Kentucky Derby favorite scratched on morning of race. Who’s No. 1 now in a shortened field?

The buildup to the 2023 Kentucky Derby has been chaotic and tragic.

An expected Derby contender was euthanized. A Derby trainer was suspended indefinitely after mysterious horse deaths. On Thursday alone, three Derby horses scratched out of the race, and all the also-eligible horses were inserted into the field.

Another horse scratched Friday morning.

But the biggest shakeup of all happened Saturday morning, just hours before the 149th running of the Derby.

Forte, the overwhelming 3-1 morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby, scratched out of the race at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Trained by Todd Pletcher and set to be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Forte was scratched after a morning filled with drama.

Pletcher and co-owner Mike Repole met with Dr. Nicholas Smith, the chief veterinarian of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, on Saturday morning to assess Forte’s health for the Derby.

Forte took some inspection jogs on the asphalt surface near the Churchill Downs backstretch, before the determination was made to scratch him.

Repole said state veterinarians had concerns about a bruised right front foot for Forte.

Prior to Saturday’s dramatic scratch, there were rumors of Forte being at less than 100% fitness and health following an awkward step taken during a workout earlier in the week.

Forte was to enter the Derby on a five-race winning streak, and has won six of his seven career starts.

With Forte scratching from Saturday’s race, five horses have now dropped out of the race following Monday’s post-position draw.

It’s the most scratches from the Derby since 1936.

Additionally, expected Derby contender Wild On Ice was euthanized last week after suffering a leg injury during training at Churchill Downs.

Forte was set to start the Kentucky Derby in post No. 13.

The 18 horses still in the Kentucky Derby field will now break from posts 1-18, with posts No. 19 and No. 20 left empty.

Ortiz, who was set to ride Forte, will now ride Cyclone Mischief (a former also-eligible trained by Dale Romans) in the Kentucky Derby.

Forte was a dominant 2-year-old and captured wins in the Breeders’ Futurity and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland last fall, as well as the Fountain of Youth Stakes and the Florida Derby this spring, which made him a clear favorite from a weak Kentucky Derby field.

Forte was first on the Kentucky Derby qualifying points leaderboard with 190 points, 30 points clear of the next closest horse.

But now he’s out of the race, and no horse will replace him.

All three horses on the also-eligible list — Cyclone Mischief, Mandarin Hero and King Russell — drew into the Kentucky Derby field on Thursday following the scratches of Practical Move (elevated temperature), Lord Miles (trainer suspension) and Continuar (fitness concerns).

Skinner also scratched Friday morning due to an elevated temperature.

With Forte now out of the race, only 18 horses are set to race in Saturday night’s Derby, which can feature up to 20 horses in the field.

Pletcher loses best chance for another Kentucky Derby win

Much of the framing surrounding the 2023 Kentucky Derby centered around a discussion of Forte versus the field, and Forte’s trainer, Todd Pletcher, against Louisville’s Brad Cox, who has four horses in the Derby field.

Now, one narrative has completely evaporated, while the other has lost a lot of its luster.

Pletcher is a two-time winner of the Derby with Super Saver in 2010 and Always Dreaming in 2017.

With Forte now out of the race, Pletcher will only have two horses in the Kentucky Derby:

Tapit Trice, the winner of the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland and another top choice according to the morning-line odds, and Kingsbarns, the lightly raced Louisiana Derby winner who is a perfect 3-for-3 in his career.

Entering this year’s race, eight of Pletcher’s 62 all-time Kentucky Derby starters have finished in the money.

Cox meanwhile is aiming for his second Derby win, but his first in real time after Mandaloun was awarded the 2021 Kentucky Derby title well after the fact following Medina Spirit’s disqualification.

Additionally, Saturday morning’s scratch of Forte is further Kentucky Derby heartbreak for one of his owners, Mike Repole, who also had to scratch a Derby favorite in 2011 with Uncle Mo.

In a Friday afternoon interview with NBC Sports, Repole said Forte planned to gallop at 7:45 a.m. Saturday before his fitness was to be assessed again, but he expressed confidence Forte would race in the Kentucky Derby.

On Saturday morning, just minutes after Forte was scratched, Repole told reporters he was “shocked, sad and devastated.”

Repole also said Pletcher brought three veterinarians to the barn this week to look at Forte.

With Forte out, who becomes the Kentucky Derby favorite?

With Forte removed from the equation, the 149th edition of the Kentucky Derby becomes even more difficult to handicap.

Based on the morning-line odds established during Monday afternoon’s post-position draw, Tapit Trice (5-1) should assume the title of race favorite.

Also trained by Pletcher, Tapit Trice is looking to become the first gray or roan horse to win the Derby since 50-1 long shot Giacomo in 2005.

Arkansas Derby winner Angel of Empire (8-1) was the only other horse installed with single-digit odds to win the race.

Behind them is a smorgasbord of horses with intrigue, but also flaws.

Derma Sotogake was given 10-1 morning-line odds, but a Japanese horse has never finished in the money in the Derby.

Two Phil’s (12-1) has improved in each of his eight starts, but he represents the Kentucky Derby debuts of jockey Jareth Loveberry and trainer Larry Rivelli.

Kingsbarns (12-1) is vying to become only the third Louisiana Derby winner to go on to capture the Run for the Roses, and the first since Grindstone in 1996.

On the outside of that are a pair of 15-1 horses in Verifying, a son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, and Mage, who was narrowly beaten by Forte in the Florida Derby.

Kentucky Derby

When: 6:57 p.m. Saturday

Where: Churchill Downs

TV: NBC and Peacock

Purse: $3 million (Grade 1)

Distance: 1 1/4 miles

For: 3-year-old Thoroughbreds

Kentucky Derby field, with odds:

1. Hit Show (30-1)

2. Verifying (15-1)

3. Two Phil’s (12-1)

4. Confidence Game (20-1)

5. Tapit Trice (5-1)

6. Kingsbarns (12-1)

7. Reincarnate (50-1)

8. Mage (15-1)

9. Skinner (SCRATCHED)

10. Practical Move (SCRATCHED)

11. Disarm (30-1)

12. Jace’s Road (50-1)

13. Sun Thunder (50-1)

14. Angel of Empire (8-1)

15. Forte (SCRATCHED)

16. Raise Cain (50-1)

17. Derma Sotogake (10-1)

18. Rocket Can (30-1)

19. Lord Miles (SCRATCHED)

20. Continuar (SCRATCHED)

21. Cyclone Mischief (30-1)

22. Mandarin Hero (20-1)

23. King Russell (50-1)