Folks tuning in to see Maximum Security or Country House find victory at Saturday’s 2019 Preakness Stakes was bound to be disappointed. Both the initial winner who was disqualified in controversial fashion at the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and the horse that was named winner following that objection opted to skip the Maryland leg of the Triple Crown. This ensures that no horse will walk away with the title this year, leaving another horse to step up and take victory.
The favorite for the day was two-time Triple Crown winning trainer Bob Baffert and his horse Improbable. Another looking for redemption was War of Will, the horse that initiated the objection in the Kentucky Derby and gave the race its first overturned victory in 145 years.
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In the end, it was War of Will that took the victory and earned the purse, setting up a bit of a showdown for the final race at Belmont Park in two weeks. While there won’t be a Triple Crown winner in 2019, we could see one horse take two victories and still join the elite of the sport.
Before its controversial finish, many were eyeing up The Kentucky Derby to give us another possible Triple Crown winner. Maximum Security came into the race undefeated and seemed to have a story that many could get behind. The path was also cleared when prior favorite, Omaha Beach, was scratched a day before the race.
Maximum Security still seemed to win the race handily, but on review it was shown that the horse bumped and impeded its fellow horses before the final stretch, making for a tense 15 minutes post-race.
The waiting itself wasn’t abnormal, but the decision at the end was a first for the race and controversy that is still raging. Even President Donald Trump tweeted about the overturned decision, calling it the result of today’s “PC culture” gone wild.
The owner of Maximum Security even went so far as to challenge the teams of Country House, War of Will, Long Range Toddy and Bodexpress team to a $20 million race. Any track, any distance, any location to prove his horse was indeed the best.
“Most experts agree that Maximum Security was the best horse in the Kentucky Derby,” West said the statement according to Courier Journal. “I don’t care to discuss the controversy surrounding the events of the race and the disqualification of my horse at this time, but I firmly believe I have the best 3-year-old in the country, and I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is.”
