Art Collector Out of Kentucky Derby with Foot Issue
By Richard Rosenblatt
Art Collector, considered one of the top contenders for the $3 million Kentucky Derby (G3) on Saturday, is out of race with a minor foot issue.
The news comes hours before Tuesday’s post-position draw for the 1 1/4-mile Derby, this year the second leg of the Triple Crown instead of the first.
Like expected favorite Tiz the Law, Art Collector had a 4-0 record in 2020 and was coming off victories in the Blue Grass (G2) and the Ellis Park Derby.
Art Collector – Courtesy of Churchill Downs/Coady Photography.
The news has to be tough to take for longtime Kentucky-based trainer Tommy Drury, who was set to saddle his first Kentucky Derby starter.
Drury told Jennie Rees of the Kentucky HBPA that the colt nicked the bulb of his left front heel with a hind hoof while galloping Monday at the track. Because of horse racing’s strict medication rules, Art Collector could not be treated with an anti-inflammatory so close to the race.
“He grabbed himself yesterday morning training,” Drury said. “It was still very sensitive this morning. When I took my thumbs to palpate the bulbs of his heels, you could still tell it was pinching him. I had to make a choice.
“Your horse has to always come first. To run in a race of this caliber and trying to compete against the best 3-year-olds in this country, you’ve got to be 110 percent. To me, it wouldn’t have been fair to Art Collector, even though it’s slight, knowing that there’s an issue of any kind.”
The withdrawal drops the Derby field to 17.
Drury said the issue has been treated with an inflammatory, and he’ll go ahead and plan to run Art Collector next in the Preakness (G1) on Oct. 5
“I knew after we gave him a little anti-inflammatory this morning that he’d be perfectly sound,” Drury said. “That’s not surprising at all. And that’s what we wanted to see. We wanted to see him respond well to it, and it looks like that’s what happened. On to Baltimore.”
Over the years while working at The Associated Press, Rich Rosenblatt became a familiar name to legions of the horse racing fans and industry insiders with his award-winning articles on horse racing and his stories from the backstretch.
In addition to being an astute observer of sports, Rosenblatt is the co-author of The All-American Chili Cookbook. His work has been seen in just about every publication in the world, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and Time Magazine.
