by Phil Janack

A minor bruise in his left hind foot will keep Casino Drive from running in today's $1-million Belmont Stakes.

"We are going to scratch him," Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for Japanese owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto, said early on Saturday morning.

Unbeaten winner of the Peter Pan Stakes (G2) on May 10, Casino Drive is a half brother to the last two winners of the Belmont—Jazil in 2006 and filly Rags to Riches last year. He was regarded as the primary obstacle to Big Brown's quest of winning the Triple Crown, made the 7-to-2 second choice on the morning line.

"Definitely it's disappointing, but I think they're looking out for the safety of the horse," said jockey Edgar Prado, who was set to ride Casino Drive. "It's more important.

"I know it's a very prestigious race, but there are so many other races coming up. He's a nice horse, and they try to look out for what's best for the horse."

Casino Drive missed a scheduled jog on Friday morning after he appeared to be off in his left hind. A veterinary exam showed he may have a slight stone bruise, and the foot was iced and soaked in Epsom salts on and off through the night.

"This morning we checked and he [was] OK," Tada said. "We sent him to the main track and he had cantering, and he came back to the yard OK, no problem.

“Then, he just [started] again carrying his hind. We checked again and it became warm.
"We are OK because we could make sure before the race. We are sorry we couldn't meet many people's expectations. That's very sad. Many people supported us, helped us. They were cheering for us."

Tada expected that the bruise should clear up in a couple of days.

"We cool him down. He's very fine," he said. "It's not serious at all. It's just a matter of time. The horse is OK. We will not worry about the horse. It just happened the day before the race. If it happened last week, we're fine."

Tada said Casino Drive and stablemates Spark Candle and Champagne Squall will travel back to Japan on Tuesday.

Prado, who has ended Triple Crown hopes twice with Belmont Stakes wins in 2002 with Sarava and 2004 with Birdstone, felt Casino Drive would have given Big Brown a challenge.

"I think so, especially because he's a horse that was bred to go the distance," Prado said. "It would have been nice for the mare, too, to have three years in a row.

"The timing was completely against him. I hope he recuperates from that and continues his campaign. He's a hero in Japan. Maybe I’ll have a chance to go to Japan and ride him."

As for the Belmont, Prado said he would be rooting for Big Brown.

"Why not, right?" he said. "He can win the Triple Crown."

Phil Janack is a New York-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent