Brooklyn Strong's next race? To be determined

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - While admitting that he and his partner Mark Schwartz “are Derby dreaming just like everybody else” trainer Daniel Velazquez said he has yet to devise a plan for Remsen winner Brooklyn Strong’s 3-year-old campaign.

Brooklyn Strong, who beat Ten for Ten by a neck in Saturday’s Grade 2, $150,000 Remsen Stakes, returned to Delaware Park on Saturday night. He will soon transition to Parx Racing, where Velazquez will be based this winter.

Brooklyn Strong could return to Aqueduct for a race such as the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on Feb. 6, but Velazquez also mentioned the possibility of giving the horse a break and pointing to a race like the Grade 1, $800,000 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 27.

:: Start earning weekly cashback on your wagering today. Click to learn more.

Velazquez said his father, Alfredo Velazquez, has a few horses based at Gulfstream Park, and Daniel Velazquez could ship Brooklyn Strong to him a week or so out to prepare for the Florida Derby.

“We’re just going to take it day by day, race by race. We got to make sure he stays healthy and we got to make sure when he shows up to whatever race we point him towards that he shows up and wins, then we can figure out if we move forward to the Derby,” said Velazquez, who owns one-third of Brooklyn Strong. “Obviously, it seems like that’s what we’re going to do, but a lot of things have to go right from here to the Derby.”

Velazquez said he liked the grit Brooklyn Strong showed in reeling-in a loose-on-the-lead Ten for Ten in the Remsen.

“He likes to grind and I like that about him,” Velazquez said.

Brooklyn Strong, a New York-bred son of Wicked Strong, is now 3 for 4 including a win in the Sleepy Hollow Stakes for statebreds. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 93 for the Remsen.