Bottle of Rouge scratches from Oaks; Lovely Grey draws in

Bottle of Rouge will not run in Friday's Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks 2026 at Churchill Downs after coughing Sunday morning.

Her defection opens a spot for Lovely Grey, who moved off the also-eligible list to fill out the 14-horse field. Nycon now sits first on the also-eligible list, with Resist second.

Owned by Natalie Baffert, Bottle of Rouge had been one of the more accomplished fillies in the lineup. The 3-year-old daughter of Vino Rosso arrived off back-to-back stakes wins, taking the Sunland Park Oaks on Feb. 15 and the Virginia Oaks at Colonial Downs on March 14. She owns a record of 6: 4-1-0 with $577,000 in earnings, headlined by a victory in last year's Del Mar Debutante (G1). Mike Smith was named to ride from post 8.

Lovely Grey gives trainer Kelsey Danner a Kentucky Oaks starter. The Vekoma filly, who races for Dave Portnoy's Go Go Greys Stable, was second in the Bourbonette Oaks at Turfway Park on March 21 in her most recent outing. Her career mark stands at 7: 1-2-1 with $148,668 in earnings, with three starts on synthetic and three on turf.

Friday's Oaks will be Lovely Grey's first try on a fast main track. Her lone previous dirt start came over a sloppy strip in a maiden race at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Dylan Davis is named to ride.