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Country House wins the Kentucky Derby after Maximum Security is disqualified – as it happened
- Country House, a 65-1 long shot, wins after stunning reversal
- Maximum Security is first Derby winner to be DQ’s for a foul
Sat 4 May 2019 20.25 EDT
First published on Sat 4 May 2019 17.20 EDTLive feed
The winner’s press conference is under way. You can follow along here.
Country House wins the Kentucky Derby after Maximum Security is disqualified!
Country House, a 65-1 longshot trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Flavien Prat, is your Kentucky Derby winner after an objection led to the disqualification of unofficial winner Maximum Security. It’s the first Derby win for the Hall of Fame trainer.
The colt, who had won only once in six starts, becomes the second longest shot in the 145-year history of the race.
Wow.
The race ended 15 minutes ago ... and the stewards are still looking at it. More than 150,000 people in the grandstands are staring at the screens waiting for an official ruling.
Tape those tickets back together! An objection has been posted to the board. They’re saying Maximum Security has stepped out of his lane an impeded War of Will. But was it enough to change the outcome of the race? That’s at the discretion of the stewards, who have been carefully watching the tape for the past few minutes. Objections happen all the time in racing but a Kentucky Derby winner has never been taken down for track action.
Maximum Security wins the Kentucky Derby!
And Maximum Security has won the Kentucky Derby! He’s done it in a time of 2:03.93. Country House, a 65-1 longshot, comes in second while Code of Honor (14-1) was third.
Maxmium Security is leading at the far turn. He’s ahead of War of Will, Long Range Toddy and Country House as they enter the top of the stretch.
Good start for Maximum Security and Bodexpress immediately to the front. The first quarter in 22.31secs.
Bodexpress is last into the gate. We’re ready for the start ... and they’re off in the Kentucky Derby!
We’re two minutes to post. These 19 magnificent equine athletes being loaded in the starting gate. Maximum Security, unbeaten in four career starts by an average margin of nine-and-a-half lengths, is still your favorite at 4-1. The most exciting two minutes in sports is moments away.
The University of Louisville marching band and choir is performing My Old Kentucky Home. And we’re into the post parade with about 12 minutes to go. Not much longer now!
Maximum Security is a 4-1 favorite with 30 minutes to post. The track has (finally) been sealed and downgraded to sloppy. Took them long enough.
Maximum Security, the Florida Derby winner ridden by Luis Saez and trained by Jason Servis, is the new favorite at 4-1. Will he be the seventh straight favorite to win the Derby? Baffert’s Improbable and Wood Memorial winner Tacitus are the joint second choices at 9-2.
Hello and welcome to the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby. The tension at Churchill Downs is building with an hour to go until post time. The abrupt scratch of morning-line favorite Omaha Beach on Wednesday has opened the door for a trio of horses trained by Bob Baffert, who is attempting to equal Ben Jones for the most trainer wins in Derby history with six. The silver-haired Californian, who won the Triple Crown with American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018), is behind the three favorites on the revised odds sheet for today’s main event: Game Winner (5-1), Roadster (6-1) and Improbable (6-1).
The track condition was listed as firm as recently as the final undercard race but the skies have since opened over Louisville and it’s coming down as hard as it has all day. If you’re looking for a longshot, the conditions could be good news for Win Win Win. The No 14 is the grandsire of a pair of Kentucky Derby winners that won on tracks that weren’t dry: Sunday Silence on a muddy course in 1989 and Smarty Jones in the slop in 2004.
Bryan will be here shortly. Here’s his story on Omaha Beach’s surprise withdrawal.