Life At Ten probe continues

A probe by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission into the circumstances surrounding the poor performance of Life At Ten in the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5 remains ongoing, the commission's executive director said at a meeting on Wednesday.

Investigators for the commission and the state's Inspector General's office have interviewed 89 people in the probe, which has focused on whether or not Life At Ten, the second choice in the Ladies' Classic, should have been scratched, according to the executive director, Lisa Underwood. The commission expects to release a formal report containing recommendations about how to address any similar situations, Underwood said, but she did not provide a date for when the report would be released.

"We believe the recommendations will be helpful to the industry as a whole," Underwood said. "We are working as quickly as we can."

Life At Ten finished last in the Classic after her jockey, John Velazquez, and her trainer, Todd Pletcher, separately made comments to television reporters that she had seemed listless in the paddock and was failing to warm up properly in the post parade. Velazquez did not urge Life At Ten to run after the gates were opened.