INJURY TAKES EL AREEB OUT OF KENTUCKY DERBY 143 CONSIDERATION

By Darren Rogers —-

WAGERING SUSPENDED ON COLT IN DERBY FUTURE WAGER POOL 4

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Thursday, March 30, 2017) – An injury has taken M M G Stables’ El Areeb out of consideration for a run in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) and wagering on the colt has been suspended in Pool 4 of Churchill Downs Racetrack’s Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”), which opens its three-day run on Friday, March 31

Published reports indicate that El Areeb (#6, 30-1) had suffered a bone chip in his right front knee that would sideline the Withers (GIII) and Jerome (GIII) winner and prevent the colt from competing in the April 8 Wood Memorial (GII) and May 6 Kentucky Derby.

Trainer Cal Lynch told officials at Laurel Race Course that El Areeb would undergo surgery early next week. The colt breezed 1 1/8 miles on Wednesday at Laurel Race Course and the injury was discovered Thursday.

Wagering on El Areeb is suspended in KDFW Pool 4, which will proceed on Friday with 23 wagering interests that include 22 individual horses and the mutuel field, which includes all 3-year-olds other than those individual horses.

The official rules of the KDFW prohibit scratches or refunds. As in the case of El Areeb, when Churchill Downs determines that a KDFW wagering interest has encountered an injury, illness or other circumstance would prohibit that horse from competing in the 2017 Kentucky Derby, wagering on the individual is suspended immediately.

Betting in the final KDFW pool of 2017 is set to open at noon (all times EDT) on Friday and continue through Sunday, April 2 at 6 p.m. The wager, which has been offered annually to Kentucky Derby fans since 1999, will be available at racetracks and satellite wagering facilities throughout North America and online at TwinSpires.com and other internet wagering platforms.

The KDFW provides racing fans with the opportunity to wager on contenders for the Kentucky Derby at odds that could be more attractive than those available on the day of America’s greatest race. Payouts in the win and exacta wagering in Pool 4 will be determined by the odds in place at Sunday’s conclusion of wagering.

Free BRISNET past performance information and real-time odds for both the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Future Wagers are available online at www.Kentucky Derby .com

Churchill Downs has presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands on May 6, 2017. The track’s 2017 Spring Meet is scheduled for April 29-June 30. Churchill Downs has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships eight times and the event will return to the track on Nov. 2-3, 2018. Information is available at www.ChurchillDowns.com