LOUISVILLE, KY – Kentucky Derby favorite Omaha Beach will be scratched from Saturday’s 145th running due to an entrapped epiglottis, according to Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella.
“After training this morning we noticed him cough a few times,” Mandella said. “It caused us to scope him and we found an entrapped epiglottis. We can’t fix it this week so we’ll have to have a procedure done in a few days and probably be out of training for three weeks. We’ll have to figure out a whole new game plan.”
The epiglottis is a triangular-shaped cartilage that lies at the base of the airway just in front of the arytenoid cartilages which cover the airway during swallowing. When an abnormality occurs in this area it can hinder the performance of horses.
Mandella is scheduled to meet with the media Thursday at 8 a.m. outside of Barn 28 to further discuss the development.
With the scratch of Omaha Beach, Bodexpress will draw into the field and break from post position 20. All horses outside of Omaha Beach (post positions 13-20) will move over one position in the starting gate.
Revised Kentucky Derby Morning Line Odds From Mike Battaglia
| PP # | HORSE | JOCKEY | TRAINER | ML ODDS | RD RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | War of Will (War Front) | Tyler Gaffalione | Mark Casse | 15-1 | 6 |
| 2 | Tax (Arch) | Junior Alvarado | Danny Gargan | 20-1 | 13 |
| 3 | By My Standards (Goldencents) | Gabriel Saez | Bret Calhoun | 15-1 | 15 |
| 4 | Gray Magician (Graydar) | Drayden Van Dyke | Peter Miller | 50-1 | 19 |
| 5 | Improbable (City Zip) | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | Bob Baffert | 5-1 | 4 |
| 6 | Vekoma (Candy Ride) | Javier Castellano | George Weaver | 15-1 | 8 |
| 7 | Maximum Security (New Year's Day) | Luis Saez | Jason Servis | 8-1 | 7 |
| 8 | Tacitus (Tapit) | Jose Ortiz | Bill Mott | 8-1 | 5 |
| 9 | Plus Que Parfait (Point of Entry) | Ricardo Santana, Jr. | Bill Walsh | 30-1 | 18 |
| 10 | Cutting Humor (First Samurai) | Mike Smith | Todd Pletcher | 30-1 | 11 |
| SCR | SCRATCHED | 14 | |||
| SCR | SCRATCHED | 1 | |||
| 13 | Code of Honor (Noble Mission) | John Velazquez | Shug McGaughey | 12-1 | 9 |
| 14 | Win Win Win (Hat Trick) | Julian Pimentel | Michael Trombetta | 12-1 | 16 |
| 15 | Master Fencer (Just a Way) | Julien Leparoux | K. Tsunoda | 50-1 | 20 |
| 16 | Game Winner (Candy Ride) | Joel Rosario | Bob Baffert | 9-2 | 3 |
| 17 | Roadster (Quality Road) | Florent Geroux | Bob Baffert | 5-1 | 2 |
| 18 | Long Range Toddy (Take Charge Indy) | Jon Court | Steve Asmussen | 30-1 | 10 |
| 19 | Spinoff (Hard Spun) | Manny Franco | Todd Pletcher | 30-1 | 17 |
| 20 | Country House (Lookin At Lucky) | Flavien Prat | Bill Mott | 30-1 | 12 |
| 21 | Bodexpress (Bodemeister) | Chris Landeros | Gustavo Delgado | 30-1 | NR |
