Life At Ten's Breeders' Cup performance under review

LEXINGTON, Ky., - At a Monday meeting of the the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission here, the panel's chairman, Robert Beck, said that the commission's staff is conducting a review into the performance of Life At Ten during the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5. Life At Ten finished last in the race after her jockey, John Velazquez, and her trainer, Todd Pletcher, told national television broadcasters before the horse being loaded into the gate that the filly was acting sluggish in the paddock and post parade.

Beck said that the review would be "thorough," with the findings and recommendations presented to commissioners in a public hearing after the staff has completed its investigation. Beck gave no timetable for when the review would be completed. In addition, Beck said that staff would be prohibited from releasing findings of the review to the public until the hearing is conducted in order to protect the hearing from being prejudiced.

Six days after the incident, Life At Ten's owner, Candy DeBartolo, released a public statement criticizing the stewards for failing to scratch the filly after the comments were aired on television. Stewards in Kentucky have said that the jockey and trainer did not relay their concerns to outriders or veterinarians at the starting gate, and that Life At Ten was not showing any visible signs of lameness.