Breeders' Cup: Laurel River, Bran scratched from Saturday races
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Laurel River, 9-2 on the morning line for Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, and Bran, 15-1 in Saturday’s Turf Sprint, were scratched from their respective races on Friday morning by regulatory veterinarians, according to Breeders’ Cup.
The scratch of Laurel River reduces the field of the Dirt Mile to 10 horses. Laurel River is trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Juddmonte. The 4-year-old colt was coming into the Dirt Mile on a three-race winning streak, including a daylight win in the seven-furlong, Grade 3 Pat O’Brien Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 27 in which he posted a 108 Beyer Speed Figure.
“He looked healthy to us, and he was moving well,” Baffert said on Friday morning. “They said they didn’t like something about him. They scratched him, and there’s no arguing with them.”
The scratch of Bran allows Oceanic, 30-1 on the morning line, to draw into the Turf Sprint field off the also-eligibles list. The Turf Sprint will continue to have 14-horses in the field. Dancing Buck was the first also-eligible, but he did not ship into Kentucky after not drawing into the main body of the race.
A text to John Sadler, the trainer of Bran, was not immediately returned.
- additional reporting by Dave Grening
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