Kentucky Derby 2019 scratch haikal; field up to 19

Coach Kiaran McLaughlin confirmed Friday morning that Haikal, the winner of the 3rd year undergoing treatment for a foot abscess on the left front, scratches the 2019 Kentucky Derby.

The Shadwell team rider was not coached on Thursday and was not scheduled for the track on Friday. McLaughlin had previously said that if Daaher's son did not train, he would not compete in Saturday's race at Churchill Downs.

Haikal is the second horse to scratch the Derby after the draw, adding to the early defection of favorite Omaha Beach.

When Omaha Beach relations withdrew from Race 12, the horses in stalls 13 to 20 moved from one place to another door, while the girl Bodexpress pulled out of the listing.

With Haikal in position 11, our 1 to 10 have now changed places, as Bodexpress was the only horse on the list also eligible. This is a minor boost to the chances of War of Will, who shot the rail.

Post positions may change. Program numbers do not do it. Bodexpress will carry the # 21 saddle towel, the rest of the field corresponding to its original prints.

Haikal, the Takaful sprinter's own brother, who won the first year, should not be left out for too long. He was already undergoing treatment for bruising by Epsom salt baths.

"It will be a quick fix, but I do not know if it will be fast enough," McLaughlin said Thursday.

Last time, Haikal finished third behind Tacitus and Tax in the Wood Memorial (G2). Two back, he won on the same track with a radical move in Gotham Stakes (G3). With the five starts at Aqueduct, Haikal's record is 5: 3-1-1.