ARCADIA, Calif. — Undefeated Charlatan will miss the rescheduled Kentucky Derby this fall after being sidelined by a minor ankle issue.
Trainer Bob Baffert said Saturday that the colt has a filling, or swelling, in a front ankle. As a result, Charlatan will not be ready to race in time for the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5, but Baffert said the Preakness on Oct. 3 is a possibility.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the rescheduling of the Triple Crown series. It begins with the Belmont on June 20.
Charlatan is 3-0 in his career. He won a division of the Arkansas Derby on May 2 and is currently the subject of a potential medication violation. Published reports say the colt tested positive for the Class 2 medication lidocaine after the race in Arkansas. Baffert is awaiting results of a split sample test. If Charlatan is disqualified from his victory, he would lose the 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby that went to the winner.
Charlatan’s last workout was Monday at Santa Anita. Baffert had said the colt was being considered for the Woody Stephens on the Belmont Stakes undercard in New York.
It’s another in a line of recent blows for the two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer. Nadal, another of Baffert’s top 3-year-olds who won a second division of the Arkansas Derby, was retired last week after sustaining a leg fracture. Earlier this week, the Baffert-trained Arrogate died while at stud in Kentucky.