Mystik Dan was scratched from Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile by veterinarians in Del Mar, Calif., ending the 2024 Kentucky Derby champion’s bid to finish his career victoriously.
Lance Gasaway, a Star City farmer who owns the 4-year-old as part of 4G Racing, confirmed the scratch Saturday morning. Gasaway told The Commercial on Friday that Mystik Dan faced being scratched after his 2-year-old, Blackout Time, was scratched from Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile following a vet examination. Gasaway said vets determined they didn’t like how either Blackout Time or Mystik Dan was moving, adding Blackout Time appeared “off in the rear end” to the vets and that X-rays for Mystik Dan revealed a little roughage in one of the ankles and possible distal bone bruising. Those conditions are normal for horses in training, Gasaway added.
Kenny McPeek trained both Blackout Time and Mystik Dan. The latter is going out to stud in Kentucky, while Blackout Time is considered an early favorite to make the 2026 Kentucky Derby.
Gasaway reported he had never had an issue with either horse prior to a race. He suspected a vet team organized by the Breeders’ Cup exuded extreme caution after two horses at the track were euthanized following catastrophic injuries in August, as reported by the Times of San Diego.
“I don’t think there is anything we can do,” Gasaway said Saturday, asked if there is any course of action he can take with both of his entries scratched. “Ever since HISA (the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority) was established, the vets have complete authority and can do whatever they want.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Congress in 2020 passed the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act authorizing HISA as a private self-regulatory organization. The purpose of the authority is to develop and implement a horse racing anti-doping and medication control program and a racetrack safety program. The Federal Trade Commission oversees the authority.
This marks the 42nd year for the Breeders’ Cup, the world championship program of thoroughbred racing known for its Classic race that has aired on NBC for most of its existence. It would have been the first Cup for Gasaway, who was a wide receiver at the University of Arkansas at Monticello in the 1980s.
The Juvenile and Dirt Mile carried a combined $3 million purse out of a package of more than $34 million.
Handicapper Charlie Cooper, originally from Pine Bluff, had picked Blackout Time to win the Juvenile and Mystik Dan to finish second to Nysos, trained by Bob Baffert, in the Dirt Mile. Ted Noffey, trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velasquez, won the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile in 1:42.25.
“This is hard to take for a good man and a family like the Gasaways, I would say first,” Cooper said. “… It appears there was absolutely nothing wrong. What they said about Mystik Dan was normal wear-and-tear. Both horses were on the best of their game. I guarantee you 99.9 percent of all trainers would say Mystik Dan (being scratched) is really unfair.”
Online horse industry site the Paulick Report reported in a Wednesday article the team includes 21 regulatory veterinarians from around the world and is co-led by Drs. Will Farmer and Debbie Lamparter. Runners in both the Breeders’ Cup and undercard races undergo a minimum of two stall-side exams as well as daily on-track, jog-up exams in the stable area and racing surfaces, according to the report.
Contact information for the vet team was not immediately available.
“Horses are treated like porcelain dolls, every day, all day long,” Cooper said. “They are taken care of all day long and all night long. They’re fed like kings and queens, looked after by vets who understand what’s going on.”