Maximum Security owner West to appeal Kentucky Derby ruling

Speaking from his home in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., Maximum Security owner Gary West told NBC’s TODAY Show he will file an appeal Monday to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission regarding the stewards’ Kentucky Derby disqualification.

While West acknowledged language in KHRC rules states that all decisions “shall be final,” he said, “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 is going on. I was a bit shocked and surprised that the 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 thing as anything I’ve ever seen in my life.”

RELATED: No Preakness Stakes for Maximum Security

After Saturday’s Derby, in which Country House was placed first and Maximum Security dropped to 17th after he moved out multiple paths in the far turn, trainer Jason Servis phoned the trio of stewards. There were two more races they had to oversee at Churchill Downs, but Maximum Security’s connections offered to remain on site until a late hour to review the race.

“They said, ‘Absolutely not. We won’t be showing the films until Thursday,’” West said. “We didn’t really have any alternative legally. The appeal has to be filed with 48 hours.”

“I obviously saw the horse move out,” he said, “but in the Kentucky Derby, where you’ve got 20 horses — and you shouldn’t have 20 horses in the Kentucky Derby — Churchill Downs because they’re a greedy organization has rather than 14 like you have in the Kentucky Oaks, the Breeders’ Cup, every other race in America — just because they can make more money, they’re willing to risk horses’ lives and peoples’ lives to do that.

“I’m not a fan of that. I think they ought to have 14 like every other race.”

West’s final point: that stewards didn’t file their own inquiry, but rather took a closer look at the incident near the 5/16ths pole due to two rider objections.

“Our horse was in the lead the entire way around,” West said. “They looked at exactly what the whole rest of the world looked at, and they didn’t file a stewards’ inquiry. So I can’t imagine that it was very obvious to them at the time, either.”

Stewards, as West mentioned, issued a statement after the race of about 100 words but did not allow for follow up, much to the chagrin of assembled media in the Churchill Downs press room.

“Winning it was the most euphoric thing Mary and I have probable ever had in our lives,” West said of the feeling as Maximum Security, under jockey Luis Saez, hit the wire in front, “and the disappointment when they took the horse down for the first time in history — we were stunned, shocked and in total disbelief.”

If an appeal is denied, West has also mentioned taking the issue to federal court.