NEW YORK -- Quality Road has a quarter crack in his right hind hoof, putting in doubt his status for the Kentucky Derby on May 2.
The Daily Racing Form reported on its Web site Monday that the Florida Derby winner galloped at Belmont Park and came back to the barn with blood dripping from his foot.
Trainer Jimmy Jerkens said that he is "very concerned" about the problem but that it's premature to say the colt won't run in the Derby.
Quality Road is the second major Derby contender to encounter a problem.
The Pamplemousse, one of the West Coast's leading 3-year-olds, was scratched from last Saturday's Santa Anita Derby because of a lesion in his left front leg. He's expected to be out at least six months.
Jerkens said he discovered the quarter crack in the winner's circle after Quality Road won the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 28.
Quarter cracks can bleed and make a horse lame. Movement and stress on the hoof can spread the crack and prevent it from healing. Quarter cracks can come from a genetic disposition that causes a thin hoof wall.
"The fact that he's not lame from it is a good thing," Jerkens told the Daily Racing Form. "He galloped this morning and he was absolutely sound on it, but it did trickle a little blood, which means there's still some friction going on in there. We have to get that inflammation out before we do anything."
Hoof specialist Ian McKinlay, who famously worked on Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown's quarter crack last year, is tending to Quality Road.
McKinlay replaced a previous patch with a special shoe last Friday, then on Sunday he put in a set of wires to stabilize the crack.
Jerkens said Quality Road could still run in the Derby if the colt is able to complete two workouts before he's scheduled to leave New York on April 28 for Louisville, Ky.