Bob Baffert scratches one of two horses from Kentucky Derby; Rodriguez was top-3 favorite
Two days before the Kentucky Derby, the Bob Baffert-trained horse Rodriguez was scratched from the race because of a bruised foot.
With Baffert pulling Rodriguez out of the race, Baeza enters the field. Since Rodriguez had the No. 4 post position, the others outside that spot will each move in one spot, with Baeza sliding into the outside post at No. 20.
Trainer Bob Baffert has scratched Rodriguez from Saturday's Kentucky Derby.
With the defection of Rodriguez, Baeza has drawn into the field. pic.twitter.com/WCCqT2yfCb
— Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) May 1, 2025
Baffert has won a record-tying six Derbys but has been barred from participating in the race for the past three years after his horse Medina Spirit was stripped of the 2021 crown following a positive drug test. He still has another horse in this year's field: Citizen Bull, who will run from the No. 1 spot in Saturday's race.
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Baffert told The Athletic he's looking ahead to The Preakness Stakes for Rodriguez in two weeks, saying 'he needed a few more days' to be ready to race.
Rodriguez has the same massive ownership group and the same trainer as Citizen Bull, and he's also got the same front-running style. He does not have Citizen Bull's impressive record, though, with just one graded stakes win and one win aside from his maiden-breaker.
Rodriguez had become a fast riser on the Kentucky Derby odds board. Baffert's prized horse opened at 12-1 on the morning line, but his odds shortened to 6-1, making him the third betting favorite, before the news broke. — Vik Chokshi
This story will be updated.
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