The Puma was scratched from the 152nd Kentucky Derby due to leg swelling from a skin infection, leaving only 19 horses in Saturday's field at Churchill Downs.
Because the horse was pulled on the morning of the race, no substitute replaced him in the lineup, meaning the maximum 20 horses would not compete over the 1.25-mile distance in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Puma, trained by Gustavo Delgado, had been among the favorites at 8-1 and was set to depart from the ninth gate.
"We discovered some swelling in his leg due to a skin infection," Delgado's GDS Racing said in a statement. "It's incredibly disappointing but the swelling should go down within a day or two. It's just really bad timing."
The Derby is the first leg in US flat racing's Triple Crown, which continues with the Preakness in two weeks and the Belmont Stakes in June.
js/dmc
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.