And those horses included Wood Memorial winner and Derby entrant Lord Miles. There were two unexplained horse deaths after races from trainer Saffie Joseph’s barn that resulted in Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Racing Commission ruling that none of Joseph’s horses could run at Churchill over the weekend. There was sadness after several breakdowns, including two on the Derby Day undercard, that resulted in euthanasia.
The three also eligibles drew into the race. By the time the 18 horses emerged from the starting gate at Churchill Downs on Saturday evening at 7 p.m., we had five scratches, including morning line favorite Forte Derby morning. In my experience, there has never been a Derby Week like 2023. I covered the Kentucky Derby in person 32 times, once for a paper in Baltimore, 31 times for the “Philadelphia Daily News.’’ I was there once as a fan/player and once to experience the scene again and chronicle it for this site.
