TORONTO - A prominent voice in Canadian horse racing says the wild finish at Saturday's Kentucky Derby has "opened up the debate" about how the sport is governed in the U.S. and Canada.
Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson says the controversial result may have played out differently if North American racing authorities were to follow an approach that's been adopted in almost every other country.
Lawson, who sits on the executive committee of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, says race stewards ruled correctly when they disqualified Maximum Security for impeding the path of another horse.
The 9-2 second choice initially appeared to have backed up his undefeated record with a 1 3/4-length victory over Country House on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs.
However, the victory was overturned 22 minutes later when stewards disqualified Maximum Security due to interference, bumping him down to 17th place and elevating Country House to the winner's circle.
Lawson says in most countries, Maximum Security's victory would likely have been upheld because officials have more discretion to determine where each horse would have finished had the interference not occurred.
