Horse racing-Skinner becomes fourth horse scratched from Kentucky Derby

May 5 (Reuters) - Skinner, the bay colt trained by John Shirreffs, has become the fourth horse scratched from Saturday's Kentucky Derby, bringing the field for the first leg of U.S. thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown down to 19, Churchill Downs said on Friday.

C R K Stable's Skinner was scratched because of an elevated temperature after having galloped a mile strongly during a training session early on Friday.

Skinner was a fast-closing third in his most-recent outing, the Santa Anita Derby in early April, and was seen as a serious contender for the Kentucky Derby. He had been scheduled to be handled by California's top rider, Juan Hernandez.

The announcement comes a day after Lord Miles, Practical Move and Continuar were also scratched from the field, each for varying reasons. The last time four horses were scratched from the Kentucky Derby was 2015 when 22 horses entered the race.

Lord Miles was scratched after Churchill Downs suspended the bay colt's trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. following the death of two of his horses at the property ahead of the Kentucky Derby.

Tim Yakteen's Practical Move was removed from the field with an elevated temperature while Continuar, who was one of two Japanese chestnut colts in the field, was scratched as trainer Yoshito Yahagi said the horse failed to reach peak fitness. (Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)