LOUISVILLE, Ky. >> Rodriguez has been scratched from the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, leaving trainer Bob Baffert with one entry in his return to Churchill Downs after serving a three-year suspension.

Baffert made the decision Thursday, leaving fellow Hall of Famer Mike Smith without a mount in what would have been his record-extending 29th Derby start.

There was no immediate reason given for the scratch.

Baffert will saddle Citizen Bull, last year’s 2-year-old champion, in pursuit of a record-breaking seventh Derby win. The colt drew the dreaded No. 1 post and will be under pressure to break quickly before the rest of the field comes over on him.

With the defection of Rodriguez, Baeza will make the field of 20 3-year-olds. The colt has been on the grounds since last week training in the hopes he would get in. He is trained by John Shirreffs.

Baeza was runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby last month.

Pro basketball

Suns promote Gregory to GM >> The Phoenix Suns promoted Brian Gregory to general manager as part of a front office shakeup following one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history.

The team also said that former general manager James Jones will transition to the role of senior advisor. Oronde Taliaferro was promoted to assistant general manager and Paul Rivers will add basketball operations responsibilities to his role as chief innovation officer.

Gregory joined the Suns in 2023 and was most recently the vice president of player programming. He had a major role in the Suns selecting Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro in last year’s draft and both had promising moments during their rookie seasons.

Celtics’ Holiday wins NBA’s sportsmanship award >> Jrue Holiday of the Boston Celtics has won the NBA’s sportsmanship award for the second time, making him the fifth player in league history to win that trophy in multiple years.

Holiday received about 34% of the first-place votes cast by nearly 400 current NBA players to decide the award winner.

Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen finished second, Dallas’ Kyrie Irving was third, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was fourth, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dorian Finney-Smith was fifth and Orlando’s Franz Wagner was sixth.

Kings hire Christie >> The Sacramento Kings announced they have hired Doug Christie as their full-time head coach following an interim stint that ended with a loss in the play-in tournament.

The Kings announced the hiring in the first major decision made since Scott Perry was hired after the season as general manager. Christie will be formally introduced at a news conference on Friday.

Christie took over the Kings after Mike Brown was fired in late December and posted a 27-24 record in his interim stint.

Tennis

Gauff routs Swiatek to reach Madrid final >> Coco Gauff overpowered defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 to reach the Madrid Open singles final for the first time.

Gauff broke Swiatek’s serve three times in the first set and twice in the second to cruise to a 64-minute semifinal victory over the second-ranked Swiatek at the clay-court tournament.

Gauff will face top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-5 to reach the Madrid final for the fourth time in her career.

In the men’s quarterfinals, Casper Ruud advanced by defeating Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-5 to become the first player born in 1990 or later to reach 30 tour-level semifinals on clay.

The 15th-ranked Norwegian had been 0-3 against Medvedev in his career.

Ruud will next face Francisco Cerundolo, who rallied to defeat teenager Jakub Mensik 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.