In the most incredible post-running of the Kentucky Derby, Maximum Security was disqualified for interference on Saturday and Country House was declared the winner of the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby. It was the first on-track disqualification in the history of the race. The stewards said Maximum Security came off his line and impeded War of Will. Advertisement Country House, the second-longest shot at 65-1 to win the Derby, was ridden by Southern California regular Flavien Prat. Interestingly, Prat was the regular rider of Omaha Beach before he elected to take another ride well before the Derby. It also gave Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his first Kentucky Derby win. Maximum Security trainer Jason Servis had, at least for a few minutes, joined his brother John as a winner of the Kentucky Derby. John Servis won with Smarty Jones in 2004. Maximum Security finished first by 1 ¾ lengths. His performance was exceptional in that he was able to survive very fast early fractions and still have enough left at the end. The first quarter-mile went in 23.31 seconds and the half in 46.35. Trainer Bob Baffert had three horses in the race and all were expected to give a good run, but it didn’t happen. Improbable finished fourth, Game Winner was fifth and Roadster was 16th. -- John Cherwa | 4:40 p.m. Advertisement Country Home pays out plenty to his believers Flavien Prat rides Country House to the finish line during the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 4. (Matt Slocum / Associated Press) Country Home paid $132.40 to win, $56.60 to place and $24.60 to show after overcoming 65-1 odds to win. It’s the biggest upset in Kentucky Derby history since Donerail overcame even bigger odds to win the 1913 race. After Maximum Security’s disqualification, Code Of Honor was moved to second and Tacitus was third. The remainder of the field, in order, was Improbable, Game Winner, Master Fencer, War Of Will, Plus Que Parfait, Win Win Win, Cutting Humor, By My Standards, Vekoma, Bodexpress, Tax, Roadster, Long Range Toddy, Spinoff and Gray Magician. The complexion of the race changed dramatically on Wednesday when it was discovered that Omaha Beach had an entrapped epiglottis, a non-serious condition that was easily correctable but with a three-week recovery time. It would have hindered the horse’s breathing. Advertisement Baffert, who had been boasting all week that it was great to be at Churchill Downs without the pressure of being the favorite, suddenly was again the front-runner. The presumption was that Game Winner, loser of his last two races, but considered the strongest of Baffert’s three horses, would be the new favorite. The bettors had made Improbable the favorite at 4-1 and Maximum Security was next at 9-2. -- John Cherwa | 4:50 p.m. QUESTION: Did Kentucky Derby stewards make the right call in disqualifying Maximum Security from the race? — L.A. Times Sports (@latimessports) May 5, 2019 Advertisement Oddsmakers lose big on Country House’s Kentucky Derby win Jockey Flavien Prat celebrates after riding Country House to victory at the Kentucky Derby on May 4. (John Minchillo / Associated Press) Elizabeth Gallagher isn’t much of a gambler. In fact, she isn’t much of a sports fan. But the 72-year-old retiree from Scottsdale, Ariz., found herself inside the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook for the Kentucky Derby and decided she would place a wager like everyone else. Her daughter placed a $10 bet on Maximum Security. She placed a $10 bet on 65-1 longshot Country House. Why? Advertisement “I liked the name,” Gallagher said. “And the odds.” When Maximum Security crossed the finish line first, Gallagher congratulated her daughter. Moments later when Maximum Security was disqualified for interference and Country House was declared the winner, she was the one who was being congratulated by everyone in the sportsbook. Elizabeth Gallagher, 72, of Scottsdale, Ariz., bet $10 on Country House to win the #KentuckDerby because she liked the name. At 65-1 odds, she just won $650. Her daughter tells us she never gambles. https://t.co/krxcNauxUz pic.twitter.com/SzP7qZQTmQ — L.A. Times Sports (@latimessports) May 4, 2019 “I didn’t think they would change it,” Gallagher said. “I don’t really win. My daughter usually wins so I couldn’t believe when they changed the result.” Advertisement Gallagher, who drove to Las Vegas for the weekend and is returning home Monday, turned a $10 bet into a $650 win after the result was changed. Her bet was one of many reasons why Las Vegas sportsbooks went from seeing a profit turn into a loss after the Kentucky Derby result was changed. “It’s not good,” said Jay Kornegay, the vice president of race and sports operations at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. “We were going to be a pretty decent winner on our future board and now we’re going to be a significant five-figure loser. When you have odds like that it does’t take a lot to create a lot of liability and create a big swing. We were in a good position with Maximum Security. We were going to see a good five-figure win and now it flip-flops to a big five-figure loss. That’s unfortunate for us.” -- Arash Markazi | 5:15 p.m. Elizabeth Gallagher shows off her winning betting slip after winning $650 for picking Country House in the Kentucky Derby. (Arash Markazi / Los Angeles Times) Advertisement Final Kentucky Derby odds Tacitus runs during morning workouts at Churchill Downs on May 2. (Tom Pennington / Getty Images) Here are the final Kentucky Derby odds by post position as of 6 p.m. EDT with less than an hour to go before the race: 1. War of Will: 16-1 2. Tax: 35-1 Advertisement 3. By My Standards: 17-1 4. Gray Magician: 30-1 5. Improbable: 9-2 6. Vekoma: 21-1 Advertisement 7. Maximum Security: 4-1 8. Tacitus: 5-1 9. Plus Que Parfait: 55-1 10. Cutting Humor: 23-1 Advertisement 11-12 SCRATCHED 13. Code of Honor: 14-1 14. Win Win Win: 15-1 15. Master Fencer: 54-1 Advertisement 16. Game Winner: 6-1 17. Roadster: 10-1 18. Long Range Toddy: 50-1 19. Spinoff: 53-1 Advertisement 20. Country House: 62-1 21. Bodexpress: 73-1 -- John Cherwa | 3:10 p.m.