McKinzie, disqualified from victory in the San Feipe on Saturday, "was great at the barn afterwards" and "was good this morning," said his trainer, Bob Baffert, who on Sunday morning was still upset over McKinzie having his number taken down.

"What upset me is these horses had just thrown down, it's raining, and it took them a long time to justify taking him down. That's indefensible. If you're gonna do it, just do it," Baffert said.

Baffert said he was proud of the effort put forth by McKinzie to hold off Bolt d'Oro in the stretch run.

"He showed he's the real deal," Baffert said. "He was ready in case of a thrown down. It's too bad the stewards got involved. It was a thrilling race."