Maximum Security

Whether you love him or have mixed feelings about him, there is one thing about Maximum Security (New Year's Day) that is very hard to dispute: he is an outstanding racehorse. Prohibitively favored at 40 cents on the dollar to take Saturday's GI TVG Pacific Classic in his second start since being transferred to the barn of Bob Baffert, the bay absorbed race-long pressure but, realistically speaking, never looked like losing in securing an all-expenses-paid berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic in early November. When the dust had settled,...

The last time Maximum Security (New Year's Day) traveled 10 furlongs, he crossed the wire first before the disqualification heard around the world in the GI Kentucky Derby. A ton has happened with the colt in the year-and-change since then: an Eclipse championship, a buy-in from Coolmore, a trip across the world to win the G1 Saudi Cup, doping allegations, a barn switch. Through it all, the horse who controversy seems to follow like a shadow will return to 1 1/4 miles and Grade I company with questions to answer...

It's not his fault. But the fact is that Maximum Security (New Year's Day) has become one of the most chronicled, most contentious Thoroughbreds of recent times. From a lawsuit over his disqualification at Churchill, to the scandal engulfing his former trainer, to his frozen Arabian treasures, to the merit (or otherwise) of his debut for a new barn, one way or another, this extraordinary creature cannot keep out of the headlines. If feeling mischievous, indeed, one might almost say that he will not be the only polarizing incumbent facing...

Two days after the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) announced that it was withholding payment of the winner's share of the purse for the $20-million Saudi Cup won by Maximum Security (New Year's Day), the colt's owners issued a statement which called the Saudi's actions something that was unprecedented in the annals of racing. The statement was signed by Gary West and Coolmore. Just nine days after Maximum Security won the Saudi Cup, his trainer Jason Servis was indicted on federal charges involving horse doping. The Servis indictment led...

The matter of whether or not Maximum Security (New Year's Day) should be disqualified from his victory in the $20-million Saudi Cup has been made out to be much more complicated than it is. Did any illegal substances show up in any of the battery of tests conducted on Maximum Security before and after the Saudi Cup? If the answer is no, there is no justification for not paying owners Gary and Mary West and partners the $10 million due to the winner. If the answer is yes, then disqualify...

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) announced Monday that it will continue to withhold payment from the $20-million Saudi Cup to the connections of Maximum Security (New Year's Day) as it continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the horse and former trainer Jason Servis. While that money is being withheld, a decision has been made to go ahead and pay the owners who had horses finish second through 10th in the Feb. 29 race. Shortly after Saudi Cup, Servis was among 27 people indicted on federal charges involving the...

With the smoking hot sire Violence picking up another Grade I win, with Volatile in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. at Saratoga, John Sikura has a lot to talk about and a lot to be happy about. The President of Hill 'n' Dale Farms, where Violence stands, has seen that stallion's career get off to a fast start, slow down and now take off again. Sikura joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to discuss Violence's recent accomplishments, the decision to bring in Kantharos and his thoughts on...

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley Just about everyone was prepared to either love or hate the performance of Maximum Security (New Year's Day) in the GII San Diego H. Saturday at Del Mar. Either he would come back and dominate or he would struggle in his first performance outside of the notorious Jason Servis barn. There didn't appear to be much room for a gray area. But that's where things have landed. He was good enough to win but not so good that he proved beyond any doubt...

Champion Maximum Security (New Year's Day) was "good" Sunday morning following an all-out effort for a nose victory in Saturday's GII San Diego H. at Del Mar, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert told the Del Mar notes team. "I actually thought he was pretty good right after the race being that I only had him about 80%," Baffert said. "I didn't think he'd have to do a stop-and-go movement [during the race] but he showed what a great horse he is." Making his first start for Baffert, first in...

It's never easy being the hunted. Making his first start since the federal indictment of his former trainer Jason Servis and sent out for the first time by trainer Bob Baffert, Eclipse Award winner Maximum Security (New Year's Day) looked destined for defeat in Saturday's GII San Diego H. But the 4-year-old, last seen winning the $20-million Saudi Cup nearly five months ago, overcame some aggressive race riding and perhaps some ring-rustiness to grab Midcourt (Midnight Lute) to take it by a nostril. Given a positive ride from the gates...

Eclipse Award winner Maximum Security (New Year's Day) makes his first start for trainer Bob Baffert and first since the federal indictment of former trainer Jason Servis in Saturday's rescheduled GII San Diego H. at Del Mar. The homebred was a two-time Grade I winner during his championship campaign in 2019, taking the GI Florida Derby and GI Haskell Invitational S. around his disqualification from an apparent victory in the GI Kentucky Derby. He proved his versatility and did what no other horse of his generation could at the tail...

There was no hotter trainer on the grounds through opening weekend at Saratoga than Christophe Clement, which is saying something considering the array of champion and Hall of Fame conditioners that occupy the backstretch of America's premier race meet. After winning five races from 13 starters in the first four days of the stand, including a pair of graded stakes victories, Clement joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland to discuss his hot start. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, the French-born trainer...