Forte placed on 14-day Kentucky vet's list; will not be able to run in Preakness

Forte, the morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby who was scratched the morning of the race, was placed on a 14-day veterinarian’s list due to the scratch and, as a result, will be unable to start in the Preakness Stakes on May 20.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, citing a rule promulgated and enforced by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, said in a statement released on Monday afternoon that “all KHRC veterinary scratches related to soundness” require the placement of a horse on the 14-day vet’s list. Daily Racing Form had inquired about Forte’s status with the KHRC earlier in the day.

To get off the vet’s list, the KHRC said in the statement, Forte would need to complete a vet-supervised workout. He would also have to test clean for regulated medications that could interfere with veterinary assessments for soundness and for prohibited drugs. Horses are not allowed to be entered in races while on the vet’s list.

Forte was scratched on Saturday morning after being examined by Nick Smith, the chief examining veterinarian for the KHRC. In video of the examination, Forte can be seen reacting to palpation of the underside of his right front hoof.

Forte bobbled during a videotaped gallop on Thursday at Churchill Downs in preparation for the Derby, and trainer Todd Pletcher had the colt fitted with a three-quarter shoe afterwards. He also said that Forte had suffered a foot bruise, which is typically a mild injury to a horse. On Saturday morning, the day of the race, prior to the examination, he was re-fitted with a full shoe and galloped 1 1/4 miles.

Forte was the fifth horse to be scratched from the Derby following a seven-day period at Churchill in which five horses died, including Wild on Ice, a prospective Derby entrant who suffered a catastrophic breakdown while training 10 days prior to the race. The deaths received broad media attention in the run-up to the race.

The HISA rule referenced by the KHRC statement was put into effect in Kentucky on July 1 of last year. The rule states that horses scratched from races for veterinary reasons “shall remain on the list for 14 days.”

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