Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
For all of you madmen running around betting pink slips and houses on Black Onyx, you might want to start applying for a second job. The Kentucky Derby field of 2o has now been slimmed down to 19 as Black Onyx has been scratched due to a chip in the horses left ankle. This news comes just hours before the race, so the devastation is aplenty.
The horse’s trainer, Kelly Breen, was taken aback by the X-ray considering the horse had just had a great run on Friday, but had apparent swelling on that particular spot. Breen is rightfully heartbroken as the horse was hoping to take home the roses on Saturday. Now, the entire team must rebound and hope that next year they have a healthy horse heading into America’s biggest racing event.
Expected jockey Joe Bravo is now without a mount, so he too will miss out on the great experience that is the Derby. This was supposed to be Bravo’s third Kentucky showing, however, he will have to wait to improve upon his 0-2 record at the infamous derby.
This scratch does have a benefit to the 150,000 people that will be in attendance on Saturday — without Black Onyx in the mix the population will have just 19 horses to bet on. It will be awkward to see the first lane open when the races goes on, but it would be even worse to see the horse go out and stumble for the entire first mile. Regardless, the bets will be flying when the horses start and none of the wagers will be on Black Onyx.
