McKinzie in holding pattern, Kentucky Derby start 'not looking good'

ARCADIA, Calif. – After finally getting a chance to see McKinzie for the first time in a week, assessing his status, and looking at the calendar, trainer Bob Baffert on Monday morning here at Santa Anita said it was “not looking good” for McKinzie to make the Kentucky Derby on May 5 at Churchill Downs.

McKinzie, who would have been one of the Kentucky Derby favorites, was scheduled to have his final prep for the Derby in the Santa Anita Derby this Saturday, but he was declared out of the race over the weekend with an injury that Baffert is still trying to diagnose with specificity. But he said that out of an abundance of caution, he was “not going to do anything rash” in terms of trying to train McKinzie – via jogs or gallops -- or to work him. McKinzie did not go to the track on Monday to even jog, and Baffert had no timetable on when he’d be able to resume training, saying he’s taking things “day by day.”

“We’ve got to do more tests,” said Baffert, who returned from Dubai on Sunday afternoon. “He’s sound, but a nuclear scan we did wasn’t 100 percent. It doesn’t look serious, but we’ve got to wait. His X-rays are clean. But he tweaked something. Maybe he jammed a hock.

“I want to take another nuclear scan. Sometimes it’s best to wait about 10 days to do a second one. It’s frustrating because he looks a picture of health.”

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After saying that it was “not looking good” for the Derby, Baffert said, “Maybe he’ll make the Preakness,” the second leg of the Triple Crown, which is May 19 at Pimlico.

The bottom line, though, is that until Baffert knows what he’s dealing with regarding McKinzie, all plans – be it racing or training – are on hold.

McKinzie has won three times in four starts, with his lone loss coming when he was disqualified from victory in last month’s San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita in favor of Bolt d’Oro. McKinzie’s biggest win came in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity, in which he was promoted via disqualification at the expense of stablemate Solomini.