Kentucky Derby: Churchill Downs Officials Announce Unfortunate News on Saturday

Albert Cesare/The Courier-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kentucky Derby: Churchill Downs Officials Announce Unfortunate News on Saturday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio G Losada | Last updated May 2, 2026 12:55 PM ET

The field for the Kentucky Derby 152 has shifted again shortly before post time, with another late scratch reducing the lineup.

The race, held at Churchill Downs, was originally set for a full field of 20 horses, but entered Saturday already dealing with three withdrawals. Given the time of those scratches, however, they were replaced before the deadline, leaving the field still at 20.

The most notable change emerged on Saturday morning and involved The Puma, a contender trained by Gustavo Delgado, with the aforementioned entry deadline already in the rearview mirror.

The Puma entered the weekend as a competitive option, listed at 8/1 odds after finishing second in the Florida Derby. The colt had been viewed as a serious challenger in the mile-and-a-quarter race.

Kentucky Derby’s mint julep cups with the Twin Spires on them.Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Delgado revealed the decision to pull The Puma and explained it came after they identified a medical issue in his leg.

“We discovered some swelling in his leg due to a skin infection,” Delgado said. “It’s incredibly disappointing, but the swelling should go down within a day or two. It’s just really bad timing.”

According to Delgado, per Churchill Downs' Kevin Kerstein, the scratch was officially announced after the swelling was linked to the infection, and the decision was made despite expectations that the condition would improve quickly, per Delgado.

The Puma will be scratched from Kentucky Derby 152.

"We discovered some swelling in his leg due to a skin infection," @GDS_Racing said. "It's incredibly disappointing but the swelling should go down within a day or two. It's just really bad timing." pic.twitter.com/p4MUhpBIpY
— Kevin Kerstein (@HorseRacingKK) May 2, 2026

The Puma, ridden by Javier Castellano, became the latest addition to a growing list of scratches, and in this case, it will reduce the field from 20 to 19 horses, with no alternates allowed after the deadline.

Here are the three other scratches and their replacements heading into Saturday's race: