NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
The field to the 151. Edition of Kentucky Derby was reduced to 19 by Friday after two horses were scratched with potential complications, including a Colt trained by legendary coach Bob Baffert.
Rodriguez, Wood Memorial -Winner, was scratched on Thursday due to a prejudiced foot and will instead be sidelined until the other stage of Triple Crown, PREAKNESS PAINS AT 17th May.
Kentucky Derby participant Rodriguez coach at Churchill Downs Thursday, May 1, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
“Out of an abundance of caution, we have made a very tough decision to scratch our derby horse, Rodriguez,” Tom Ryan from Starlight Racing, one of Colt’s several owners, confirmed in a post on X.
CLICK HERE for more sports cover at Foxnews.com
“He has a small but slightly sensitive foot marks that need a few more days. That’s why we reset our plans and want to target him to Preakness.”
Rodriguez was one of two horses trained by Baffert competing in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. The Hall of Fame coach returns to Churchill Downs for the first time since Medina Spirit’s Kentucky Derby victory in 2021, a title that was later removed due to a positive drug test that resulted in a three-year suspension for Baffert.
Coach Bob Baffert raises the trophy after winning the 147th operation of Kentucky Derby with Medina Spirit, his seventh career Kentucky Derby -Ssey, in Churchill Downs on May 1, 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Bob Bafferts Kentucky Derby Return: A timeline for the saga that kept the famous coach from Churchill Downs
“It was an honest mistake,” Baffert said in a Sitdown interview with “FOX & FRIENDS” Friday morning. “The test levels are so low now … it was in an ointment and we were only clear over 48 hours that it was used humanly – he had a terrible skin rash.”
“We fought for the horse,” Baffert said of the legal battle that followed after Medina Spirit’s title was removed. He said the fallout was never over a denial of a positive drug test. “He earned that victory.”
John Velazquez, Riding Medina Spirit, crosses the finish line to win the 147th run by Kentucky Derby in Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, May 1, 2021, File Photo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
Baffert will still have a horse in the race as he is pursuing a record-breaking seventh win in the Kentucky Derby record he had briefly in 2021. Citizen Bull, a two-year-old foal, withdrew the dreaded No. 1 post for Saturday’s race.
Baeza entered the 20-horse field instead of Rodriguez, but the field was reduced to 19, after the Grande was also scratched on Friday with a cracked heel.
