Morning-line favorite Omaha Beach has been scratched from Saturday’s Kentucky Derby because of a breathing problem, trainer Richard Mandella said Wednesday.
“He was coughing, which made us suspicious, and we scoped him,” Mandella told reporters Wednesday night. “It’s not anything we can fix to have him run on Saturday, so we’re going to have to scratch him.”
Omaha Beach galloped Wednesday morning without any problem and Mandella said everything was fine. But that changed by late afternoon when Kentucky Derby spokesman Darren Rogers said Omaha Beach has an entrapped epiglottis, the cartilage at the base of the airway that hampers the colt’s breathing. It’s generally not a career-threatening problem and is usually corrected with minor surgery.
Omaha Beach had been on a three-race winning streak and was coming off a one-length victory in the slop over Improbable in the Arkansas Derby.
The role of favorite now falls to Bob Baffert-trained Game Winner at 4-1. The second choice is Roadster at 9-2, followed by Improbable (5-1), Maximum Security (6-1) and Tacitus (8-1). Code of Honor rounds out the top six betting choices at 10-1.
Omaha Beach’s scratch moves Bodexpress into the field with the No. 20 post.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.