2025 Kentucky Derby: Rodriguez and Grande, two top contenders, scratched with foot bruises; Baeza enters field

Just 48 hours out from the 151st Kentucky Derby, one of the top contenders in the 2025 Run for the Roses has been scratched from the race. 

Rodriguez, who opened at 12-1 but had seen his odds shorten to 6-1 as the week wore on, was scratched due to a bruised foot by trainer Bob Baffert on Thursday evening. In his place, Baeza will draw into the field. 

Rodriguez was considered the biggest contender of Baffert’s two horses as the winner of the Wood Memorial earlier in the year, but Baffert wasn’t comfortable with the bruised foot being healed enough by Saturday. Baffert told The Athletic he was targeting the Preakness Stakes in two weeks for Rodriguez’s return to the track. 

On Friday morning, a second horse was scratched from the race, as Grande (who had moved to 10-1 in live odds) was likewise scratched with a foot bruise. Grande was Todd Pletcher’s lone horse in the field and was set to be run by legendary jockey John Velazquez. This will now be the first time in 21 years Pletcher hasn’t had a horse run the Derby and Velazquez’s first time not riding in the Derby in 18 years. 

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Rodriguez was set to run out of the 4 post, while Grande was in the 10 gate. Their scratches means every horse from 5-9 will move in one post position on race day, while every horse from 11-21 will move in two positions. Baeza will enter the field and run from the 19 post (as the 21 horse on the bulletin). There is no replacement for Grande as Baeza was the only qualified horse from outside the 20-horse field looking to draw in. 

Baffert still has one other horse in the field, Citizen Bull, who will run out of the first post. Citizen Bull opened at 20-1 and is down to 16-1 in the live odds. 

How Rodriguez’s scratch impacts the odds sheet will be fascinating, as he had moved into the third-favorite position in the live odds before being scratched and now there are only two horses — Journalism (7-2) and Sandman (5-1) — with odds inside 10-1. That could very well change by post time on Saturday, and we’ll find out how the betting market reacts to one of the most popular picks being scratched out of the race on horse racing apps like FanDuel Racing, TwinSpires and 1/ST BET is up huge.