OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The connections of two horses involved in Saturday’s $500,000 Great White Way Stakes at Aqueduct have filed appeals with the New York State Gaming Commission over decisions made - and not made - by the track stewards. First, Dean Reeves, the owner of Brick Ambush, who was disqualified from second and placed last, has appealed the decision. Reeves said he was told by the stewards that Brick Ambush, who was outside of a trio of horses at the quarter pole, started the chain reaction that caused both The Big Torpedo and Solo’s Fury to check at the quarter pole. The Big Torpedo finished fourth, Solo’s Fury was last of 12. Second, Thomas Albrecht, the managing partner of the group that owns The Big Torpedo, has filed an appeal of the stewards’ decision not to disqualify Antonio of Venice from first. After the race, the stewards posted the inquiry sign and the toteboard indicated the focus of the inquiry was Antonio of Venice. Ridden by Manny Franco, Antonio of Venice came off the rail at the quarter pole and appeared to bump with The Big Torpedo, who then bumped with Solo’s Fury. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Javier Castellano, the rider of The Big Torpedo, said he lodged an objection - though it was not clear against which horse - that was never relayed to the stewards. The Big Torpedo finished fourth, but was elevated to third by the disqualification of Brick Ambush. The connections of The Big Torpedo fear that should Reeves win his appeal and Brick Ambush is restored to second and if no action is taken against Antonio of Venice, The Big Torpedo would be moved back down to fourth - a difference of $30,000 in purse money - according to trainer Tom Morley in explaining why his owners field an appeal. Additionally, the stewards on Sunday handed Junior Alvarado, the rider of Brick Ambush, a three-day suspension for careless riding. Alvarado has 48 hours to decide if he wants to appeal. The suspension would be for the final three days of December. Alvarado, who rode at Gulfstream Park on Sunday, said in a text message the stewards told him “since I was outside I was the only one that could’ve released the pressure, whatever that means.” Before learning of the suspension, Alvarado said Sunday morning that he did not cause any interference in the race. “I’m doing my job, it’s a $500,000 race, I’m staying in my lane,” Alvarado said in a phone interview. “I didn’t come in, I didn’t bump anybody, I didn’t shut anybody off, I stayed in my lane. There were three horses going to one spot, that’s not my fault.” Reeves said he spoke with the stewards on Sunday to get an explanation for their ruling and was not satisfied with the explanation. “They’re saying we came over and hit the shoulder of the horse next to us,” Reeves said. “I said 'you all didn’t think [Antonio of Venice] was involved any of this?’ They said, ‘no.’ I said, 'now that you guys have had a chance to sleep on this, do you still think you made the right call?' And they said, ‘yeah.’ “ Since Saturday, Reeves said he’s heard from multiple people, racing officials from other jurisdictions included, questioning the decision to disqualify his horse. “If there had been a few people, even myself, who thought ‘tough break it looks like you might have interfered some’ then I would have moved on,” Reeves said. “There’s been other stewards, racing officials, all kinds of people who said this is the worst thing they’ve ever seen.” Drew Mollica, the attorney representing Reeves, likened the disqualification of Brick Ambush to that of Allumeuse, who was erroneously disqualified in a race at Saratoga in 1986. In that instance, the stewards admitted they had made a mistake. “After a complete review of the race with a number of racing luminaries, this disqualification meets the standard of Allumeuse,” Mollica said. “Even though the stewards' job is difficult … after a review of this race, not only was Brick Ambush not at fault, he was bothered and the chart caller noted it. We intend a full de novo review with experts to correct this injustice.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.