The Puma works out at Churchill Downs on Friday. The Kentucky Derby hopeful was withdrawn from the race due to injury.Charlie Riedel/The Associated Press
The Puma has been scratched from the Kentucky Derby, so the 152nd edition of the race will be run Saturday with 19 horses instead of the maximum 20.
Churchill Downs officials announced The Puma was out because of a swollen leg from a skin infection. He was ruled out less than 12 hours before the 6:57 p.m. EDT post time, past the deadline for Corona de Oro to draw into the field off the also-eligible list.
The horse trained by Gustavo Delgado Sr. and son Gustavo Delgado Jr. opened at odds of 10-1 and was bet down to 8-1 by Friday.
“It’s incredibly disappointing, but the swelling should go down within a day or two,” Delgado Jr. said. “It’s just really bad timing.”
The father-son training duo was looking to win its second Derby after doing so with Mage in 2023. Another father-son duo, Bill and Riley Mott, is the first to each have a horse in the race since 1964.
The Puma is the fourth scratch from the field this week, with one coming each of the past four days. Silent Tactic was ruled out Wednesday, Fulleffort on Thursday and Right to Party on Friday, with Great White, Ocelli and Robusta getting in.
Renegade remains the favourite after opening as such on the morning line a week ago. The Todd Pletcher-trained colt would be the first to win the Derby out of the inside No. 1 post position in four decades.