Kentucky Derby favorite Uncle Mo was scratched from the 2011 Kentucky Derby on Friday morning due to a stomach ailment, as first seen on ESPN reporter and Louisville resident Pat Forde’s Twitter feed, and now via an official announcement from the thoroughbred’s owner Mike Repole made this morning in Louisville.
Uncle Mo was the clear favorite in an otherwise muddled Derby field coming into Race Week, but had been troubled by a gastrointestinal infection that veterinarians were monitoring in race preparations. Owner Mike Repole said on Thursday that vet tests performed that day on the horse would be evaluated by the veterinary staff, and that he and trainer Todd Pletcher would then meet to make the call on whether Uncle Mo was fit enough to go.
That decision is now officially a “no.” With Uncle Mo’s departure from the Derby pack, the odds-on favorite is now Dialed In at 4-1, with Nehro close behind at 5-1 and Shackleford, Soldat, and Archarcharch all sitting at 8-1 to win.