Kentucky Derby 2020: Finnick the Fierce drops out

One day ahead of the Kentucky Derby, fan favorite Finnick the Fierce has been pulled from the race.

Trainer and co-owner Rey Hernandez said, "he was not 100 percent how he trained this morning, had a little bit of a cough too. We're going to bring him home and evaluate him."

The decision was made to "play it safe for the horse," Hernandez said

"We could not find anything really obvious, so we're evaluating, and we'll see if we find anything."

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Asked whether the son of Dialed In might aim for the Preakness Stakes next, Hernandez said, "we'll go one day at a time, see how everything looks. If everything is 100 percent safe and everything is good, could be a possibility."

Finnick the Fierce, owned by Hernandez with veterinarian Dr. Arnaldo Monge, lost his right eye to a congenital cataract. In his last out, he finished seventh in the Blue Grass Stakes.

Though surely disappointed, Hernandez seemed to take the news in stride. "It's part of horse racing, part of life," he said. "It's better to be safe than sorry."