What the Hell Happened at the Kentucky Derby

Luke Darby
In a Steve Harvey-level twist, the first horse across the finish line actually placed 17th.

At Saturday's Kentucky Derby, Maximum Security was the first across the finish line, taking the crown at the best-known horse race in the world. But he only held the title for 20 minutes. After that, race officials announced that, actually, Country House was the real winner (what?) and Maximum Security was in 17th place (WHAT).

So what caused this Steve Harvey-level twist up? First of all, there are people called "race stewards" who oversee the Derby for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, and they weigh in when a rider or other race official lodges a complaint against another competitor. The riders for both Long Range Toddy and Country House accused Maximum Security of "interfering" with other horses at the final turn of the race, basically veering out of his lane and setting off a domino effect of horses getting each other's way.

After 20 minutes of video review and interviews with the affected riders, the stewards unanimously agreed that Maximum Security screwed up. He drifted into the lane of War of Will, who veered away and affected the progress of both Long Range Toddy and Bodexpress. So, the stewards ruled that Maximum Security would place just behind the last-placed horse he interfered with, knocking him all the day down to 17th. In the 145 years the Kentucky Derby has been around, no horse has lost a win on an interference charge, and no horse has won based on the results of an objection.

It's pretty far from the thrilling photo finish most Derby viewers hope for, and Country House's trainer Bill Mott basically admitted that, telling reporters, "It's a bittersweet victory, but I gotta say our horse ran very well. Our jockey rode very well, and I'm thrilled to death for all the connections. I think they're very deserving, we'll just have to prove ourselves in the future."

Meanwhile, Maximum Security and Country House presumably have no strong feelings on the outcome because they're horses and are likely most interested in when the next load of oats and hay gets dumped in front of them.