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Why is the Kentucky Derby 2025 field at 19 horses? Rodriguez, Grande scratched

John Leuzzi   Paste BN NETWORK

In just over 24 hours, horse racing will once again be put on center stage of the entire sports world with the running of the Kentucky Derby.

As that build-up and anticipation continues to build up before Saturday's 7:02 p.m. ET post time, some of the biggest storylines include whether Journalism can break breaking a seven-year drought of winning the 1 1/4-mile race as the morning line favorite. Adverse weather conditions are also expected on Derby Day in Louisville at Churchill Downs.

One storyline heading into Saturday's race is the reduced field of horses that will be competing in the 151st installment of the Run for the Roses. Here's what you need to know:

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Why is the 2025 Kentucky Derby at 19 horses?

The field for Saturday's Kentucky Derby was trimmed down to 19 horses because of late scratches to Rodriguez and Grande, both of whom appear to be a result of an injury.

Rodriguez was the first scratch from Saturday's Run for the Roses. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Rodriguez's co-owner, Tom Ryan, said on Thursday he was scratched due to a foot bruise on the 3-year-old colt. Rodriguez's sire is 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic, and was trained by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

"Out of abundance of caution, we have made a very tough decision to scratch our Derby horse, Rodriguez. He has a small but slightly sensitive foot bruise that will need a few more days. Therefore, we are resetting our plans and will target him for the Preakness," Ryan wrote on X.

As a result of Rodriguez's scratch, Baeza moved into the derby field and will wear the No. 21 out of the No. 20 gate. Baeza finished as the runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby on April 5 and was the lone "also eligible" horse at Churchill Downs this week.

Grande was then scratched early Friday, which owner Mike Repole said in a statement on X was made by veterinarians. In that same statement, Repole said that Grande was battling a "slight cracked heel" throughout the week but had "been improving."

"The heel has improved throughout the week and it also improved again this morning. Unfortunately the vets told us this morning they were scratching the horse despite the clean diagnostics. We were very confused with all the clean diagnostics and improvement all week, why they rushed to judgment to scratch today," Repole said in his statement. "With the race being tomorrow, and Baeza already having drawn into the race, we are also shocked and confused why this decision was made now. We were given no real explanation why Grande was scratched 36 hours before the race."

Since Baeza was the only "also eligible" horse, the field for the Kentucky Derby will remain at 19 horses.

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How many horses compete in the Kentucky Derby?

Under normal conditions, the Kentucky Derby is comprised of 20 different 3-year-old colts, or young male horses.

As noted by the Kentucky Derby, for a horse to earn a spot in the stable at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby, it must go through the "Road to the Kentucky Derby," which is a series of designated races at tracks across the country and the world. In each race, points are awarded to the top five finishers.

"The 20 horses with the most points will earn a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. Churchill Downs introduced the “Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby” to provide a potential entry in the Kentucky Derby for a horse based in Japan and the 'European-Middle East Road to the Kentucky Derby' extending an invite to European and Middle East horsemen as well," writes the Kentucky Derby website.

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2025 Kentucky Derby field, post positions

Here's a full list of the numbers for the 19 horses competing in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday:

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