churchill-downs.jpg

Tiz the Law's path to winning the 2020 Kentucky Derby just got a little bit easier. On Tuesday, trainer Tommy Drury Jr. announced that Art Collector -- which was right behind Tiz the Law as the favorite to win the race -- won't participate in the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

According to a press release from Churchill Downs, Art Collector "nicked the bulb of his left front heel with a hind hoof while galloping Monday at Churchill Downs." Due to "horse racing's strict medication rules," the horse would not have been allowed to take an anti-inflammatory and begin to heal unless it pulled out of the Kentucky Derby. 

Drury noted that Art Collector did seem to be "feeling well" on Tuesday morning.

"I knew after we gave him a little anti-inflammatory this morning that he'd be perfectly sound," Drury told Jennie Rees of the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. "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."

Which horse wins the Kentucky Derby, and which double-digit long shot is a must-back? Visit SportsLine to see Jody Demling's picks, all from the expert who's nailed six straight races.

But despite the horse feeling a little better, Drury said it was a no-brainer to pull Art Collector from the Derby. In his eyes, the horse "has to always come first."

"I had to make a choice," Drury said. "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%. 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."

Art Collector had the second-highest odds to win the Kentucky Derby at 9-2 following Tiz the Law (4-5), who won the Belmont Stakes in June. The three-year old is coming off a first place finish in the Ellis Park Derby. Art Collector also has won its last five races, dating back to 2019, in advance of the Kentucky Derby.

While Art Collector won't compete in this weekend's Kentucky Derby, Drury said that he expects the horse will be able to race in the Preakness Stakes, the Triple Crown finale, on Oct. 3. The Kentucky Derby will serve as the second leg of the Triple Crown after the coronavirus pandemic altered the horse racing schedule in 2020.