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Japanese horse Epicharis treated for lameness before Belmont

Belmont Stakes hopeful Epicharis grazes outside his barn with assistant trainer Masaaki Minamida at Belmont Park, Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Elmont, N.Y. Epicharis, who is in the field of 12 for the 149th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race on Saturday, did not train Thursday and was treated for lameness. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Belmont Stakes hopeful Epicharis grazes outside his barn with assistant trainer Masaaki Minamida at Belmont Park, Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Elmont, N.Y. Epicharis, who is in the field of 12 for the 149th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race on Saturday, did not train Thursday and was treated for lameness. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) Belmont Stakes hopeful Epicharis grazes outside his barn with assistant trainer Masaaki Minamida at Belmont Park, Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Elmont, N.Y. Epicharis, who is in the field of 12 for the 149th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race on Saturday, did not train Thursday and was treated for lameness. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

By Associated Press 4 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – The mystery surrounding the Japanese horse that is the early 4-1 second choice to win the Belmont Stakes has gotten deeper.

Epicharis didn’t train on Thursday, hours after the 3-year-old dark brown colt was treated with an anti-inflammatory for lameness in his right front hoof, calling into question whether he will be fit to run in Saturday’s final leg of the Triple Crown.

The Belmont already lost expected favorite Classic Empire on Wednesday because of an abscess in his right front hoof. The $1.5 million race also is without Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and Preakness winner Cloud Computing. A field of 12 is set to run the 1½-mile race, with Irish War Cry as the early 7-2 favorite.

Epicharis was treated intravenously with Butazolidin, commonly known as bute, on Wednesday night, according to veterinary records from the New York State Gaming Commission. The vet treating the horse cited “possible foot” as the issue.

“He looked a little different favoring his right front yesterday afternoon, so we treated his hoof and gave him bute,” trainer Kiyoshi Hagiwara said Thursday through a translator. “It looks like it’s getting better and I think there is no problem running him in the race. We still have time, so we will give him the best care we can.”