By Lindsay Griffin
Forte appeared to have everything going for him. He exited 2022 as the year’s Eclipse Champion Two-Year-Old Male, an honor he sealed up after he scored a decisive victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He trained smoothly in the early parts of 2023 before re-asserting his dominance in the Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes.
His win in the Grade I Florida Derby, while perhaps not as visually impressive, proved that he had enough grit to overcome a challenge.
Everything was going well as he continued to Churchill Downs. He drew post 15, a fair option for his stalking running style, and was installed as the 3-1 morning line favorite. His trainer, Todd Pletcher, and his jockey, Irad Ortiz Jr., exuded confidence in the colt.
How It Fell Apart
Then, the morning of the Derby, everything fell apart. Track veterinarians noticed Forte was moving differently as he came back from his exercise. They examined him, and when they squeezed the colt’s right front hoof, he winced and jerked his foot away. Forte’s chances at Derby glory evaporated in an instant; the vets ordered him scratched from the race.
Mage, the colt that Forte wore down in the Florida Derby, won instead.
Forte’s human connections were very obviously disappointed, as were his many fans. However, Mage’s win flattered Forte’s form, and many began to eagerly await a rematch between the two.
After all, it was just a bit of soreness in his hoof. There was no way that would keep him out of the Preakness, right?
Wrong.
Two days after the Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission issued a press release stating that they had placed Forte on the vet’s list for 14 days. This meant that Forte would not be able to race for those 14 days, and prior to being eligible to race, he would have to have bloodwork done as well as demonstrate soundness in a workout to ensure that he is healthy enough to race.
The Preakness is run a mere two weeks after the Kentucky Derby. With this timeline imposed, it would be impossible for Forte to run in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. So we will not see Forte in the Preakness Stakes winners list.
What Does This Mean?
The regulations that led to Forte being placed on the vet’s list were put in place in the summer of 2022 by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, or HISA. Both Kentucky and Maryland, the home state of the Preakness, operate under HISA standards, meaning that while the regulatory veterinarians that performed the soundness test on Forte and placed him on the vet’s list are beholden only to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, Maryland will uphold the ban as they are following the same standards for soundness.
Forte’s soundness has also allegedly been an issue previously. Only a few days after being placed on the vet’s list, it was announced that Forte had a drug positive after one of his races as a two-year-old: the Grade I Hopeful Stakes, in which he finished first. The drug found in his system, meloxicam, is an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat soreness in horses. Todd Pletcher has stated that he has never administered that medication to Forte, and he and Forte’s owner, Mike Repole, intend to appeal.
Soundness and track safety have come into the public conscience lately, as the Kentucky Derby itself was surrounded by the deaths of seven horses. At least five of those deaths can be attributed to injury in the horses’ legs during a workout or race, and those injuries are more likely to occur (and be severe) when unsoundness is an issue. For Forte’s own sake, as well as for the safety of his jockey and other horses that interact with him during works or races, any risk for injury must be taken seriously.
For now, Pletcher intends to take Forte to New York, hoping to eventually start him in the Belmont Stakes on June 10th.
