Donna Barton Brothers was a jockey, she is now the on-track commentator for NBC. She was the first person to interview Luis Saez after the Derby. She has written an interesting blog post to address the questions people have been asking her about the DQ of Maximum Security.
It’s well worth reading and can be read in its entirety here: https://donnabrothers.com/2019/05/15…entucky-derby/
This is a small piece where she talks about Saez’s subsequent suspension:
"WAS LUIS SAEZ AT FAULT?:
With regard to Luis Saez’s contribution to any of this—or lack thereof, I hold Saez blameless in his actions. His horse simply shied and ducked. Saez immediately made every action to correct him. It’s important to note that he used both the left rein (to pull him back into his previously established running path) and his riding crop (slapping Maximum Security’s shoulder repeatedly) to right his course. I really did not believe that Saez would receive a riding suspension.
THE RIDING SUSPENSION:
However, in the aftermath of it all, Saez refused to admit that his horse’s actions had put anyone in harm’s way. I get why he adopted this position immediately—he didn’t want his horse to be disqualified—but once the horse was disqualified and once the replays showed irrefutable evidence to the contrary, it’s time to admit that his horse clearly ducked out and impeded the path(s) of others.
As an apprentice rider you are required to view racing films every day with the stewards. It’s part of the learning process. So, even if you haven’t done anything wrong in a race—even if you didn’t ride the day before—you have to view any and all films that the stewards are reviewing with other riders so that you can learn from their mistakes (or their horse’s mistakes). It’s not unusual for a horse to be disqualified even though the rider isn’t given a suspension because, as was the case with Saez and Maximum Security, in many cases it is simply the horse making a sharp right or left while the jockey is doing all they can to correct their course. It is in these film-viewing sessions that a young rider learns what to say—and what not to say.
So, you will ask me, if Saez was doing what he could to correct Maximum Security, why was he suspensded? While I hold Saez blameless for his actions, he did not articulate a better understanding of the situation in its aftermath:
The stewards need to hear from the jockey that the rider understands why what happened was potentially dangerous to others. And the stewards need to believe that the jockey did all he or she could to prevent/correct the dangerous situation, and that they would do everything to prevent this type of situation for reoccurring in the future (if possible).
It’s possible that Saez was under advice from his attorney—and the Wests’ attorney—to deny, deny, deny. But, by not admitting that his horse’s actions put others in danger, he put himself in a position to get the riding suspension. Add to this that Saez had already had multiple riding suspensions, and it becomes easy to imagine that the stewards might think, “Well, he cannot see how he endangered others and he’s already had multiple 7-day suspensions. Perhaps he needs a 15-day break from racing this time to see his way clear.” While I put the stewards’ plausible thoughts in quotations here, I will add that I have not spoken with the stewards nor am I speaking forthem. Simply opining."
