Favored Steppenwolfer Out of Virginia Derby

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Steppenwolfer, the 7-2 morning line favorite for Saturday's $1-million Virginia Derby (gr. IIT) at Colonial Downs, has been scratched after spiking a fever.

Trainer Danny Peitz told the Hampton Roads Daily Press that the high temperature was not serious enough to pose any long-term concerns but was enough for him not to ship the colt to Virginia from his Belmont Park base.

Steppenwolfer, who finished third in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and fourth in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), would have been making his second start on grass in the Virginia Derby, which will now have an 11-horse field.

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