See who’s out, and who’s now in the field
It’s only Tuesday, but we already have a scratch for Saturday’s 150th edition of the Kentucky Derby.
Encino — trained by
Brad Cox and drawn into post position 9 — won’t run in Derby 150.
With Encino scratching out of the race, Epic Ride — trained by John Ennis — will move into the 20-horse field as a result of being the first horse on the alsoeligible list.
Encino worked at Churchill Downs on Tuesday morning before being scratched from the race by Cox later in the day. According to a Kentucky Derby news release, Encino was “off ” after going through the training.
Encino had moved into the Derby field by winning the final qualifying points race for the Derby, the Grade 3 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, on April 13. By winning that race, Encino boosted his Derby qualifying points total to
40.
This initially had Encino on the outside looking in for the Derby. But after No More Time was injured during a workout in Florida, Encino moved into the Derby picture.
“Ultimately (a potential Kentucky Derby start) will be up to the Godolphin (ownership) team — Dan Pride, Michael Banahan,
Sheikh Mohammed — and if it’s something they want to do, we’ll prepare him,” Cox said on April 13 at Keeneland after the Lexington Stakes. “We’ll ship him over to Churchill (Downs) in a few days regardless. I’ll tell you it will either be the Derby or the Preakness.”
During Saturday night’s post position draw, Encino was given post position 9 and assigned 20-1 morning line odds for the Derby.
The horse is 3-1-0 in four career starts. Prior to the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, all three of Encino’s races came on the synthetic surface at Turfway Park in Florence.
Encino won the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes, another Derby prep race, in March at Turfway Park.
Axel Concepcion was to be aboard Encino for the Derby.
With Encino’s scratch from the Derby field, every horse that drew a post position to his outside (posts 10 through 20) will now move inside one starting gate. Those horses’ program numbers remain the same.
This means Fierceness, the pre-race favorite with 5-2 morning-line odds, will now leave from post position 16. Previously, Fierceness was to leave from post position 17, which is the only starting gate to have never produced a Kentucky Derby winner.
The new starting gates for the affected horses are as follows:
— Starting gate 9: T O Password (program number 10)
— Starting gate 10: Forever Young (program number 11)
— Starting gate 11:
Track Phantom (program number 12)
— Starting gate 12: West Saratoga (program number 13)
— Starting gate 13: Endlessly (program number 14)
— Starting gate 14: Domestic Product (program number 15)
— Starting gate 15: Grand Mo the First (program number 16)
— Starting gate 16: Fierceness (program number 17)
— Starting gate 17: Stronghold (program number 18)
— Starting gate 18: Resilience (program number 19)
— Starting gate 19:
Society Man (program number 20)
— Starting gate 20: Epic Ride (program number 21)
What to know about new Kentucky Derby horse Epic Ride?
Only two horses were on the also-eligible list for this year’s Kentucky Derby.
The first of those horses, Epic Ride, is now into the Derby field as a result of Encino’s scratch.
Trained by John Ennis, Epic Ride is 2-2-1 in five career starts. Most recently he finished third at Keeneland in the Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes.
Prior to that start, all four of Epic Ride’s previous races had also come on the synthetic surface at Turfway Park, including a secondplace finish behind Encino in the aforementioned John Battaglia Memorial Stakes.
Epic Ride, who accrued 35 Derby qualification points, has morning line odds of 50-1 to win the Derby. Adam Beschizza will be Epic Ride’s jockey.
According to Ennis, Epic Ride will continue his normal training routine, in addition to having some gate and paddock schooling. Epic Ride jogged a mile at Churchill Downs on Tuesday morning.