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Secretariat's jockey fed up with Churchill Downs
Ron Turcotte, the paralyzed Hall of Fame rider, says he has been denied access to the race and won't attend this year.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The jockey who rode Secretariat to the Triple Crown said he's skipping the Kentucky Derby on Saturday after being snubbed by the track's management. Ron Turcotte, the paralyzed Hall of Fame rider, said yesterday he couldn't get a parking spot during his last Derby Day visit to Churchill Downs, and then couldn't even get into the track to watch last year's race.
The two-time Derby winner said he was so disgusted by how he was treated that he decided not to attend the 140th event.
Track spokesman John Asher said any snub was the result of a "communication breakdown" and promised the track will "fix it."