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Beholder, Expected to Challenge American Pharoah, Scratched From Breeders’ Cup

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Beholder’s bid to join Zenyatta as the only females to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic ended before it began.

An endoscopic examination revealed bleeding in Beholder’s lung, and she will be scratched from Saturday’s $5 million Classic, her trainer, Richard Mandella, said Thursday.

“We can’t put her under the pressure of a race,” he said at a news conference.

Beholder, the second choice in the morning line at 3-1 behind the Triple Crown champion American Pharoah at 6-5, spiked a fever after shipping to Keeneland Race Course from the West Coast on Oct.