Highland Sky headed to Secretariat

ELMONT, N.Y. – Highland Sky, the runner-up to Deauville in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby, will be pointed to the Grade 1, $450,000 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park on Aug. 13, trainer Barclay Tagg said Friday.

Tagg said the 1 1/4 miles of the Secretariat is more appealing to him than the 1 1/16 miles of the Grade 2, $200,000 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 5.

“He needs all that,” Tagg said of the distance.

Tagg also likes the extra eight days that Highland Sky will have from the Belmont Derby to the Secretariat.

“I’d rather have a little more time with this horse, especially with the heat,” Tagg said. “His last two races have been really hard on him.”

Prior to the Belmont Derby, Highland Sky finished second to Camelot Kitten in the Pennine Ridge Stakes.