West -- A leg injury will prevent Padua Stable's unbeaten 2-year-old champion and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) winner Vindication from competing in the 129th Kentucky Derby (Grade I) and the Visa Triple Crown.

Vindication's unbeaten juvenile season had made him a solid early favorite for the May 3 "Run for the Roses" at Churchill Downs.

The Bob Baffert-trained son of 1977 Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew was taken out of training following the discovery of an injury to his left front suspensory ligament. Vindication had been suffering from a small foot bruise after a recent workout at Santa Anita and Padua general manager Nadia Sanan, the daughter of Padua owner Satish Sanan, said the problem with the ligament was discovered in a precautionary ultrasound examination of the colt's leg.

Nadia Sanan told The Blood-Horse's Steve Haskin that another ultrasound will be performed in 60 days and the full nature of the injury won't be known until then.

"Vindication has been in the hearts of many of his fans and the racing public," she said. "That is why we are being so open about what is going on from the beginning."

Baffert told Haskin that the discovery of the ligament problem was made by accident.

"He had been moving a little choppy from the foot bruise and we had been fighting that," he said. "We took the scan just to make sure everything was all right and noticed a suspicious spot on the suspensory, indicating there was some trauma."

The trainer said the injury appeared to be responding to treatment, but any recovery would come too late for the $2.15 million yearling purchase to make the May 3 Kentucky Derby.

"We're still in denial," said Baffert. "The highs in this game are really high, but the lows are horrible."

Many early favorites for the Kentucky Derby have failed to make it to Churchill Downs over the years, but Vindication's defection continues two remarkable streaks. The last 2-year-old champion to win the Derby was Spectacular Bid in 1979 and no winner in the 19-year history of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile has returned to win the Kentucky Derby six months later.

Juddmonte Farm's regally-bred Empire Maker -- a highly-regarded, but still unproven member of this year's 3-year-old crop -- will attempt to take a major step on the road to the Kentucky Derby in Friday's $75,000 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita.

The son of 1990 Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled, who appears to offer the best chance for sizzling Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel to win his first Kentucky Derby, is a strong favorite in a promising field of seven 3-year-old Thoroughbreds in the 1 1/8-mile race.

It will be the first outing for Empire Maker since a disappointing third-place finish to major Derby contender Toccet in the Remsen (GII) at Aqueduct in late November. Jerry Bailey has flown from his winter base at Florida's Gulfstream Park to ride Frankel's colt.

The Sham, which is named for Secretariat's 1973 Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown rival, has also attracted a pair of Bob Baffert trainees with stakes credentials in Truckle Feature and Spensive. The former ran third to Sky Mesa in last year's Lane's End Breeders' Futurity (GII) and the latter won the Gold Rush Stakes at Golden Gate Fields and finished fourth in the Golden Gate Derby (GIII).

Others in the field include recent Santa Anita winners Ten Most Wanted and Storm Gulch.

n Irving and Marjorie Cowan's Ministers Wild Cat, a rising star in the Southern California contingent of Kentucky Derby hopefuls, will travel to Northern California Sunday in search of his first stakes victory.

The Deputy Minister colt, who romped to his first career victory in his most recent start at Santa Anita, will run in the Golden State Derby at Golden Gate Fields. Ministers Wild Cat is trained by Neil Drysdale, who won the 2001 Kentucky Derby with Fusaichi Pegasus, and figures to be a solid favorite in a field of eight.

East -- Star Track Farms' unbeaten Grey Comet will attempt to extend his unbeaten string in Saturday's $75,000 Whirlaway Stakes at New York's Aqueduct, but his spotless record was not enough to earn him the role of morning line favorite for the race.

The role goes to Sanford Goldfarb's Torre and Zim, a speedy colt named for New York Yankees manager Joe Torre and coach Don Zimmer. The Richard Dutrow, Jr.-trained Torre and Zim has won two-of-three career starts and is listed as the 2-1 choice for the 1 1/16-mile Whirlaway. He will be ridden by Chuck Lopez.

Grey Comet, who made the recent Count Fleet his fourth consecutive victory for trainer Gary Contessa, is listed as the 5-2 second choice and will be ridden by Aaron Gryder.

Others in the field include Go Rockin' Robin, who finished third to Grey Comet in the Damon Runyon Stakes, and Boston Park, who invades from Florida for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

Walter Wienkowitz's favored Gimmeawink will be searching for his first stakes victory in Saturday's $50,000 Miracle Wood Stakes at Laurel Park. The Tim Ritchey-trained colt will be ridden by Jeremy Rose as he faces eight rivals in the 1 1/16-mile contest.

Gimmeawink joins Formidable Fox among horses that were cross-entered in the Whirlaway at Aqueduct, but the former is expected to run at Laurel. The Kentucky-bred son of the hot young sire Elusive Quality ran second in the Dancing Count at Laurel last time out and is the 3-1 morning line favorite for the Miracle Wood.

Southeast -- A leg injury has taken Holy Bull Stakes (GIII) runner-up Powerful Touch out of training and off the Kentucky Derby trail.

Trainer Ken McPeek said Stronach Stable's son of Touch Gold would be out of training for at least 60 days following the discovery of a possible problem in the colt's right hind pastern. McPeek said the colt had been favoring his right front foot and X-rays revealed a potential injury, so the conservative approach was taken and the colt was sent to the sidelines.

"We don't want to mess him up," McPeek told the Daily Racing Form. "We decided that the conservative course is best, especially if we want to have a future with this horse."

McPeek still has a major Kentucky Derby contender in his barn in Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Ten Cents A Shine, who will run next in either the Fountain of Youth (GI) or the Florida Derby (GI) at Gulfstream Park.

The field for the Feb. 15 Fountain of Youth now includes recent allowance winners Midway Cat and Conservation, but Funny Cide -- fourth in the Holy Bull -- will miss the race because of a respiratory infection.

Midwest -- Two of the hottest trainers in racing -- Bobby Frankel and Todd Pletcher -- will send horses to the Fair Grounds for next week's Risen Star (GIII).

Frankel has chosen that race to assess the Kentucky Derby potential of Peace Rules, the winner of the Generous Stakes on the grass at Hollywood Park. Pletcher will send Indy Dancer, an unbeaten son of A.P. Indy to New Orleans for the 1 1/16-mile race.

A pair of unbeaten local rivals -- Seattle Hoofer and Badge of Silver -- will greet that pair in the race.

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