turned to the videotape to study the objection. They had five angles to view, and the three-person team took nearly 20 minutes to decide whether Maximum Security earned the victory or whether his number needed to come down.
The decision could not have been easy. While the video evidence was fairly clear—Maximum Security had gotten in the way of two horses and nearly collided with one of them—no horse had ever been disqualified for his on-track behavior.
But that long streak came to an end, and Country House was awarded the victory. The stewards ruled unanimously that Maximum Security had run recklessly, and he was disqualified.
That gave Country House the winner's share of the $3 million purse. The horse brought in $1.86 million for the victory and paid off a boxcar figure of $132.40 for those who had wagered $2 on him to win the big race.
Here's a look at the payoffs for the top horses, as well as the order of finish and how the bettors were paid for their successful wagers.
Kentucky Derby Results and Payouts
Finish: Horse; Jockey; Trainer (Payout)
1. (DQ) Maximum Security; Luis Saez; Jason Servis*
2. Country House; Flavien Prat; William I. Mott ($1.86 million)
3. Code of Honor; John R. Velazquez; Claude R. McGaughey III ($600,000)
4. Tacitus; Jose L. Ortiz; William I. Mott ($300,000)
5. Improbable; Irad Ortiz, Jr.; Bob Baffert ($150,000)
6. Game Winner; Joel Rosario; Bob Baffert ($90,000)
7. Master Fencer; Julien R. Leparoux; Tsunoda K
8. War of Will; Tyler Gaffalione; Mark E. Casse
9. Plus Que Parfait; Ricardo Santana, Jr.; Brendan P. Walsh
10. Win Win Win; Julian Pimentel; Michael J. Trombetta
11. Cutting Humor; Mike E. Smith; Todd A. Pletcher
12. By My Standards; Gabriel Saez; W. Bret Calhoun
13. Vekoma; Javier Castellano; George Weaver
14. Bodexpress; Chris Landeros; Gustavo Delgado
15. Tax; Junior Alvarado; Danny Gargan
16. Roadster; Florent Geroux; Bob Baffert
17. Long Range Toddy; Jon Kenton Court; Steven M. Asmussen
18. Spinoff; Manuel Franco; Todd A. Pletcher
19. Gray Magician; Drayden Van Dyke; Peter Miller
*Moved down to 17th.
Kentucky Derby Betting Payouts
Win, Place, Show
Country House: $132.40, $56.60, $24.60
Code of Honor: N/A, $15.20, $9.80
Tacitus: N/A, N/A, $5.60
Exacta (20-13): $3,009.60
Trifecta (20-13-8): $5,737.65
Superfecta (20-13-8-5): $51,400.10
Jockey Flavien Prat and trainer William I. Mott came away with the victory. While Prat reacted ecstatically to the news, Mott was a more subdued.
He had never won the Kentucky Derby during his Hall of Fame career, but this was not the way he had envisioned winning North America's biggest horse race.
"It's bittersweet," Mott said, per ESPN News Services. "You always want to win with a clean trip and have everybody recognize the horse as the very good horse and great athlete that he is. Due to the disqualification, I think some of that is diminished."
Saez and Servis were both devastated by the disqualification, and while the jockey had admitted that his horse had been scared by the lively crowd at Churchill Downs and moved sharply out of his lane, he quickly recovered and got back to where he was supposed to be.
He later said that he did not put any other horse in danger, something Servis agreed with. However, chief steward Barbara Borden laid out her case for disqualifying the horse.
Co-owner Gary West may not let the decision stand. In a phone call with the Associated Press, he indicated that he may make an appeal in an attempt to reverse the decision.
He blustered his unhappiness with the judges' decision. "I think this is the most egregious disqualification in the history of horse racing," he told the Associated Press by phone (h/t ESPN.com). "And not just because it's our horse."
It was a compelling race that ended in controversial manner. If the legal system is going to be involved, there may be several chapters that have yet to be written.