LEXINGTON, Ky. — Triple Crown winner American Pharoah’s task in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday appeared to grow easier when stewards scratched Smooth Roller on the morning of the race at Keeneland.
Smooth Roller represented one of the few horses that possessed the early speed to press American Pharoah, the expected front-runner, in the early stages of the mile-and-a-quarter Classic. Beholder, a mare with tactical speed, was scratched on Thursday after an examination revealed bleeding in her lungs.
Stewards scratched Smooth Roller upon the recommendation of the Kentucky state veterinarian Will Farmer, who found a tendon issue in the left foreleg.