Kentucky Derby Favorite Forte Scratched Hours Before the Race

Forte is the fifth horse to scratch since the field was entered on Monday.

Pat Forde | May 6, 2023

Kentucky Derby Favorite Forte Scratched Hours Before the Race /

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—A Kentucky Derby of attrition took its biggest blow yet Saturday morning, when favorite Forte was scratched just 10 hours before the race.

Forte is the fifth horse to scratch since the field was entered on Monday. A sixth Derby contender, Wild On Ice, was euthanized after a fatal training accident last week.

The news came after speculation swirled for two days about Forte’s status. He stumbled during a morning gallop a couple of days ago, and rumors were rampant Thursday and Friday that the Florida Derby winner might not make it to the race. After a one-mile gallop Saturday morning, trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole met with state veterinarian Nate Smith for a long and at times animated conversation. Shortly thereafter Forte, who entered the day at 7–2 odds, was scratched from the race.

This was the second Derby disappointment for Repole. Twelve years ago, his pre-race favorite, Uncle Mo, was scratched during Derby week.

Pletcher has another strong option in the race with Tapit Trice, who has different ownership than Forte. Tapit Trice (5–1 odds coming into the day) and Angel of Empire (6–1) may now become the top two horses with the bettors.

Published May 6, 2023

PAT FORDE

Pat Forde is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who covers college football and college basketball as well as the Olympics and horse racing. He cohosts the College Football Enquirer podcast and is a football analyst on the Big Ten Network. He previously worked for Yahoo Sports, ESPN and The (Louisville) Courier-Journal. Forde has won 28 Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest awards, has been published three times in the Best American Sports Writing book series, and was nominated for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize. A past president of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and member of the Football Writers Association of America, he lives in Louisville with his wife. They have three children, all of whom were collegiate swimmers.