Jamie Squire/Getty Images
LOUISVILLE — At first, after the 22 agonizing minutes, an awful purgatory that the owner of Maximum Security noted had accurately captured the “thrill of victory and agony of defeat,” he was more than gracious.
Gary West and his wife Mary — philanthropists, telecommunications barons, horse owners — watched as their colt splashed home on a soupy track beneath Churchill Downs iconic spires, bringing them the Kentucky Derby win that had eluded them for 40 years, before it was snatched away from them.
Three stewards, horse racing’s version of referees, had just ruled that when Maximum Security jumped a puddle it impeded the progress of a rival, War of Will, almost knocking the colt’s rider, Tyler Gaffalione, off his horse.