Buddha was scratched Friday morning.

Trainer Jim Bond announced early Friday morning that he had scratched the gray son of Unbridled's Song from Saturday's Derby because of an injured left foot.

"The horse came out of his stall this morning right before 5 o'clock and he was off in his left front leg," Bond said. "Our preliminary look shows more of a foot, possibly a bruised foot right now. We're going to do what's best in the interest of the horse and wait for another day.

"It's very disappointing for my clients and myself but Buddha will have another day."

Buddha, who is owned by Gary and Mary West, has won three of his four career starts, including all three this year. His speed figures are among the best of the Triple Crown contenders, and although no horse with only four starts has won the Derby since 1918, he was given a realistic chance to end the streak. Jockey Pat Day was optimistic he could give him his second Derby win and his first in 10 years.

Bond said there was no indication of any problem until Friday morning.

Dr. Larry Bramlage said there was "no definite diagnosis" at a 2:30 p.m. news conference Friday. He said the injury could have been caused by stepping on a stone or twisting the soft tissue of the foot. Bramlage said that by 11 a.m., six hours after the ailment was discovered, Buddha was "still lame in the left foreleg but 50 percent better."

Bramlage said local anesthesia showed that the foot is part of the problem but that "there's nothing definite yet.

"If it's a bone problem, we would anticipate it would not have improved that fast ... It would make you think that it's a soft tissue problem, but that's just speculation."

Bramlage said bone scans would be done next week, and that until then it would not be possible to assess Buddha's chances of running in the Preakness on May 18.

Bond has never saddled a Derby runner, which made the late scratch even more upsetting.

"I always said I wouldn't come to the Derby unless I had a horse that could really run," he said. "I thought this was special. I thought this horse was going to be the horse...

"I always said if there's a bump, we wouldn't do it, and there's a bump in the road. The timing is terrible. Hopefully, we'll be back some day."

Buddha's scratch apparently had ended Day's streak of riding in every Derby since he sat out the 1983 race, but early Friday afternoon he picked up the mount on longshot Blue Burner, trained by Bill Mott and owned by George Steinbrenner. He replaces Corey Nakatani, who was shaken up Thursday in a spill at Hollywood Park.

Nakatani's personal physician diagnosed the jockey's injury as a "light concussion" Friday and urged the rider not to fly. Nakatani was suffering from slight dizziness when he woke up Friday.

Day said "his heart goes out to Bond. "I was as excited and enthusiastic about this horse as any I can remember coming up to this race. His race in the Wood was excellent, and he seemed to have the ability and intelligence to be a winner.

"I know James (Bond) is down there beating himself up, thinking what he could have done or should have done. But he did everything right. He did it all. It is just something beyond his control."