The runner-up from the GII Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct, Right to Party (Constitution) was scratched from the GI Kentucky Derby by state regulatory veterinarians on Friday morning and Robusta (Accelerate) will take his place in the Churchill Downs starting gate on Saturday.
Trainer Kenny McPeek said he was upset with the scratch itself and the timing, as well as what he feels is a growing trend of regulatory scratches in Kentucky.
“They said he was lame all week,” said McPeek? “Why didn’t they call it before everyone got here? I feel bad for Mr. (owner Chester) Broman. This horse has never been medicated, injected, had a surgery. Look, is he a perfect jogger? No, but he’s certainly not a risk of catastrophic breakdown. Shouldn’t that be the question? He’s a grinder, he’s a plodder, he keeps coming, but this is a whole other era that we’re in that a lot of horsemen don’t understand it. And it’s only Kentucky.”
McPeek said that veterinarians had requested that the horse be X-rayed earlier in the week, and then followed up with a request for a PET-scan. McPeek provided the TDN a copy of the results of the scan.
The comments read, “The most significant finding is the bilateral remodeling of the medial palmar condyles. Remodeling in this location is quite common in racehorses. In this horse, the remodeling is more severe than average and could be responsible for the clinical signs, however this finding is most likely not associated with an increased risk for breakdown. Pending clinical signs, there is no contraindication to racing based on the current 18F-NaF PET scans.”
Said McPeek, “I thought after the X-ray and the scan, we were fine. They don’t like the way he moves. I didn’t make the way he moves, but he’s been steady. he just goes out there and grinds it out I think the state has to address this at some point. We’re not dealing with this in New York. This type of extreme doesn’t exist in Florida, or Louisiana. Only Kentucky.”
McPeek pointed to a rash of scratches at Keeneland in the later stages of the meet.
“They scratched 11 horses the last day of the Keeneland meet,” he said. “One day earlier in the meet, they scratched 10. One in a thousand breaks down, and who’s sicker than any of us when it happens than the trainer? There’s no motive on our side, and we’re not hiding anything, but there doesn’t seem to be a balance here. It’s gotten way out of balance. Someone did a study that said five years ago, there was one regulatory vet scratch a day, and now there’s five.”
McPeek, who won the 2024 Kentucky Derby with Mystik Dan (by Goldencents), said, “I’m sorry for Mr. Broman. It doesn’t affect me. I’ve had my glory, but what I’m concerned about is the state of the industry and how we can continue like this. I have worked my tail off to build this game, to bring people in, to grow it. I built an app, I’ve done everything in my power to help this sport, but this industry doesn’t help itself. I’m not optimistic. For me, I can take this bullet and stand right back up and keep playing. I’m gonna train another eight years and that will be it for me, but it seems like it’s us against them, the trainers against the vets. We’re supposed to be working together.
“The Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming cannot comment on the specifics of an individual scratch,” President and CEO of the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Commission Jamie Eads told the TDN via text. “However, we can say that the safety and well-being of the racehorses training and competing in Kentucky are the center of everything we do. KHRG closely monitors data pertaining to scratches, including those based on the advice of our regulatory veterinarians. It is one of the most difficult parts of the job, as we share the goal of each horse’s connections for the horse to compete safely.
“KHRG will continue to work with our licensees, HISA, HIWU, and our racetracks to promote the safety of the horse, and protect the jockeys, horsemen, and horsewomen,” he added. “We are constantly evaluating our processes and procedures with the best interests of the horse in mind, and we will continue to engage with stakeholders, including trainers and attending veterinarians. We all want what is best for the horse.”
As for Robusta, the colt was last seen running a well-beaten seventh in the GI Santa Anita Derby last month. The Calumet homebred is trained by Doug O’Neill, who now has a pair of Derby starters. The other is Pavlovian (Pavel).
In the Derby, Robusta will wear saddle towel 23 and Cristian Torres will pick up the mount.
DRF reported that the remaining Derby also-eligible, Corona de Oro (Bolt d’Oro), would not draw into the race since by 9 a.m. ET on Friday there are no other defections from the race according to the horse’s trainer Dallas Stewart.
