MONDAY, MAY 6, 2019 THE WESTS THREATEN TO COUNTRY HOUSE IN GOOD SHAPE AFTER DERBY WIN, PREAKNESS STATUS GET OUT OF RACING UNDECIDED Country House (Lookin At Lucky) exited his controversial GI Kentucky Derby win in good shape, trainer Bill Mott reported Sunday. Mott remained noncommittal about sending the chestnut to the GI Preakness S., while adding that third-place finisher Tacitus (Tapit) is under consideration for the GI Belmont S. “The discussion [about the Preakness] is going to start in the next day or two, I’m sure,” Mott said. “People want to see the Derby winner in the Preakness. Certainly, for Country House, there’s some pressure to go. With Tacitus, there isn’t any and we are well-suited with him to go to the Belmont.” Mott, fresh off saddling his first Derby winner, said his main concern about running Country House in the Preakness stems from the horse’s heavy workload this spring. Cont. p5 Gary West (right) with stable manager Ben Glass | Sid Fernando by Bill Finley IN TDN EUROPE TODAY Still stung by the disqualification of Maximum Security (New HERMOSA DOMINATES THE 1000 GUINEAS Year’s Day) from first to 17th in the GI Kentucky Derby, Hermosa (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) landed the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas co-owner Gary West has told his stable manager Ben Glass that in front-running fashion at Newmarket on Sunday. Click or he is seriously considering leaving the sport. tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. Though West gave several interviews early in the day on Sunday, he declined to speak to the TDN yesterday afternoon. Glass said that is because he is scheduled to appear on NBC’s Today Monday morning and promised the network an exclusive interview. But Glass was able to provide updates on the situation after consulting with West. He confirmed several reports that West will appeal the decision and that he will do so “first thing [Monday] morning.” West, who co-owns Maximum Security with his wife, Mary, hired Lexington-based attorney Barry Stilz to represent him and to file the appeal with the Kentucky Racing Commission. According to the Daily Racing Form, in Kentucky, decisions of the stewards “shall be final and shall not be subject to appeal.” That likely means that their appeal will quickly be rejected by the Racing Commission, but Glass said that if that happens the Wests will go to court to try and have the stewards’ decision overturned. Glass said that Gary West was more “disheartened than upset.” Cont. p3 PUBLISHER & CEO Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Monday, May 6, 2019 Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN News and Features Editor Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistants Alexa Reisfield Amie Morosco Advertising Assistant/Dir. Of Distribution Rachel McCaffrey Photographer/Photo Editor Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew [email protected] Social Media Strategist Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby winner Country House (Lookin At Lucky) is led out by Justina Severni trainer Bill Mott's son and assistant Riley (left) to greet the media Sunday morning at Churchill Downs. | Coady Photo Director of Customer Service Vicki Forbes [email protected] THE WEEK IN REVIEW: WHY NO DERBY INQUIRY? 7 Marketing Manager T.D. Thornton gives us his Week in Review, focusing on why Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen there was no stewards’ inquiry, only objections, into the incident in the Derby. Director of Information Technology Ray Villa GAFFALIONE: STEWARDS NEVER SPOKE TO ME [email protected] 9 Bill Finley talks to Tyler Gaffalione, rider of War of Will Bookkeeper (War Front), about the post-race chaos. Terry May [email protected] TODAY’S GRADED STAKES WORLDWIDE INFORMATION EST Race Click for TV International Editor Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN 10:10a Prix de Guiche-G3, CHY -------------- ----- [email protected] 10:35a Coolmore Gleneagles Irish EBF Athasi S.-G3, CUR -------------- TVG European Editor 11:10a Coolmore Highland Reel Irish EBF Mooresbridge S.