LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bob Baffert is feeling the pressure now. Baffert, the trainer with five Kentucky Derby winners, finds himself with a new favorite – Game Winner – after Omaha Beach was scratched with a breathing problem.

“Oh, boy, here we go,” Baffert said Thursday to a throng outside his Churchill Downs barn. “I think everybody is trying to jinx me. It’s still a very wide-open race.”

The Derby possibly could lose another horse, too.

Haikal, a 30-1 shot trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, is being treated for an abscess in his left front foot. Haikal, the Gotham Stakes winner, didn’t train Thursday and soaked in Epsom salts to reduce the accumulation of pus in his infected foot.

If Haikal can’t train again Friday, he’ll be out of the race, McLaughlin said. The deadline to scratch is Friday morning.

No matter how much he tries to deflect the attention, Baffert holds a strong hand heading into Saturday’s race. Game Winner is the 9-2 early favorite, and his two other horses, Improbable and Roadster, are the co-second choices at 5-1.

A sixth victory would tie him for the most wins by a trainer in the Derby’s 145-year history.

“I don’t think there’s a heavy-duty favorite now,” Baffert insisted.

Instead he tried to steer the media to Jason Servis, who trains Maximum Security, the Florida Derby winner who’s a 10-1 shot.

“He should be the favorite,” Baffert said. “He’s a horse that nobody is talking about and that’s a horse that I’m worried about. He’s run faster than we have. Put the pressure on Jason, will you?”

Servis empathized with trainer Richard Mandella and 78-year-old owner Rick Porter, their Derby hopes dashed when Omaha Beach was scratched. But he was glad to see jockey Mike Smith, 53, knocked out of the race. Smith, a Hall of Famer, is a crafty rider who won a year ago with Justify.

“I was really happy about that, especially having him outside of me,” said Servis, alluding to Smith’s ability on Omaha Beach to have possibly prompted Maximum Security into a quicker than desirable early pace.

Baffert said he gave no thought to replacing Florent Geroux aboard Roadster with Smith, who initially chose to ride Omaha Beach over Roadster in the Derby.

“I would never do that to the riders,” he said, having started in racing as a jockey.

Meanwhile, Omaha Beach had surgery Thursday to fix an entrapped epiglottis that affects his breathing. The minor procedure, at a nearby clinic, will require two to three weeks of recovery, enough time to knock the colt off the Triple Crown trail. He’s expected to race this summer.

“As bad as it felt (Thursday), it would be a horrible feeling to have him not finish well and know that I was at fault for running him,” Mandella said. “So we had to do the right thing by the horse, and that is give it up and go to the next step.”

Arthur Hanock, a prominent owner and breeder, was among the many who contacted Mandella to express sympathy. Hancock pointed out that the late training great Charlie Whittingham was 73 when he won his only Derby.

“So who I am to think I should be doing this now?” said Mandella, who is 68.

Baffert felt Mandella’s pain. In 2014 he had to scratch Hoppertunity because of a minor foot problem two days before the Derby.

“There’s nothing like coming to the Derby when you have a legitimate chance to win it and then all of a sudden the rug is just pulled out from under you,” Baffert said. “It’s a tough feeling.”

Certainly much tougher than saddling the top three wagering choices in the Derby.

Alluding to his 2012 heart attack in Dubai, Baffert assured onlookers he could handle the pressure.

“I got three stents and they’re good,” he said, patting his chest with both hands.

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