Prospect Park to miss Derby with high white blood cell count

Prospect Park, who finished a dull fourth in the Santa Anita Derby last Saturday, is off the Kentucky Derby trail after being found to have a high white blood cell count, trainer Cliff Sise Jr. said on Thursday.

Sise on Sunday had said he was concerned about Prospect Park’s demeanor in the hours leading up to the race on Saturday, noting that he was unusually quiet. A check of the colt’s temperature that afternoon was normal, so he ran, but subsequent diagnostic work revealed the elevated white cell count.

Prospect Park had finished second to Dortmund, the Santa Anita Derby winner, in their previous starts, the San Felipe Stakes on March 7.

Prospect Park had earned 30 qualifying points toward a berth in the Kentucky Derby.