The Star-Crossed Career of Maximum Security
Joseph Di Rienzi
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| Maximum Security at stud (BloodHorse) |
A foal of 2016, Maximum Security was an average sized bay
son of New Year’s Day bred and owned by Mary and Gary West. His sire, also
owned and campaigned by the Wests, won the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile in 2014. A
series of unspecified physical issues delayed Maximum Security’s debut until December
2018. When he did begin racing it was at Gulfstream Park in a maiden claiming
race for $16,000. He was trained by Jason Servis, a conditioner the Wests used
for their lesser stock. (Most of the stable’s runners raced on the West Coast,
with their primary trainer being Bob Baffert, including the previous year’s
two-year-old champion Game Winner.)
The bay colt showed what would be his characteristic high
turn of speed in winning a 6½ furlong maiden event by 9¾ lengths. (Fortunately
for his owners, Maximum Security was not claimed.) Staying in Florida, he
seamlessly moved into the allowance ranks at the start of 2019 winning 6 and 7
furlong races by 6½ and 18¼ lengths, respectively. The last was run in a particularly
fast time and gave Maximum Security’s connections the confidence to try him
against the best sophomores in Florida.
In the Florida Derby, jockey Luis Saez took Maximum Security to the front where surprisingly he was
unchallenged. Setting moderate fractions, the Wests’ runner was in command all
the way around winning by 3½ lengths. In the winner’s circle, Mary and Gary
West celebrated this victory in a $1 million race
for a horse they nearly lost for $16,000.
The 2019 Kentucky Derby saw nineteen face the starting gate
on a wet day in Louisville. The Bob Baffert trained entry – Improbable, Roadster and Game Winner were well supported in the betting with the
first named the post time favorite. The second choice was Maximum Security with Tacitus the only other entry having single digit odds.
The race itself was the story of the year with the final
chapter still in doubt until well after the running. It will also be remembered
long in Kentucky Derby folklore. The field broke cleanly from the starting gate
over the sloppy Churchill Downs surface. Luis Saez put Maximum Security on the lead closely followed by Bodexpress, Long Range Toddy and War of Will. All seemed well as the field
went around the far turn. War of Will was guided off the rail to the outside of
Maximum Security as Code of Honor moved up the vacated inside. Also running a strong
race was Country House who was rallying on the outside from mid-pack.
As War of Will was looming next to Maximum Security, the latter did not corner
the turn well, forcing the former wide and also impacting Long Range Toddy.
Briefly Code of Honor gained the lead, but Maximum Security, demonstrating what
would be his characteristic courage, fought back and repelled Code of Honor,
War of Will and Country House. At the finish, the son of New Year’s Day was 1¾ lengths in front of Country House who
was ¾ of a length ahead of Code of Honor. Tacitus closed late to be fourth, while War of Will
faded to finish in eighth place and Long Range Toddy checked in seventeenth.
Baffert’s trainees finished fifth (Improbable), sixth (Game Winner) and sixteenth (Roadster).
The stewards did not post an inquiry, nor did the rider of the
presumably impeded War of Will. It was Country House’s jockey Flavien Prat, perhaps sensing an
opportunity, who claimed foul against Maximum Security. After an agonizing 23 minute
wait, the stewards disqualified Maximum Security (the first in Derby history in
the race itself) and placed him seventeenth. Country House, at odds 65-1
(second longest at the time in Kentucky Derby history), gained the roses, a
first for trainer Bill Mott. The official victor’s owners
- Maury Shields, E. J. M. McFadden Jr. and LNJ Foxwoods were understandably jubilant at their
unexpected good fortune. On the other hand, the connections of Maximum Security
were in a state of shock seeing their Derby glory snatched from them by an
administrative decision.
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| 2019 Kentucky Derby - Maximum Security (second fron right) (The New York Times) |
The racing community was divided on the justness of the
stewards’ verdict. Those supporting it argued there was a clear foul and in any
other race there would be no question of a disqualification. The other side
claimed that this was the Kentucky Derby and only an egregious interference
should merit an alteration in the order of finish. They boosted their argument
claiming Country House, the chief beneficiary of the
stewards’ decision, was unaffected by Maximum Security’s wayward behavior around the
stretch turn and should not be rewarded with the victory. West and his wife Mary, convinced of this argument,
appealed the disqualification to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. When
denied, the Wests and their attorneys took the case to a federal district
court. When informed by the judge that decisions by the Commission are not
subject to judicial review, the connections of Maximum Security made a further
appeal, which was denied on August 28, 2020 by the U. S. Court of Appeals.
In the aftermath of the disqualification, the connections of
Maximum Security ruled him out of the other classics, perhaps
from spite. The horse resurfaced shortly after the Belmont Stakes in the
Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park, an intended prep for the Haskell Invitational
Stakes, and at odds of 1-20, he was upset by King for a Day, losing by a length. The two
Pegasus protagonists returned in the Haskell joined by four others. It was a
bizarre day in which Monmouth Park had to suspend racing after the second race
from pressure from regulators, legislators, and even the governor of New Jersey
due to a heat wave. Canceling about half of the rest of the card, Monmouth
resumed racing at 6 PM with the Haskell run a little after 8 PM. In a spirted
renewal, Maximum Security showed his determination in repelling Mucho Gusto’s challenge for a 1¼ length
victory. (To add further drama to the day, there was a stewards’ inquiry into
crowding on the far turn that, fortunately for the connections of Maximum
Security, found no wrongdoing.)
