Friday's program at Churchill Downs had two no contests declared in the first eight races.
In the fourth race, no contest was declared after Zippy Baby with Ricardo Santana Jr. up crashed through the temporary inner rail on the turf course shortly after the start of the 1 1/16-miles claiming event.
Zippy Baby, a 3-year-old gelding trained by Michael Maker, broke from the inside stall and was in tight quarters when he hit the rail. As Santana was thrown from his mount, Zippy Baby plowed through the rail for several more strides before continuing to run down the course inside of the temporary barrier.
On the backstretch, as Zippy Chippy was running riderless in front of the field, track announcer Travis Stone announced the race had been stopped and the field was pulled up by their jockeys.
Pleased to share that jockey @RSantana_Jr was able to walk off the turf course after a scary few moments. Race 4 is a no contest.
— Travis Stone (@TravisStone) June 4, 2021
Santana returned to ride in the fifth race and promptly won with a late rally aboard Cool Papa G for trainer Steve Asmussen. He is scheduled to be in New York Saturday to ride the Belmont Stakes program, including France Go de Ina in the main event.
In the eighth-race, a third-level allowance/optional claimer on the main track, a no contest was declared after Cummings appeared to break through the starting gate, which triggered a staggered start for the remainder of the field.
