Thursday's seventh race at Belmont scratches down to two horses
ELMONT, N.Y. - Thursday’s seventh race at Belmont Park scratched down to a match race after seven of the nine entrants were scratched, four due to not having been administered Lasix in the proper window, according to the New York Racing Association.
The $92,000 first-level allowance at 1 1/8 miles on turf originally drew a field of nine. Baby Man, a main-track-only entrant, was obviously scratched. Ensemble, a Kentucky shipper trained by Brendan Walsh, was scratched due to a licensing issue. Now Yus Cant Leave, based at the Fair Hill training center in Maryland with trainer Kelly Rubley, did not ship to New York
At 3 p.m., as the horses for the first race were leaving the paddock, track announcer John Imbriale announced four additional scratches from the seventh race: Eylara and Community Adjusted, both trained by Christophe Clement; Linny Kate, trained by Orlando Noda; and Miss Tapirado, trained by Bill Mott. All four did not get their Lasix shot within the permitted window of time (1:45 to 2:15 p.m.), according to NYRA.
Lasix shots are administered by veterinarians who work for NYRA.
“NYRA and the stewards are reviewing the matter, gathering additional information to determine how this happened,” said Pat McKenna, NYRA’s vice president/communications.
The two horses remaining in the race were Investmentstrategy and Baby Blythe.