Kentucky Derby winner Country House to get extended break

Published Jun. 16, 2019 6:06 p.m. ET

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Derby winner Country House is getting an extended break and likely won't race again until 2020.

Trainer Bill Mott says the colt isn't expected to race again as a 3-year-old. He says Country House hasn't shown the same eagerness to train as he had leading up to the Kentucky Derby, after which he was treated for an illness.

That caused the colt to miss the Preakness and Belmont stakes, the final two legs of the Triple Crown series.

Mott says there isn't enough time to train Country House in preparation for the Travers Stakes this summer or Breeders' Cup this fall, so he'd rather give him extra time and race him as a 4-year-old.

Mott made his comments during NBC Sports' coverage of the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs on Saturday night.

Country House was declared the Derby winner after first-place finisher Maximum Security was disqualified for interference.