Encino Out Of Kentucky Derby; Epic Ride Draws In

Trainer Brad Cox told Churchill Downs' publicity team on Tuesday that his Grade 3 Lexington Stakes winner Encino will not run in the Kentucky Derby.

The defection allows the first also-eligible, Epic Ride, to draw into the field. The 3-year-old son of Blame is trained by Kentucky Derby first-timer John Ennis, the former exercise rider of Hall of Fame racehorse Wise Dan.

Epic Ride earned his spot in the Kentucky Derby field with a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes behind Sierra Leone and Just A Touch. The colt is owned by George Hough's Welch Racing, and is scheduled to be ridden in the Kentucky Derby by Adam Beschizza.