LEXINGTON, Ky. —
Just when you thought this Kentucky Derby couldn’t get any crazier, morning line favorite Forte was scratched out of the Kentucky Derby after a state veterinary examination on Saturday. He became the fifth horse to scratch out of the race.
There were rumors all week that the Todd Pletcher trainee would be scratched but the hall of fame trainer dismissed those notions. However, in a break from his normal routine, Pletcher galloped the horse around 7:45 a.m. as state veterinarians watched. Dr. Nick Smith then talked to Pletcher and Mike Repole, co-owner of Forte, and they decided to scratch the horse.
This reduced the Kentucky Derby field to 18.
Pletcher’s normal race-day routine is to have the horse walk the shed row. So, when he went to the track to gallop, everyone knew something was amiss.
Talk about Forte’s health began to swirl on Thursday after the 3-year-old colt took an unusual step during a gallop on Thursday. Pletcher called it a “bobble” and dismissed it.
This is the first scratch of a favorite since 2009 when I Want Revenge was taken out of the race with a bad ankle.
The other horses that have scratched from Saturday’s race were Practical Move, Continuar, Lord Miles and Skinner.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Denial of responsibility! NewsBit.us is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
