Pletcher running No Word and Mo Spending in Belmont Derby

ELMONT, N.Y. – While trainer Todd Pletcher opted to skip the Preakness, he will still have plenty of action with his 3-year-old division Saturday as he entered a pair in the Grade 1, $250,000 Belmont Derby Invitational. The 1 1/4-mile turf race offers a fees-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

No Word finished third behind Domestic Spending and Gufo in the Saratoga Derby, and will look to turn the tables on those two in the Belmont Derby.

“Great trip, great run up the fence, just couldn’t quite get there,” Pletcher said of No Word’s half-length defeat in the Saratoga Derby.

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Pletcher also entered Mo Ready, a son of Uncle Mo who is coming out of a first-level allowance win against New York-breds at Saratoga on Aug. 15.

“Ambitious placing, but I would give [owner] Mike Repole all the credit should we succeed,” Pletcher said.

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Pletcher was originally planning to start Farmington Road in the Belmont Derby. That horse, however, is now more likely to run in the Grade 2, $200,000 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita on Oct. 18.

The Belmont Derby field also includes Pixelate, whom Maryland-based trainer Mike Stidham successfully shipped cross country to win the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby; Moon Over Miami, the Dueling Grounds Derby winner at Kentucky Downs; South Bend; Ajourneytofreedom; and Venezuelan Hug.