The 145th running of the Kentucky Derby was unique to the sport’s signature race that’s nearly a century and a half old. The race that saw its favorite scratched saw the new favorite win and later get disqualified for making contact with another horse in the home stretch, impacting multiple other horses and turning Maximum Security’s triumphant run into an unexpected, belated celebration for Country House.
The latter’s triumph was the second-longest long shot winner of the Derby ever, and the first time a winner was DQ’d, a mess of history that made for drama and intrigue that lasted far longer than the race itself. But according to Donald Trump, the results only show how America has fallen further into decline.
Trump finally broke his silence on the controversial Kentucky Derby decision a minute before noon on Sunday, calling the decision “not a good one” and explaining how “political correctness” influenced the decision to disqualify Derby favorite Maximum Security.
The Kentucky Derby decision was not a good one. It was a rough & tumble race on a wet and sloppy track, actually, a beautiful thing to watch. Only in these days of political correctness could such an overturn occur. The best horse did NOT win the Kentucky Derby – not even close!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2019
While a horse named “Maximum Security” may be fitting given the state of perpetual war and the rise of privatized, for-profit prisons in recent years, Trump’s take on “political correctness” doesn’t exactly display a strong knowledge of horse racing. Multiple horse racing experts felt the decision to DQ Maximum Security was a good one given how far off the rail he came and the impact it had on the other horses.
The difference here — and what almost certainly caused the lengthy review process that literally delayed a playoff hockey game — was the sheer amount of money on the line and the impact that a DQ would have on gamblers across the world. That impact was massive once the DQ decision was finally made, and though those who had the favorite to win may differ the majority of equine experts certainly feel the ruling was justified.
There was almost certainly not politics involved in the DQ, but there is now. Because Donald Trump tweeted about it, as is often the case.
