Judy Rankin

‡ Derby finish follow-up and new video! First, thanks to a kind fan, I have attached a good quality head-on video of the incident. While most readers understood my previous post, and I don't think that I could have been much more clear, for the benefit of those who may still be confused: I am not arguing that the order of finish should necessarily have been changed. I am arguing that given the obvious bumping between the second and third-place finishers, and Gaffalione's push, coupled with the close photo finish, it was inexcusable for the Stewards not to have minimally posted an Inquiry. I am also arguing that it is very poor form for Churchill Downs to refuse to release the head-on video, and that it suggests that they are aware of the controversy that it could fuel, which further supports the view that there should have been an Inquiry. My guess is that if there had been an Inquiry, the Stewards would likely have arrived at the conclusion that there was mutual interference, and that Gaffalione's push was acceptable for reasons of safety. But while those may have been a reasonable conclusions, there remains no legitimate excuse for the Stewards' failure to post an Inquiry.