Donald Trump has expressed his displeasure at the result of this year’s Kentucky Derby, blaming the chaos at the end of the race on political correctness.
An explanation of the historic inquiry ruling that disqualified Maximum Security, making Country House the @KentuckyDerby winner. pic.twitter.com/YZqqn4ucbJ
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 4, 2019
For the first time in the 145-year history of the race, the first horse across the finish line was disqualified for a foul on the track. Maximum Security, a 4-1 pre-race favorite, romped home by one-and-three-quarters lengths. But, after a 20-minute review, stewards ruled his hind right leg bumped into War of Will, changing the outcome of the race. Country House, a 65-1 to outsider, was instead declared the winner.
The decision was widely debated, not least among those who had staked a cumulative $6.2m on Maximum Security to win. Maximum Security’s jockey, Luis Saez, believed he had done nothing wrong. “I thought I never put anybody in danger,” Saez said after the race. “My horse shied away from the noise of the crowd and may have ducked out a little.”
The Kentuky Derby decision was not a good one. It was a rough and tumble race on a wet and sloppy track, actually, a beautiful thing to watch. Only in these days of political correctness could such an overturn occur. The best horse did NOT win the Kentucky Derby - not even close!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2019
Trump, however, firmly was clear about where the blame fell. “The Kentuky [sic] Derby decision was not a good one,” he wrote on Twitter. “It was a rough and tumble race on a wet and sloppy track, actually, a beautiful thing to watch. Only in these days of political correctness could such an overturn occur. The best horse did NOT win the Kentucky Derby - not even close!”
Trump did not state whether he had any money on Maximum Security to win, or whether he believed any of the horses were allowed into the race due to affirmative action.
The only other time a Derby winner had been disqualified came in 1968, when Dancer’s Image was taken down after a post-race drug screening announced several days after the race.
