Churchill Downs suspends trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. indefinitely following the death of two of his horses

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ) — The horse Lord Miles has been scratched from Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.

Lord Miles was listed at 30-1 odds of winning the Run for the Roses, but the dreams of glory have been tarnished by a dark cloud, Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has also been suspended indefinitely by Churchill Downs, following the death of two of his horses, Chasing Artie and Parents Pride.

Just two days before the Kentucky Derby the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the Board of Stewards scratching all horses trained by Saffie Joseph Jr.
In a statement put out by Churchill Downs. It reads in part “for the betterment of racing, the health and welfare of our equine athletes and the safety of our jockeys all horses trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. are scratched effective immediately and until further notice. This action was taken after consultation with Mr Joseph and includes lord miles who was entered in the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. spoke to ABC 36 saying, “we’re doing everything in due diligence and our cost and in our duty to test everything and the supplements,  feed, hay, straw because he came back with the first one and they said there was no significant findings. There are other reports that obviously take 30 days and that’s a long time to wait.”