With two contenders scratched, Baeza is in the race and faces stiff competition from Journalism, to whom he was second in the Santa Anita. Here's what Baeza has to do.

Rodriguez, who opened at 12-1 but had seen his odds shorten to 6-1 as the week wore on, was scratched due to a bruised foot by trainer Bob Baffert on Thursday evening. In his place, Baeza will draw into the field.

Bob Baffert was all set to have two horses in the 2025 Kentucky Derby with Rodriguez and Citizen Bull. But now, he'll have just one in the race at Churchill Downs. Why is that? It's because Rodriguez was scratched from the race on Thursday afternoon due to a bruised foot, as co-owner Tom Ryan wrote on that day on X (formerly Twitter).