LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Likely favorite Eskendereya is out of the Kentucky Derby after trainer Todd Pletcher pulled the 3-year-old colt out of next weekend’s race because of swelling in his left front leg.
Eskendereya stamped himself as the horse to beat after romping to wins in the Fountain of Youth and the Wood Memorial by a combined 18 1/4 lengths.
He was scheduled to work at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning, but Pletcher opted to keep the muscular chestnut colt in the barn while sending his other Derby entries out on the track.
Pletcher said he detected something was “off” with the horse when he galloped on Saturday morning and later noticed swelling between the ankle and knee of the left front leg. It had worsened when Pletcher arrived at the barn Sunday morning.
U.S., Italy gain Fed Cup final
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Liezel Huber put the United States into the Fed Cup final with a 6-3, 6-1 doubles victory over Russia’s Elena Dementieva and Alla Kudryavtseva.
The Americans will meet defending champion Italy for the second straight year in the final Nov. 6-7 at an undetermined site in the U.S. The U.S. has won a record 17 times, the last coming in 2000.
Mattek-Sands beat Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in the second match to keep the U.S. title hopes alive in the best-of-five contest. Sixth-ranked Dementieva’s 7-6 (7-4), 0-6, 6-3 win over Melanie Oudin had put the Russians up 2-1.
Italy advanced to its fourth Fed Cup final in five years with a 5-0 victory over the Czech Republic.
• Kim Clijsters will be out for up to six weeks after tearing a muscle in her left foot during a Fed Cup singles match in Brussels.
• Spain’s Fernando Verdasco beat Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to win the Barcelona Open final for his second title this season.
Vinokourov wins cycling race
LIEGE, Belgium — Kazakhstan’s Alexander Vinokourov broke clear of Alexandr Kolobnev in a long sprint to the finish to win the 96th Liege-Bastogne-Liege cycling classic.
It was Vinokourov’s biggest victory since returning from a two-year suspension for blood doping. He won the 160-mile race, cycling’s oldest and one of its most prestigious, in 6 hours, 37 minutes, 48 seconds, holding a six-second gap over Russia’s Kolobnev, who was a world championship runner-up twice over the past three years.
Footnotes.
Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa avoided a suspension from the NHL for his hit from behind on Nashville Predators defenseman Dan Hamhuis on Saturday.
• Dwayne De Rosario had a goal and an assist, and O’Brian White also scored to give host Toronto FC a 2-0 MLS win over Seattle Sounders FC.
• ESPN’s broadcast of the NFL draft drew the most viewers ever. With the first two rounds held in prime time for the first time, ESPN’s three-day telecast had 3.7 million viewers, up 27 percent from 2009. The Associated Press
