[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by Spendabuck85

From drf.com

As expected, jockey John Velazquez wound up on Circular Quay, and Garrett Gomez, the leading rider in the country, picked up the mount on King of the Roxy. But, it wasn't as simple as it sounds.

Barry Irwin, the head of the Team Valor syndicate which owns King of the Roxy, said he contacted the Pimlico stewards about making Velazquez honor his earlier commitment to ride King of the Roxy. According to Irwin, the stewards said they could, if Irwin wanted them to. But then Irwin said he sent an e-mail to his Team Valor partners asking if they should make Velazquez and his agent, Angel Cordero Jr., honor their commitment. Secondly, Irwin asked his partners, who should ride King of the Roxy if not Velazquez?

"It was 2 to 1 to not ride Velazquez," Irwin said. "Basically, people did not trust the situation and did not want to have a guy ride for us whose heart wasn't in it. And, they voted 100 percent to ride Gomez."

Let's hope that Gomez gives KOTR a better ride than the one he gave Steppenwolfer today.