<doc-sep>LOUISVILLE, Ky. — This has not been horse racing’s finest hour: dead horses at Santa Anita Park and consternation among horse people that they can treat their athletes better but have failed to do so. It’s little wonder then that the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday ended in astonishment, controversy and confusion. The Kentucky Derby, much like the Super Bowl, has become a place to see and be seen. Celebrities and wealthy people are everywhere, making the weekend a party with a race as the main distraction. On Saturday, Maximum Security won America’s most famous race on the track. Until he didn’t. For the first time in the history of the race, the horse who crossed the finish line first was disqualified for interference and stripped of his title, before a stunned crowd of more than 150,000. By all appearances, Maximum Security had outrun the field, remaining unbeaten and giving a hard-knocking trainer from the Mid-Atlantic, Jason Servis, and his up-and-coming jockey, Luis Saez, their first Derby victories. [A day later, people are still trying to figure out how horse racing moves on] But there was a problem — a big one. Maximum Security had jumped a puddle on the rain-soaked track and slid to the outside, not only impeding the progress of a rival, War of Will, but also forcing that colt’s rider, Tyler Gaffalione, to squeeze his knees and wrangle the reins just to stay aboard.<doc-sep>Charlie Riedel/Associated Press Churchill Downs will be missing the favorite during Saturday’s 2019 Kentucky Derby. The event's official Twitter account announced on Wednesday Omaha Beach was scratched from the race after being diagnosed with entrapped epiglottis. As Marco D'Angelo of Las Vegas Sportsline ESPN 1100 highlighted, Omaha Beach was listed at 4-1, which were the lowest odds of the entire field: Yahoo Sports Pat Forde noted entrapped epiglottis is a "breathing obstruction that compromises a horse's ability to breathe during exercise." It was discovered during a Wednesday examination when Omaha Beach was coughing. Omaha Beach, who is trained by Richard Mandella, already won the Grade I Arkansas Derby in April and the Grade II Rebel Stakes in March and was primed to add to the resume on Saturday. He also drew the No. 12 post on Tuesday, which was solid positioning because he wouldn't have to worry about getting caught on the rail or making up too much ground from the outside. Dana O'Neil of The Athletic opined that a "wide open field just got even more wide open" and pointed to the missed opportunity for jockey Mike Smith, who rode Justify to the Triple Crown in 2018: Those Bob Baffert-trained horses figure to take over the role of favorite now that Omaha Beach is out. Roadster won the Santa Anita Derby, while Game Winner finished in second at that race and the Rebel Stakes. Game Winner also won the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs in November. Video Play Button Videos you might like Baffert quickly put to rest the notion he will ask Smith to ride Game Winner, telling Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated he will keep Florent Geroux in that position. "I didn't consider it," he said. "I'm all in with Flo. I feel a lot sadness for Richard and Mike."<doc-sep>However, Tuesday’s post position draw will force some horses out of their comfort zone. For example, Mark Casse, trainer of War of Will (post position No. 2) said after the draw that his horse will “probably be on the lead and play catch me if you can.” If he doesn’t go to the front, look for Tax, in post No. 3, to “come out running and sit on the rail,” according to Tax’s trainer, Danny Gargan. Maximum Security (No. 7) will also likely be up front early but, with a lack of true speedsters in the race, the pace shouldn’t be fast enough to hamper Maximum Security’s ability to last 1¼ miles.<doc-sep>
Long shot Country House won the Kentucky Derby, but only after Maximum Security was disqualified. Maximum Security, one of the favorites to win the race, led most of the way and crossed the finish line first. After a lengthy delay, the stewards determined that Maximum Security interfered with War of Will who then bumped Long Range Toddy and Country House, costing the latter a shot at the win. It was the first time in 145 years that the horse who finished first was disqualified from winning the Kentucky Derby based on disqualification from the stewards. NBC's Mike Tirico explained the ruling. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Long shot Country House was declared the winner of the 2019 Kentucky Derby despite crossing the finish line second. Maximum Security, one of the favorites, crossed the line first, but after a protest and lengthy review, the stewards ruled that he had impeded the other horses by leaving his lane in the final turn before the homestretch. Maximum Security bumped War of Will, who then hit Country House and it was determined that this action cost Country House a shot at the win. Mike Tirico explained the ruling for NBC. "Maximum Security moves off that rail, comes out, impedes the path of War of Will, gets in the way of Long Rainge Toddy and Country House," Tirico said. In other words, Maximum Security moved off his lane before he was clear of the outside horses, interfering with their progress. You can see the controversial move here