Maximum Security

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley Just about everyone was prepared to either love or hate the performance of Maximum Security (New Year's Day) in the GII San Diego H. Saturday at Del Mar. Either he would come back and dominate or he would struggle in his first performance outside of the notorious Jason Servis barn. There didn't appear to be much room for a gray area. But that's where things have landed. He was good enough to win but not so good that he proved beyond any doubt...

Champion Maximum Security (New Year's Day) was "good" Sunday morning following an all-out effort for a nose victory in Saturday's GII San Diego H. at Del Mar, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert told the Del Mar notes team. "I actually thought he was pretty good right after the race being that I only had him about 80%," Baffert said. "I didn't think he'd have to do a stop-and-go movement [during the race] but he showed what a great horse he is." Making his first start for Baffert, first in...

It's never easy being the hunted. Making his first start since the federal indictment of his former trainer Jason Servis and sent out for the first time by trainer Bob Baffert, Eclipse Award winner Maximum Security (New Year's Day) looked destined for defeat in Saturday's GII San Diego H. But the 4-year-old, last seen winning the $20-million Saudi Cup nearly five months ago, overcame some aggressive race riding and perhaps some ring-rustiness to grab Midcourt (Midnight Lute) to take it by a nostril. Given a positive ride from the gates...

Eclipse Award winner Maximum Security (New Year's Day) makes his first start for trainer Bob Baffert and first since the federal indictment of former trainer Jason Servis in Saturday's rescheduled GII San Diego H. at Del Mar. The homebred was a two-time Grade I winner during his championship campaign in 2019, taking the GI Florida Derby and GI Haskell Invitational S. around his disqualification from an apparent victory in the GI Kentucky Derby. He proved his versatility and did what no other horse of his generation could at the tail...

There was no hotter trainer on the grounds through opening weekend at Saratoga than Christophe Clement, which is saying something considering the array of champion and Hall of Fame conditioners that occupy the backstretch of America's premier race meet. After winning five races from 13 starters in the first four days of the stand, including a pair of graded stakes victories, Clement joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland to discuss his hot start. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, the French-born trainer...

Unraced since crossing the wire first in the Feb. 29 Saudi Cup, Maximum Security (New Year's Day) will make his next start on July 18 GII San Diego H. at Del Mar. The story was first reported by the Daily Racing Form. "He's doing fantastic," trainer Bob Baffert said. "We're pointing for the San Diego and I couldn't be happier with him." The San Diego, a mile-and-a-sixteenth race with a purse of $150,000, is a prep for the GI Pacific Classic on Aug. 13 at Del Mar and Baffert confirmed...

When Note to Selfie (Big Drama) showed up in the seventh race last Wednesday at Gulfstream, many handicappers surely dismissed the $8,000 claimer. In her most recent start, she finished a non-threatening sixth at the same $8,000 claiming level Feb. 16, and that was for trainer Jorge Navarro. Since that race, Navarro was indicted for allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs on virtually every horse he started. If Note to Selfie couldn't win for Navarro, how would she do for her new trainer, Elizabeth Dobles? Dobles is competent, but has never produced...

An attorney for Gary and Mary West argued in a federal appeals court teleconference Tuesday that a 2019 dismissal of their civil rights lawsuit pertaining to the disqualification of Maximum Security (New Year's Day) in the GI Kentucky Derby should be overturned on the basis that a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) regulation should not pre-empt a state statute that gives power to courts to review final orders of agency determinations. "If this decision of the district court is not reversed, what it means is that the stewards' decision to...

There was no better place to be in American horse racing than Belmont Park Wednesday morning as the track prepared to reopen New York racing later in the day after months of being shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic. That's where Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey called in from as the Green Group Guest of the Week on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. In a wide-ranging discussion, McGaughey talked about the return of stable star Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}), racing finally resuming at his...

How innocent we all were, in hindsight. Maybe you, like me, were in town from colder climes; feeling your whole soul opening, flower-like, to the unaccustomed warmth of the Miami springtime. From the upper arcade I gazed superciliously at Maximum Security (New Year's Day) as he strolled round the parade ring. The hometown upstart had won three sprints by an aggregate 35 lengths, but you could have claimed him for $16,000 on his debut. Yes, everyone cautioned that Jason Servis, at a 45% clip through the meet, could do unexpected...

Owner Gary West released a report Saturday from Dr. Larry Bramlage, whom he commissioned to examine Maximum Security (New Year's Day) "from hoof to tail." Bramlage did not find any major problems with the horse but did recommend that he be given a break from training to overcome some problems he was having with minor bruising and inflammation in all four limbs. West called on Bramlage to examine last year's 3-year-old male champion after his trainer, Jason Servis, was among 27 individuals indicted after an FBI investigation into horse doping....

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders' annual awards luncheon, scheduled for Apr. 8 at Keeneland, has been postponed until the fall. The KTOB announced the 2019 winners via press release, which are as follows: Broodmare of the Year: BEYOND THE WAVES (Owner: George Strawbridge Jr.) Horse of the Year, Male Turf: BRICKS AND MORTAR (George Strawbridge Jr.) Two-Year-Old Male: STORM THE COURT (Stepping Stone Farm) Two-Year-Old Filly: BRITISH IDIOM (Hargus Sexton, Sandra Sexton & Silver Fern Farm, LLC) Three-Year-Old Male: MAXIMUM SECURITY (Gary & Mary West Stables Inc.) Three-Year-Old Filly,...