Beholder Will Not Run in 2015 Breeders' Cup Classic

One of the top choices in the Breeders' Cup Classic is officially out of the running as Beholder was scratched from the field Thursday.

According to Jonathan Lintner of the Courier-Journal, the five-year-old mare will not run in Saturday's high-stakes race due to what trainer Richard Mandella described as "irritated tissue in her lung."

The Breeders' Cup's official Twitter account later confirmed the withdrawal.

Eric Crawford of WDRB provided further comments from Mandella regarding his decision to pull one of the top contenders from the race:

After the move was announced, Ed Zieralski of the San Diego Union-Tribune was among those to praise Mandella for taking a cautious approach:

Beholder looked strong in her morning gallop Thursday, as seen in this video courtesy of TVG, but the irritated tissue caused bleeding:

The field is now even more wide open for Triple Crown winner American Pharoah as Beholder previously had the second-best odds to win, per Lintner.

Beholder had drawn the far outside post at No. 10, and she was looking to become the first horse to win three different Breeders' Cup races after previously prevailing in the Juvenile Fillies and Distaff, according to Ed McNamara of New York Newsday.

Beholder was set to enter the race having won six starts in a row and 10 of her last 11, but now that she is out of the picture, Keen Ice may be American Pharoah's closest competition.

Keen Ice upset American Pharoah at the Travers Stakes in August and will start from the No. 2 slot.

A duel between Beholder and American Pharoah is something that many horse racing enthusiasts were looking forward to, and while that won't happen Saturday, Mandella's responsible decision leaves the door open for Beholder to continue competing in the future.

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