Vekoma to miss Dwyer Stakes with foot injury

ELMONT, N.Y. – Vekoma, the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes winner who finished 12th in the Kentucky Derby, will miss the Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes on July 6 due to a foot injury, trainer George Weaver said.

Weaver said his new target is the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens, a seven-furlong race at Saratoga on Aug. 24.

Weaver said Vekoma tore part of his hoof off, an injury known as grabbing a quarter, on the inside part of his right front foot coming off the track about two weeks ago.

“Luckily, he went back to the track today,” Weaver said Thursday from Saratoga. “When it first happened, I didn’t know if he was going to need three days or 30 days.”

Weaver said that while the Jerkens is the goal, he will talk with his owners, including Randy Hill and Mike Gatsas, to determine if Vekoma would get a start before then.