With Sanford dropped from schedule, Prisoner will have to wait for the Saratoga Special

ELMONT, N.Y. – In a normal world, Prisoner would have went from his impressive maiden win on June 3 to the Sanford Stakes at Saratoga on opening weekend.

This year, however, the Grade 3 Sanford was not scheduled by the New York Racing Association, owing to a lack of 2-year-old maiden races at the Belmont meet. Thus, Prisoner will be forced to wait for the Grade 2, $150,000 Saratoga Special on Aug. 7.

On Friday, Prisoner worked a half-mile in 50.15 seconds with the unstarted 2-year-old maiden Walden Pond.

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Prisoner won his debut by 4 3/4 lengths, earning an 85 Beyer Speed Figure. Garappolo, fourth in that race, came back to win his maiden in Friday’s opener.

Trainer Todd Pletcher said he was “caught off guard” by the cancellation of the Sanford, so he backed off in Prisoner’s training, skipping a workout last week.

Starting in 1913, the Sanford had been run 105 times through last year. It was not run in 1961 or 2005.