Rather than go on to contest the Travers Stakes as many
former Haskell victors have, trainer Jason Servis declared in mid-August that Maximum Security would skip the “Midsummer Classic” because he
was “still not 100% fit”. He was entered in the Pennsylvania Derby but was
withdrawn due what was deemed a displaced colon.
Servis kept his horse out of the Breeders’ Cup races but
finished with a flourish with late season victories in the 7 furlong Bold Ruler
Stakes at Belmont Park (a week before the Breeders’ Cup) and a 3½ length win in
the Cigar Mile Handicap at Aqueduct that secured Maximum Security the Eclipse
Award for Three-Year-Old Male Horse.
As Maximum Security was preparing for his four-year-old
season, storm clouds were brewing for his trainer.
The year 2020 saw the inauguration in late February of the
Saudi Cup, a 9 furlong race at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia, with
an obscene total purse of $20 million. The field attracted some North American
dirt stars headlined by 2019 champions Maximum Security (Three-Year-Old Male)
and Midnight Bisou (Older Female on Dirt). Other U. S. based prominent entries
were the Bob Baffert trained pair McKinzie and Mucho Gusto, and the reliable
Tacitus. From Europe came Magic Wand while from Dubai was the international
traveler Benbatl.
Shortly after the start, Mucho Gusto gained a clear lead as
the field strung out for the long run down the backstretch. In third place was
Maximum Security, while Midnight Bisou, after a slow beginning, was mired in
last place. Around the far turn, Luis Saez aboard Maximum Security asked his
mount for more but did not get an initial response. In the stretch, Mucho Gusto
seemed in control, but late in the race he drifted out while tiring. Maximum
Security who was toiling outside of Mucho Gusto was switched to his inside as
Mike Smith had Midnight Bisou riding the rail in a dramatic rally down the
stretch. Benbatl also was launching a bid. At the finish, Maximum Security
secured the victory by ¾ of a length over Midnight Bisou who ran a remarkable
race. Finishing third, another 2 lengths back was Benbatl while Mucho Gusto,
who appeared a winner in deep stretch, faded in the last 100 yards to finish
fourth.
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| Maximum Security first in the 2020 Saudi Cup (The New York Times) |
In the winner’s circle, there was a sense of vindication for co-owners Gary and Mary West (the partners of Coolmore Stud had purchased 50% of the horse at the year’s beginning), trainer Jason Servis, and jockey Luis Saez for all the controversy over Maximum Security’s disqualification in the 2019 Kentucky Derby and subsequent court actions.
This vindication would not last long, because in March 2020
would come Federal indictments against Servis and other trainers on their use
of performance enhancing drugs. Maximum Security was indeed named as one of the
horses that had been administered one of these illegal medications as revealed
by an FBI phone tap. Jason Servis was arrested and eventually pleaded guilty.
Purse money for the Saudia Cup was withhold until that country’s racing
authorities did a complete investigation. Four years later in 2024 the Jockey
Club of Saudia Arabia recommended the disqualification of Maximum Security
which the Stewards’ Committee acted on, declaring Midnight Bisou the official
winner with prize money reallocated among the other runners.
When Maximum Security returned to racing after the Saudi Cup
he was in a different location and under the shedrow of a different trainer.
Bob Baffert (who ironically would be banned from the Kentucky Derby after his
horse Medina Spirit tested positively for a prohibitive substance in 2021)
assumed the conditioning duties for this star-crossed thoroughbred and had him
ready in late July for the 8½ furlong San Diego Handicap at Del Mar Racetrack.
Loading a career high weight of 127 lb., the son of New Year’s Day was all out
to defeat pacesetter Midcourt (carrying 122 lb.) by a nose. Higher Power (also
at 122 lb.) finished third 6¼ lengths behind the embattled pair. The first
three finishers met again in the Pacific Classic, the premier race of the Del
Mar meet, under equal weights for the 1¼ mile contest. This time setting his
own pace, Maximum Security led all the way for a decisive 3 length victory.
In late September at Santa Anita, Baffert used the 9 furlong
Awesome Again Stakes as the final Breeders’ Cup Classic prep for both Maximum
Security and stablemate Improbable. The former was the odds-on favorite, but
the latter dominated the race sweeping from last place in the five horse field
to engulf his foes and draw away to a 4½ length victory. Maximum Security, who
was involved in a three-way battle in the early part of the race, held on for
second ½ length in front of Midcourt.
Maximum Security’s final start was in the Breeders’ Cup
Classic, run in 2020 at Keeneland Racecourse. As part of a Bob Baffert trained
entry with 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic and Improbable. Maximum
Security was up close behind Authentic but lacked the needed response finishing
fifth beaten a little over 5 lengths by the Derby victor.
Retired in 2021 to Ashford Stud (the North American division
of Coolmore), Maximum Security stands for a modest stud fee of $5,000. His
oldest foals are three-year-olds of 2025, and he has had several winners
including the promising multiple stakes victor Instant Replay.
We can only hope Maximum Security’s legacy will be
remembered not for the sins of his handlers, but for the accomplishments of he
and his progeny.
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