Sway Away eyes Peter Pan or Preakness

Sway Away, excluded from the Kentucky Derby when the race overfilled Wednesday morning, is now being considered for two alternative races: the Grade 2 Peter Pan at Belmont Park on May 14 or the Grade 1 Preakness at Pimlico on May 21, trainer Jeff Bonde said.

Before making a decision on which race might be next, “I’ll have to speak to my clients first,” Bonde said late Wednesday morning.

Sway Away, fourth in the Arkansas Derby on April 16, lacked the graded stakes earnings of other entrants and needed an early Wednesday morning defection to get into the race, something that did not materialize.

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The Churchill Downs communications department announced at least 22 horses were entered in the Derby, and with the field size capped at 20, the criterion for entry is highest graded stakes earnings. Sway Away and Ruler On Ice, the other excluded horse, ranked 21st and 22nd based on that criterion.

Bonde still has a starter in the Derby in longshot Twice the Appeal, who won the Sunland Derby. He will be ridden by Calvin Borel.