Skip to main content

A Jock's Not-So-Funny Side

Seven days after Jose Santos won the 2003 Kentucky Derby on Funny
Cide, the Miami Herald published a photo it said showed him
carrying a shock-inducing buzzer. An investigation found the
illegal "device" was an optical illusion; Santos carried only his
whip. Now the jockey and the horse's owners have filed a libel
suit against the paper, seeking $48 million. (The paper says it
will vigorously defend itself against the charges.) Says David
Travis, the plaintiffs' lawyer, "The Herald was irresponsible.
They just wanted to sell papers."

COLOR PHOTO: JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES (SANTOS) BUZZ THIS Another rider's silks made it seem Santos carried aforeign object.

COLOR PHOTO:[See caption above]