Santos cleared of any wrongdoing in Kentucky Derby investigation
Santos met with Churchill Downs stewards who investigated whether he held something in his hand besides his whip when he crossed the finish line on May 3. A photograph prompted the inquiry.
One of the sources said there was no evidence Santos used an illegal device to win.
After the 90-minute meeting at the track, Santos, along with his lawyer and agent, drove away without comment.
The stewards spent the weekend poring over scores of photos and videotape of Santos, one of the sources said. The stewards also searched the racetrack and turf course where Funny Cide and Santos crossed for postrace ceremonies and did not find any illegal device, the source said.
The Stewards decided to investigate after The Miami Herald published a photo that appeared to show Santos might have been carrying something besides his whip in his right hand as he crossed the finish line. A Herald reporter on Thursday night brought the image to the attention of the stewards, who have ultimate authority over race results.
The Getty Images photo, which ran in several newspapers the morning after the race, depicts a dark area in the space between Santos' hand and his whip. It is unclear whether the area is a shadow, the green background of another jockey's silks or something else.
Funny Cide could have been disqualified if it had been determined Santos carried something illegal, such as a battery or hand-held electrical device to shock the horse into running faster. Kentucky Racing Commission rules do not prohibit a jockey from holding an object besides his whip, other than those specifically banned.
Race replays show that Santos switched the whip from his right hand to his left and back to his right during the final three-sixteenths of a mile. Funny Cide's trainer, Barclay Tagg, said it would take a special jockey to pull off the feat while carrying something else.
"If you can move the reins and move the sticks (whip) and still get rid of something you have to be a pretty good juggler,' the trainer said.
A Derby winner has been disqualified only once Dancer's Image in 1968 after he was given banned medication.
Trainer Bob Baffert, who will saddle Senor Swinger in the Preakness, defended Santos, saying top riders "wouldn't even think to do anything like that.' He said the stewards' ruling was good for racing. "In this game, integrity is very important for us and for the gamblers,' Baffert said.
"The bad thing is that it's the Kentucky Derby our most sacred race and that's why it's such a big deal.'
Santos won the Eclipse Award in 1988 as the nation's outstanding jockey and was the leading rider in purse earnings from 1986 to '89. This was his first Derby win, but he did ride 43-1 shot Volponi to victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic last October.
The Herald reported that Santos said he carried an object in his hand during the race and that he described it as a "cue ring' to alert an outrider to his presence.
