BALTIMORE – As Ride On Curlin walked behind California Chrome in the shed row of the Pimlico stakes barn Sunday morning, the irony of his place in the pecking order was not lost on trainer Billy Gowan.

“We’re still following him,” Gowan said as he led his Ride On Curlin in circles behind assistant trainer Alan Sherman and California Chrome.
Ride On Curlin chased California Chrome through the stretch of Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, having to settle for second-place, 1 1/2 lengths behind the Kentucky Derby winner.

BALTIMORE – As Ride On Curlin walked behind California Chrome in the shed row of the Pimlico stakes barn Sunday morning, the irony of his place in the pecking order was not lost on trainer Billy Gowan.

“We’re still following him,” Gowan said as he led his Ride On Curlin in circles behind assistant trainer Alan Sherman and California Chrome.
Ride On Curlin chased California Chrome through the stretch of Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, having to settle for second-place, 1 1/2 lengths behind the Kentucky Derby winner.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Commanding Curve on Friday recorded his first breeze since his runner-up finish in the Kentucky Derby, working a half-mile in 48 4/5 seconds over a “good” track at Churchill Downs as he prepares for the June 7 Belmont Stakes.

He breezed in company with the runner-up from the 2013 Derby, stablemate Golden Soul. The two were given identical times by track clockers.

“It was just easy – he showed good energy,” trainer Dallas Stewart said of Commanding Curve. “We’re focusing on the Belmont. He’ll have another work next week.”

ELMONT, N.Y. - It was a bit of an ugly start, but a good-looking finish for Tonalist, who established himself as a prime contender for the June 7 Belmont Stakes with a four-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at sloppy Belmont Park.

Commissioner, third in the Sunland Derby, finished second by 2 1/4 lengths over the maiden Irish You Well. He was followed, in order, by Tapicero, Our Caravan, and Fabulous Kid, who was eased across the wire.

ELMONT, N.Y. - LL Cool J, Frank Sinatra Jr., and former New York Yankees centerfielder Bernie Williams headline the musical acts that will perform at the June 7 Belmont Stakes, the New York Racing Association announced on Friday.

Musicians from the United States Military Academy will also be at the track and there will be a performance from the Tony-Award winning Broadway musical “Wicked.”

LL Cool J, a two-time Grammy Award winning singer and a star on the CBS drama “NCIS: Los Angeles” will perform two songs between the running of the Manhattan and the Belmont Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Familiar combatants in turf stakes, trainers Christophe Clement and Jimmy Toner will square off in a graded stakes on dirt Saturday, when both send out runners in the Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park.

The combination of being stuck between the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and the biggest races of the weekend moved to Sunday to accommodate television, result in a light stakes schedule on Saturday. The only two graded races of the day are the Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park, and the Grade 3, $100,000 Lazaro Barrera Stakes at Santa Anita.

Peter Pan Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – Following Our Caravan’s 9 3/4-length victory in the Calder Derby on April 5, it would not have been surprising had his connections targeted the Preakness Stakes on May 17.

But owner Stuart Sobotnick and trainer Michael Dilger opted for the more conservative route and chose to run Our Caravan in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park.

Our Caravan is the only stakes winner among seven 3-year-olds entered Wednesday in the Peter Pan, the local prep for the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on June 7.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Candy Boy is a candidate for the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 7 following a troubled trip in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs last Saturday.

Candy Boy finished 13th in the Kentucky Derby after jockey Gary Stevens was forced to check the colt while racing in traffic on the first turn. After that incident, Candy Boy was last in the 19-horse field on the backstretch. He made some progress in the final half-mile but was beaten 12 lengths by winner California Chrome.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Christophe Clement had to surrender any Kentucky Derby aspirations he may have had with Tonalist when that 3-year-old got sick in late March, knocking him out of the Wood Memorial and any chance of qualifying for the Run for the Roses.

Back healthy again, Clement hopes Tonalist can catch the last leg of the Triple Crown, the June 7 Belmont Stakes, but must first get a good performance out of the Tapit colt in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont.