LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 3 (UPI) -- Midway Road, the horse that finished second in the Preakness, will not run in Saturday's Belmont Stakes.
Trainer Neil Howard has confirmed that the son of Jade Hunter would skip the Belmont Stakes in favor of a run in the Grade III $300,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown on June 21.
"We feel like this is the best thing for our horse," said Howard. "We didn't know if it would be the smartest thing right now to take him up there and go a mile and a half against those kind of horses right now, especially a horse like Funny Cide."
Bred in Kentucky, Midway Road took a huge leap in class at the Preakness after posting an 11 3/4-length win in an allowance race at Keeneland on April 24.
While the colt was second, he was still 9 3/4 lengths behind Funny Cide, which try to become the 12th horse to win the coveted Triple Crown when he competes in the Belmont Stakes.
Also withdrawing from the Belmont is Outta Here, which finished seventh in the Preakness, and was considered a long shot.
"I didn't want to sink my teeth into another man's pie," trainer and part-owner Bill Currin told the New York Daily News.
