Maximum Security

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,...

The Week in Review They have come at us one by one, saying they are shocked, they are disgusted, they love the animal, they love the sport and they had no idea they had been employing drug cheats. That's what we have heard from the owners who employed Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro and have spoken up in the aftermath of indictments that are not only shocking but threaten to do severe and irreparable damage to the sport. How could an owner employ someone who performed training feats that were,...

Admitting that the charges that trainer Jason Servis drugged Maximum Security (New Year's Day) threaten the integrity of Thoroughbred racing, his owner, Gary West, has announced that he has hired veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage to examine the horse "from hoof to tail." When asked by the TDN in a follow-up email that if further testing revealed that Maximum Security had illegal drugs in his systems in any races if he would advocate that the horse be disqualified, he replied: "I am not an authority on medications and SGF-1000 (the drug...

Even as rival owners of horses that finished behind Maximum Security (New Year's Day) are threatening legal action to get the allegedly doped 3-year-old champ disqualified from previous wins, Gary and Mary West are forging ahead with their 10-month federal court odyssey to overturn the controversial GI Kentucky Derby stewards' in-race interference DQ that stripped their colt of the honor, prestige and prize money of America's most important horse race. "But for the stewards' nonfeasance and misfeasance, Maximum Security would have been declared the official winner, and Plaintiffs would have...

The TDN Writer's Room podcast, presented each week by Keeneland, pulled no punches as the writers covered all aspects of the indictments for horse doping of 27 people announced Monday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. The dialogue included a combination of passion, anger and bewilderment on a story that has rocked the industry. "The big shock is not the scandal itself. The big shock is not that these guys were drugging horses and cheating," said Joe Bianca who kicked off the News of...

Following a tweet from Rockingham Ranch owner Gary Hartunian that he was sending the horses he had with Jorge Navarro to trainer Brad Cox, Cox told the TDN that he would not be accepting the horses. "It's not true," Cox said of Hartunians's tweet. "After everything that has been going on the last day and a half, I don't feel comfortable accepting any of the horses that are involved in this situation." Cox's statement came after Hartunian tweeted the following Tuesday morning: "All of my horses with Jorge are being...

Champion Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) took the lead in this week's NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with 376 votes. The position was previously held by fellow champion Maximum Security (New Year's Day), who bested his female counterpart in the $20 million Saudi Cup Feb. 29. In the wake of the doping controversy, which involved Maximum Security's trainer Jason Servis, NTRA voers were given the opportunity to adjust their selections if they wanted. Maximum Security still received 241 votes, but dropped to fourth behind GI Pegasus World Cup victor Mucho Gusto (Mucho...

Maximum Security (New Year's Day) will be taken away from Jason Servis and turned over to Bob Baffert, owner Gary West said in a statement released early Tuesday. West said that all the horses he has under Servis's care will be moved to new trainers. Servis is among 27 individuals who were indicted Monday by the District Attorney for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, as part of a wide-ranging investigation into doping. Servis and trainer Jorge Navarro were the two most notable names involved in the probe....

Thirty-six years ago, I was dispatched to cover the annual gathering of the Association of Racing Commissioners (now ARCI). I had been covering Thoroughbred racing and breeding full-time for all of about three months. That night I found myself sitting at dinner with the head of a state testing lab. "I listened to the session on uniform medication," I told him. "Seems logical." "Never happen," he said matter-of-factly. "Every state has its own racing commission. Every state has its own testing procedures. No one wants to let go of that."...

Seven trainers, including two of the biggest names in the sport in Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro, are among 27 individuals indicted for doping horses. The scheme involves Eclipse Award winner Maximum Security (New Year's Day), G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen winner X Y Jet (Kantharos), exotic drugs you've never heard of and the killing of horses to hide the evidence. It does not get any uglier. With this, coming on top of the breakdowns and fatalities at Santa Anita, many were left to wonder if the sport can survive another...

Despite being one of the sport's most successful trainers, Kiaran McLaughlin has decided to switch jobs and has signed on with Luis Saez to be his agent. McLaughlin will continue to train through the end of this month, before going to work for Saez Apr. 1. "I was approached about taking Luis Saez' book and after speaking to my wife, my children, my family, I felt like this was right thing to do," McLaughlin said. "I am very excited. Luis is a great kid and a great jockey." McLaughlin admitted...

Back home in California after finishing second aboard Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) in the inaugural running of the $20-million Saudi Cup, jockey Mike Smith said the penalties handed down to him for excessive use of the whip were "absurd." Under rules enacted just before the running of the Saudi Cup card, riders were limited to striking a horse no more than 10 times during a race. The Saudi stewards ruled that Smith struck Midnight Bisou 14 times and also was guilty of hitting his mount with no regard for the...