Overview
- Sovereignty, the Kentucky Derby and Belmont winner, was withdrawn after his temperature dropped with treatment then rose again, with trainer Bill Mott citing a welfare-first decision.
- He is being treated with antibiotics and was described by Mott as bright and eating well, though he will not run in Saturday’s $7 million Classic at Del Mar.
- Post-scratch markets shifted sharply, with Fierceness cut to around 5/2 in London and installed as the new morning-line favorite stateside.
- UK bookmakers now rate Sierra Leone alongside Fierceness, contrasting with earlier U.S. lines that had been less bullish on the defending Classic champion.
- The Classic field adjusts to nine entrants: Fierceness, Sierra Leone, Forever Young, Journalism, Mindframe, Baeza, Antiquarian, Nevada Beach, and Contrary Thinking.