Epicharis has been scratched from the 2017 Belmont Stakes. The Japanese horse, who was lured to the United States with the opportunity to win an extra $1 million on top of the $1.5 million purse offered by the Belmont, came up lame earlier in the week.
Belmont Stakes 2017: Epicharis scratched from the race
Lameness forced the Japanese star out of the race
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Epicharis’ connections had hoped to run the colt after he received several days of veterinary treatment on his front right hoof. On Friday, he walked the shedrow and showed some improvement. But he did not show enough recovery to risk the 1-1/2-mile race.
The Japanese colt had earned a spot for the Kentucky Derby with a victory in a qualifier race in Japan in 2016, however his connections chose not to attend. He spun off four straight wins to start his career before losing in the UAE Derby. That was 11 weeks ago and the last race he ran.
The scratch has not yet shown up on the official race odds at NYRA.com, but Epicharis had fallen to 13/1 in morning betting. Race favorite Irish War Cry dropped a bit to 4/1, while Lookin At Lee (5/1), Senior Investment (6/1), Tapwrit (6/1), and Gormley (7/1) all show up in a cluster, indicating bettors really have no idea where to go.
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