Surgery Knocks Qualify Out of Kentucky Derby

Qualify, winner of the Del Mar Futurity and second to Capote in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last year, will miss the Kentucky Derby and probably the rest of this year’s Triple Crown races after undergoing stomach surgery this week.

Michael Steppe, the veterinarian who performed the operation on Qualify after he became ill Wednesday, said the colt is weak from weight loss and will be kept under observation for at least another 24 hours.

Steppe estimated that Qualify might be sidelined for six months.