-G2, CUR -------------- TVG Emma Berry [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.TheTDN.com TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 13 • THETDN.COM MONDAY • MAY 6, 2019 The Wests Threaten to Get Out of Racing cont. from p1 outcomes-based funding to support initiatives that lower the “He said, ‘You know what Benny, we tried to do this for cost of healthcare to enable seniors to successfully age in place 40 years and now we did it and the whole world is telling us we with access to high-quality, affordable health and support got robbed,” Glass said. “He said, ‘We’ve been doing this for services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life 40 years and in 22 minutes they and independence.” took it all away from us. Mr. “He spends millions on his West told me today that he foundation and a lot of time on thought maybe this would be a it,” Glass said. “He’s thinking it good time to graciously bow out may be time to do even more of racing. He’s spent hundreds of for the elderly. He’s at a millions of dollars in Kentucky on crossroads right now. He’s 73 racehorses and after this he and thinking maybe it’s time to thinks that maybe his time and bow out of racing and spend resources could be put to better more of his time helping the use.” needy.” Glass said that if West does When asked if he thought divest his racing and breeding West was serious, Glass replied: stock, he would spend more “I can’t tell you. Only he knows. time and money on one of his But he’s never said that to me other passions, The Gary and Gary West | Adam Coglianese before. I think this hurt him Mary West Foundation. really bad.” According to the charity’s website, the foundation is a “501(c)(3) Glass said that he and the Wests have heard from people all private, non-operating Foundation, established in 2006 and over the world that they were “robbed.” solely funded by Gary and Mary West, provid[ing] Cont. p4 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 13 • THETDN.COM MONDAY • MAY 6, 2019 “It’s not just what we think, it’s what everybody is telling us, that we got robbed,” he said. “Right up to the President. The President tweeted that we got robbed. Mr. West has horses in Australia and they said the whole country there can’t believe this.” Glass also questioned why the stewards took so long to reach a decision. “How many times have you seen objections take 23 minutes?” he said. “I’m not a steward and don’t want to be. But if I can’t make a decision quicker than 22-23 minutes to see if there was a foul then I’m really thinking they’re looking to do something. That’s the way I look at it. Then to let Mary West stand there for 20 minutes holding the roses and then to take them away from her. My God...and over a bad judgment call like that by stewards.” Maximum Security is expected to arrive Monday at the Monmouth Park barn of trainer Jason Servis. As to whether or not the horse will run in the GI Preakness S., Glass said the decision will be left up to the trainer. “The Preakness is up to Jason,” he said. “The horse came out of the race fine, so we’re good there. Whether Jason wants to run back in Preakness, I don’t know. We’ll see what he says.” Glass knows that as good as Maximum Security is, there are no guarantees he will run as well in the Preakness, or any other race, as he did in the Derby. “It was a very tough night,” he said. “It was terrible because we absolutely had the best horse. He may never throw that race again, but he threw it on the day we needed it.” Follow the TDN staff on Twitter Thoroughbred Daily News @kelseynrileyTDN @BDiDonatoTDN @SteveSherackTDN @JessMartiniTDN @CDeBernardisTDN @BMassamTDN @EquinealTDN @HLAndersonTDN @suefinley @MKane49 @thorntontd @garykingTDN @SarahKAndrew @theTDN @JBiancaTDN TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 5 OF 13 • THETDN.COM MONDAY • MAY 6, 2019 Country House in Good Shape After Derby cont. from p1 The Preakness would be the colt’s fourth race in eight weeks after competing in the GII Louisiana Derby Mar. 23, the GI Arkansas Derby Apr. 13 and the Run for the Roses Saturday. “We’re talking about a horse who has had quite a few races in a short period of time, if he runs in the Preakness,” the Hall of Fame conditioner said. “It may compromise his chances a bit and it’s not a normal situation to run so often, but the Triple Crown is not a normal situation.” Mott added that a key to Country House’s victory was his improved tactical speed Saturday. Country House Sunday morning at Churchill | Coady “I thought he had the effort in him and I was very surprised that he broke and was as close as he was early,” he said. “I would have thought it would have been the other way around with Tacitus up where Country House was and Country House in the back where Tacitus was--but that’s why it’s so interesting.