Casino Drive has bruised hoof, but is still in the Belmont....for now
In a day that we expected the patching of Big Brown's hoof to be the only "hoof" news - there is bigger news out of the stable of his primary rival. Casino Drive, Big Browns strongest challenger for the Belmont Stakes, has a bruised left hind hoof which kept him from his friday workout, but he is still expected to start in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. A veterinarian believes that he may have stepped on a stone or kicked something Friday morning. He was treated on Friday afternoon by standing in a tub of salts and stable spokesman Nobutaka Tada says that the hoof appeared to improve. The colt will be reexamined on Saturday morning. Tada added that if he was not well on Saturday they would scratch him. The connections feel strongly about running him in the race as they have often said that he was bred for this race. Tada told reporters that the injury did not cme during his less-than-stellar workout on Thursday under Edgar Prado.
New York Newsday - Ed McNamara: Casino Drive might be in 'park' with bruised hoof
...."He's OK. He's doing well, and better than he was this morning," stable spokesman Nobutaka Tada said at 6 p.m. Friday in the press box at Belmont Park. "Right now, we are in. We haven't scratched him. If he stays like he is now, there's nothing to stop him. We just missed jogging this morning, that's all.".....more
Blood-Horse: Status of Casino Drive in Doubt
....“We have not yet scratched him from the race,” Tada said outside Barn 17. “There is nothing stopping us at this moment and we are not thinking of scratching. We think it might be a small stone bruise and we will watch it closely. “It is very minor,” he said. “We detected it when he walked before he was going to the track. We noticed it when he was picking it up higher. We felt it and it was warmer than the other feet.”.....more
Washington Post - John Scheinman: Hoof Injury May Scratch Casino Drive
...."This morning, we're not 100 percent happy with the hind legs, how he moves," said Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto. "We didn't go to the track with him. There's a slight possibility of a stone bruise, and we're just cooling him down now. It's not lame, just something different with the way he walks. We expect him to run.".....more
