By BETH HARRIS
AP Racing Writer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The cast of characters for the 149th Kentucky Derby was rewritten again hours before the race Saturday when early favorite Forte was scratched.
“This is part of racing and it’s the cruel part,” Mike Repole, co-owner of Forte, said in an interview with FanDuel TV.
It was the fifth scratch from the Derby in the days leading up to the $3 million race for 3-year-olds. Six horses have died at Churchill Downs in recent days.
The string of horse deaths cast a pall for some Derby goers on a mostly cloudy and warm day.
“It’s concerning, and I hope they’re quickly trying to the best they can to correct whatever’s going on,” said Michael Freeze, who along with his friend dressed up as jockeys. “They need to do whatever is best for the horses, and the sport in general.”
A horse in Saturday’s second race, 3-year-old Chloe’s Dream, took a bad step leaving the first turn and was taken off in an equine ambulance. The gelding suffered a right front knee injury and was euthanized, trainer Jeff Hiles confirmed to The Associated Press.
“He just took a bad step out there,” Hiles said. “They could do the same thing running in the field as they could on the track. So it’s very unfortunate. That’s what we deal with.”
New antidoping and medication rules enforced by a central governing body of the sport are scheduled to take effect May 22.
“There’s something going on,” said Pat Murtha, who was attending his first Derby. “They need to find out, and set some rules and regulations to protect these animals.”
Forte had been the early 3-1 favorite; his absence reduces the field to 18 horses for the 1 1/4-mile race.
Repole said veterinarians from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission diagnosed Forte with a bruised foot. He said the colt had developed the bruise a few days ago. The colt stumbled during a workout Thursday, although trainer Todd Pletcher had downplayed it publicly.
Behind the scenes was a different story.
“We did X-rays, we brought in vets, the state vets came in and they watched him every single day,” Repole said in the interview. “He’s fine. He probably needs a couple more days (to recover).”
Pletcher still has two horses in the Derby: Tapit Trice and Kingsbarns.
A crowd of about 150,000 is expected to jam Churchill Downs to wager and watch the Derby. Post time is 6:57 p.m. EDT.
The horse deaths included Derby contender Wild On Ice. Two of the horses were trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. He was indefinitely suspended by the track, although investigators have yet to determine a cause for the deaths of his horses.
“It doesn’t make me happy to see a horse get euthanized,” said racegoer Joe Conforto, wearing jockey goggles and a stuffed horse on his head. “But I think a lot of it is bad luck. Most race horses are taken better care of than human beings.”
Four horses were scratched — Practical Move, Lord Miles, Continuar and Skinner — in recent days. Practical Move and Skinner had fevers, while Continuar wasn’t in peak condition, according to his Japanese trainer. Lord Miles was Joseph’s Derby horse.
Forte was last year’s 2-year-old champion and has a five-race winning streak.
“You can only be a 3-year-old colt on the first Saturday in May one time in your life,” Repole said. “I feel bad for the horse.”
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AP Sports Writer Gary B. Graves and AP National Writer Claire Galofaro contributed to this report.
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