Columnist Ralph Siraco: Distraction unfortunate for Derby winner

Ralph Siraco

Monday, May 12, 2003 | 10:17 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Sunday.

On May 3, Funny Cide won the 129th Kentucky Derby. A week later, there was nothing funny about accusations that the Derby winner's jockey, Jose Santos, might have used an illegal device to prompt the electrifying victory.

In an article accompanied by a damning Derby photo in Saturday's edition of The Miami Herald, Santos was alleged to have a suspicious object in his right hand, tucked between his fingers and whip, prompting the Kentucky Racing Commission and Churchill Downs stewards to launch an investigation into the race.

That investigation apparently cleared Santos of any wrongdoing -- the Associated Press reported today that no evidence of cheating had been found -- but the distraction as he prepares to ride Funny Cide in Saturday's Preakness Stakes might not go away. And that's the sad part of what turned out to be these unfounded suspicions.

The Kentucky Derby is the most photographed horse race in the world. An army of photographers with an arsenal of cameras snap thousands of pictures capturing every move by horse and human throughout the Run for Roses.

The photo causing all the stir was a head-on shot of Santos at the finish of the Derby, starting to rise in the saddle in jubilation as he pulled up Funny Cide, and showed what appeared to be something between his fingers in addition to the whip. Churchill Downs steward Rick Leigh called the photo taken by Jamie Squire of Getty Images "very suspicious" in the Miami Herald article by Frank Carlson and Clark Spencer.

Santos was contacted by Carlson for the article and was misinterpreted as having a "cue ring" in the story, later cleared up as a "Q-Ray," which is a magnetic bracelet to treat arthritis used by many athletes. Carlson later issued a statement that said he misunderstood what Santos had said, noting the rider's language barrier could have been a problem.

The investigation centered on the possibility Santos had used an electrical device known in racing circles as a "battery or machine," which is a small wrapped battery with tiny electric prods illegally used to shock horses into running faster. The device is against all racing rules and is punishable by a lifetime ban from the sport. Usually, such incidents are bartered down to a multiyear ban from racing. Jockey Billy Patin was suspended for five years after he used a battery on 1999 Arkansas Derby winner Valhol.

Santos left after today's 90-minute meeting with Churchill Downs stewards without making comment, but when word of the investigation reached the principals on Saturday, immediate reactions spanned from disbelief to anger.

"I'd have to be a magician (to have a battery)," Santos said. "Where am I going to hide that thing?"

Jack Knowlton, who is the managing partner of Funny Cide's owner Sackatoga Stable, along with trainer Barclay Tagg, discounted the story as ridiculous.

"It's absurd," Tagg said.

"This is just totally ludicrous," Knowlton said.

This was not the first time photos of a Derby finish have come under undue scrutiny. In the 1995 Derby, freeze-framed stills of videotape appeared to show jockey Gary Stevens, aboard the winner Thunder Gulch, handing off a small object to Pat Day, who rode Timber Country, as they galloped out after the finish of the race. That investigation found no wrongdoing.