Hard Not to Like, Talmada Out of F&M Turf

Speedway Stable's Hard Not to Like and Sheikh Ahmed al Maktoum and Darley Stud Management's Talmada have been scratched from the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (gr. IT), Breeders' Cup officials said the morning of Oct. 31.

Hard Not to Like was scratched by trainer Christophe Clement, while Talmada was scratched by the stewards for unauthorized administration of furosemide, also called Lasix or Salix, by a private veterinarian.

"Unfortunately, when she trained this morning and was on her way back, she coughed a few times," Clement said of Hard Not to Like. "And she coughed again in the shedrow, so we're not comfortable with that."

Hard Not to Like, by Hard Spun  , had been listed at 10-1 on the morning line. Hard Not to Like last raced in the Sept. 26 Rodeo Drive Stakes (gr. IT) at Santa Anita Park.

Talmada, second in the E.P. Taylor Stakes (Can-IT) Oct. 18 at Woodbine, had drawn in from the also-eligible list for the Filly & Mare Turf after the earlier scratch of Bawina. Elektrum was an earlier scratch.

According to Racing Post, state veterinarian Will Farmer said Talmada was scratched because the anti-bleeder medication Lasix was administered by a private veterinarian; only state-employed vets can administer the medication.

"At some point after the administration had been complete I believe the private practicing veterinarian realixed there may have been an issue," Farmer told the publication. "I was contacted and at that point I alerted security and had them involved as well as the stewards.

"He is a veterinarian who has been treating the horses since they arrived here in the United States. That was perfectly fine, it was just the Lasix administration that wasn't."

The scratches leave a field of 10 for the 1 3/16-mile event.