Thunder Snow scratched from G1 Whitney
by NYRA Press Office
Godolphin's multiple Group 1 winner Thunder Snow, back-to-back winner of the Group 1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan for trainer Saeed bin Suroor, will be a stakes scratch from Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Whitney Handicap at Saratoga Race Course.
"We took him to the track this morning and he came back to the barn and coughed a few times. We took his temperature and he's running a little bit of a fever. In the best interests of the horse, we will be passing on the Whitney today," said bin Suroor.
Thunder Snow, the world's richest active racehorse with purse earnings of $16,511,476, was set to make his first start at Saratoga in the nine-furlong Whitney.
The 92nd running of the Whitney, to be broadcast nationwide on NBC from 5-6 p.m. Eastern, is a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic on November 2 at Santa Anita Park.
Karl Watson, Michael Pegram, and Paul Weitman's McKinzie, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, is the 7-5 morning line favorite in the Whitney, a field that includes fellow Grade 1-winners Yoshida and Vino Rosso.
First post on Saturday's 11-race card is 1 p.m., with the Whitney field set to burst from the gate at 5:49 p.m.
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