Tapit Jeanallie out of Kentucky Oaks 2024; Our Pretty Woman in field at Churchill Downs
On the eve of the 2024 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, contender Tapit Jeanallie has been scratched from the field.
The filly, owned by Willis Horton Racing LLC, has a hot spot on her hind hip and hasn't been feeling 100% this week, trainer Eddie Milligan Jr. told The Courier Journal.
Milligan jogged her Thursday morning at Churchill, a week removed from her last breeze, and decided she wasn't feeling up for the $1.5 million, Grade 1 stakes race.
"She's too nice of a filly to take a chance on hurting," Milligan said.
"We did what we could as far as chiropractors, acupuncture — all that," he added. "She's getting better, but there's no sense of running her and hurting her."
Tapit Jeanallie and jockey Emmanuel Esquivel drew Post 1 for the Kentucky Oaks and had morning-line odds of 30-1. Milligan's filly is 2-1-1 across six career starts.
Milligan said the plan is to rest Tapit Jeanallie for a month before beginning preparations for future races.
With Tapit Jeanallie out of the field, Our Pretty Woman will draw in from the also-eligible list and take the No. 15 spot in the starting gate Friday.
Our Pretty Woman, trained by Steve Asmussen, enters Friday's race with 40-1 odds and a record of 2-1-0 across three career starts. She and her jockey, Joel Rosario, are coming off a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks on March 23 in New Orleans.
Rosario, a newly elected Hall of Famer, has never won the Kentucky Oaks.
The winningest thoroughbred trainer in North America, Asmussen now has a chance to claim his third Oaks victory. The Hall of Famer's most recent win came in 2014 with Untapable. He also won in 2005 with Summerly.
His son, Keith, is making his Kentucky Oaks debut as the jockey of Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas' Lemon Muffin.
A 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old fillies, the Kentucky Oaks has an approximate post time of 5:51 p.m. Friday and will be the 11th of 13 races that day.
It will air on USA Network. It's also available to stream via NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.
Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Our Pretty Woman in Kentucky Oaks field after Tapit Jeanallie scratch
