Trainer Lisa Lewis said Sunday the owners of Midnight Soiree, who finished first and was subsequently placed second in a controversial call following the running of Saturday's $100,000 Martha Washington Stakes at Gulfstream Park, will appeal the decision to the Florida Division of Pari-Mutual Wagering.

Midnight Soiree crossed the finish line three parts of a length in front of the odds on favorite Camila Princess after the pair engaged in a bumping match through much of the final furlong of the one mile Martha Washington.  Both horses appeared to contribute to the incident equally with Camila Princess also losing her best action a couple of times when leaping over tire tracks on the course in late stretch.  After a long deliberation, the stewards reversed the original order of finish awarding Camila Princess the victory in the turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

"We believe strongly she wasn't at fault," said Lewis. "And the stewards did not give Luca days.  If they're sayinmg Luca didn't do anything wrong, I don't see how they can say our filly did.  Turning for home, that other filly definitely started getting in and bumping my filly to initiate the situation. We started in the five or six path and she pushed us down to the three path. Her original bump started a chain reaction and by the time they bumped a final time, the other filly was already beaten."

Lewis said this is the first time she's been involved with an appeal of a stewards decision during her training career.