Gary West, the owner of the horse whose victory was overturned for interference at the Kentucky Derby, on Monday blamed race organizers for allowing 20 horses to race in the prestigious event.
"The reason that they have 20 horses instead of 14, like they do in every other major race in America, including the Kentucky Oaks and all the Breeders Cup races, which are kind of the gold standard races in America, is because . . . Churchill Downs makes more money on the races by having 20 horses in the race than by having 14 horses in the race," West said during an appearance on Fox News.
"And, what I think they are doing and what they have done is, they are putting profits ahead of the lives of both horses and people, and I don't think that's right."
Maximum Security appeared to back up his undefeated record Sunday with a 1¾ length victory over Country Horse in the Derby.
The victory was stripped 22 minutes later following a lengthy video review by the stewards at Churchill Downs.
West, who is filing a lawsuit following the decision, also said he would consider naming his next horse Border Wall after President Donald Trump criticized the decision to overturn the victory.
"That's up for consideration," he said. "I will take that under advisement."
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