WASHINGTON — Betting favorite Omaha Beach has withdrawn from the 145th Kentucky Derby, trainer Richard Mandella said Wednesday, after a medical exam discovered an entrapped epiglottis on the horse.
The issue with the cartilage that covers the airway at the back of the colt's throat during swallowing was found after a cough prompted a medical examination. That forced him to be scratched from Saturday's lineup for the year's first US "Triple Crown" event at Churchill Downs.
"After training this morning we noticed him cough a few times," Mandella said. "It caused us to scope him and we found an entrapped epiglottis.
"We can't fix it this week so we'll have to have a procedure done in a few days and probably be out of training for three weeks. We'll have to figure out a whole new game plan."
Mandella, a 68-year-old Hall of Fame trainer who has seen horses run in the Derby but never a winner, looked to have his best chance in years with Omaha Beach, the 4-1 favorite when he drew the 12th starting post for the 1.25-mile (2km) dirt classic for three-year-olds in Louisville, Kentucky.
Horses that drew post positions 13 through 20 will move one position closer to the center of the track with Omaha Beach withdrawing.
Bodexpress, a 30-1 shot, will move into the field in place of Omaha Beach and break from post position 20, the far outside spot.
Revised odds issued Wednesday night taking into account Omaha Beach's absence made Game Winner, which had been second-favorite at 5-1, the new bookmakers' darling at 9-2, the horse trained by two-time Triple Crown-winner Bob Baffert and now set to start from post position 15.
Baffert led American Pharoah to the Triple Crown of Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in 2015 and followed it up with Justify last year.
His other two entries remained the next-fancied horses in the field, both dropping from 6-1 to 5-1 odds — Improbable, starting from post five, and Roadster, launching from post 17.
"If Baffert ran as an entry, he'd be a 7-5 favorite to win his sixth Kentucky Derby," Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia said.
Mandella has more than 1,750 victories as a trainer and Omaha Beach had wins over Baffert's beauties — downing Game Winner in the Rebel Stakes on March 16 and Improbable in the Arkansas Derby on April 13.
Omaha Beach was to have been ridden by Mike Smith, last year's Triple Crown jockey with Justify, and was coming into the Derby on a three-race win streak. — AFP
