Joseph granted permission to scratch horses from Thursday, Friday cards at Churchill
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Stewards at Churchill Downs have granted a request by trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. to be allowed to scratch horses he trains from races at the track on Thursday and Friday, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission said. Joseph also said that he intends to ask for permission to scratch three horses on the Saturday card, though not his entrant in the Kentucky Derby.
The requests for the scratches were made after two horses from Joseph’s barn collapsed and died at Churchill Downs in the past week. On Wednesday, Joseph scratched a horse from the Mamzelle Stakes at Churchill.
Concrete Glory will be scratched from the third race at Churchill on Thursday, and Lady Emily Kathryn will be scratched from the first race on Friday, according to Kentucky’s stewards. Joseph said he also intends to scratch two maidens, Shockwave and Cape Trafalgar, from the second race on Saturday, and will scratch Sister Lou Ann from the Distaff Turf Mile Stakes that day.
Another horse, Lookin For Roses, who is on the also-eligible list for the last race on Saturday, will be scratched if he draws into the field.
Trainers are generally required to have legitimate reasons to scratch horses after entries have been taken or face fines. Stewards have the discretion to grant individual requests for scratches.
Joseph has three other horses entered on Saturday at Churchill, including Lord Miles in the Kentucky Derby.
On Wednesday, Joseph had noted that the two horses that collapsed and died both were stabled at Keeneland during that track’s spring meet before being shipped to Churchill. He said that he had blood work done on all of his horses that had been stabled at Keeneland but that the preliminary results did not return any abnormal findings.
Joseph said Thursday that the Saturday scratches were based on their stabling at Keeneland as well.
Lord Miles, who won the Wood Memorial on April 8 at Aqueduct in his Derby prep, was based at Gulfstream Park in Florida and shipped from that track to Churchill on Sunday.
– additional reporting by Mike Welsch
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