Source: No signs jockey cheated in Derby

— -- LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Churchill Downs stewards pored overscores of photos and videotape of jockey Jose Santos this weekend,but were unable to find any evidence he cheated in winning theKentucky Derby aboard Funny Cide, a racing official said Monday oncondition of anonymity.

The stewards also searched the racetrack and turf course whereFunny Cide and Santos crossed for postrace ceremonies and did notfind any illegal device, the source said.

Santos met with stewards, who are investigating whether he heldsomething in his hand besides his whip when he crossed the finishline on May 3.

Santos attended the Monday morning meeting with his lawyer andagent near the race track to discuss the photograph that promptedthe inquiry.

The investigation is focusing "most particularly on theactions" of Santos at the race, said chief steward Bernie Hettel,joined by stewards Rick Leigh and Jack Middleton at the meeting.

Funny Cide, a 12-1 shot, beat favorite Empire Maker by 1 3/4lengths to become the first gelding to win the Derby since 1929.

Stewards decided to investigate after The Miami Herald publishedthe photo, along with a story. A reporter from the Herald broughtthe image to the attention of the stewards Thursday night.

The Getty Images photo, which ran in several newspapers themorning after the race, depicts a dark area in the space betweenSantos' right hand and his whip. It is unclear whether the area isa shadow, the green background of another jockey's silks orsomething else.

Leigh told the Herald the photo looks "very suspicious." APphotos did not show anything else in Santos' right hand.

Race replays show that Santos switched the whip from his righthand to his left and back to his right during the finalthree-sixteenths of a mile. Funny Cide's trainer Barclay Tagg saidit would take a special jockey to pull off the feat while carryingsomething else.

"If you can move the reins and move the sticks (whip) and stillget rid of something you have to be a pretty good juggler," thetrainer said.

The stewards have ultimate authority over race results.

Funny Cide could be disqualified if it is determined Santoscarried something illegal, such as a battery or hand-heldelectrical device to shock the horse into running faster.

Kentucky Racing Commission rules do not prohibit a jockey fromholding an object besides his whip, other than those specificallyprohibited.

A Derby winner has been disqualified only once -- Dancer's Imagein 1968 after he was given banned medication. Forward Pass wasdeclared the winner.

The inquiry might not have an impact on Funny Cide's preparationfor Saturday's Preakness Stakes, but it seems to be taking a tollon Tagg. Usually friendly, he was curt Sunday morning outside hisbarn at Belmont Park, declining to speak to reporters.

"I can't do anything; I've got no time," said Tagg, whoplanned to be in Albany for Monday's festivities, which willculminate at Saratoga later in the day. "I've got too much todo."

Trainer Bobby Frankel reaffirmed his decision to enter PeaceRules in the Preakness and run Empire Maker next in the BelmontStakes on June 7.

Frankel had considered Empire Maker for the Preakness on thechance the Derby finish could change, but went back to his originalplan.

"I don't think anything's going to happen," he said.

Trainer Bob Baffert, who will saddle Senor Swinger in thePreakness, came to Santos' defense.

"Those top riders like Jose, they wouldn't even think to doanything like that," the three-time Derby winner said. "That'swhy I was like, 'That just doesn't sound right.'

"Those top guys not only wouldn't do that, they're the firstones to turn somebody in if they see something. They'd be like,'Hey, get out of here.' You'd have to be a moron to do somethinglike that."

Santos won an Eclipse Award in 1988 as the nation's outstandingjockey and was the leading rider in purse earnings from 1986 to'89. This was his first Derby win, but he did ride 43-1 shotVolponi to victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic last October.

The Herald reported that Santos said he carried an object in hishand during the race and that he described it as a "cue ring" toalert an outrider to his presence. An outrider is a rider aboard apony who can guide a thoroughbred before and after the race.

However, Santos told the Daily Racing Form that there was amisunderstanding. The jockey, who is from Chile and speaks Englishwith a heavy accent, said he was talking about a "Q-Ray" bracelethe wears for arthritis.

Frank Carlson, the Herald's horse racing writer, told New YorkRacing Association vice president Bill Nader that there might havebeen a misunderstanding when he interviewed the jockey. Carlson'sconversation with Nader was released in a statement by the NYRA atBelmont on Saturday.

Later, in a statement released by the Herald, Carlson said hewent through his notes and believed he quoted the jockeyaccurately.

"What I wrote and what was in the newspaper is what Iunderstood him to say," Carlson said.