Trainer Todd Pletcher said today that he and owner Frank Stronach have decided to skip the Preakness with undefeated Withers winner Harlem Rocker and instead point for the June 22 Queen's Plate, the opening race of Canada's Triple Crown series.

“I spoke to Mr. Stronach this morning and we’ve decided to take a conservative
approach,” Pletcher said. “We’re going to point toward the Queen’s Plate and we’ll look for some bigger races down the road.”

On a national teleconference May 9, Rick Dutrow, who trains Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, mentioned Harlem Rocker as the one horse that would concern him on Saturday.

"The only horse that I could have any kind of respect for going into the race would be (Todd's) white horse, Harlem Rocker," Dutrow said. "I mean I've seen him run last time and he looked very good, he's three for three. He's got a little buzz about him. And, you know, that's about as far as it goes as far as I see. If our horse can just get over the two-week thing and basically go out there and run the way he has been running, he's going to be tough to beat."

Big Brown galloped today and will do so again tomorrow before leaving Churchill Downs and arriving in Baltimore Wednesday afternoon.

Pletcher will be represented in the race by Behindatthebar, who had enough earnings to qualify for the Derby field but was withdrawn to allow for more time from his April 19 win in the Grade II Lexington.

Big Brown may face one of his Derby rivals, after all. Even with the defection of fifth-place finisher Recapturetheglory, who was pulled over the weekend due to a fever, the connections of Gayego are considering a Preakness rematch. You have to go all the way back to 1948 to find the last time a Derby winner (Citation) faced none of his Derby foes in the Preakness.

“I’m going to decide (Tuesday). We are going to have a meeting,” Gayego's trainer, Paulo Lobo, said from Southern California. “I’m going to track him in the morning, then we’ll make a decision.”

Winner of the Arkansas Derby, Gayego was 17th of 20 behind Big Brown in Louisville, never getting involved in a troubled trip.

“That’s the reason we are thinking about (the Preakness),” he said. “He’s very happy right now and he came back very sound.”

Grade III Holy Bull winner Hey Byrn boarded a van this morning at Calder Race Course in Florida bound for Baltimore, and is expected to arrive Tuesday morning. He was accompanied by stablemate Gottcha Gold, who's running in the Pimlico Special.

Canadian-based trainer Reade Baker, who'll saddle Kentucky Bear, plans to fly in for Wednesday's nationally televised post-position draw. Baker wanted to try Big Brown in the Derby, but his colt didn't have enough graded stakes earnings. Baker has shown no fear of the Derby winner.

“Were we handicapping any other race, the handicapper would say there’s a horse that carried 126 (pounds) and he’s going to run back in two weeks off a peak effort,” Baker said. “The wise guys would say he’s going to bounce. How come he can’t bounce now?’’

It is entirely possible Big Brown may bounce off the Derby, but still be good enough to beat these horses.

Among other Preakness horses, Giant Moon will work Tuesday or Wednesday at Belmont Park before shipping to Pimlico; trainer Graham Motion will van Icabad Crane from Fair Hill to Baltimore the morning of the race; Macho Again, trained by Dallas Stewart, will be on the same Wednesday flight from Louisville as Big Brown; Hall of Famer Bill Mott caught Riley Tucker, fitted with his new blinkers, going five furlongs in 1:04 today, though the Belmont clockers got him two seconds slower because Mott said they were watching a different horse; jockey Tyler Baze will work Tres Borrachos at Churchill Tuesday morning, and the colt will arrive in Baltimore the following day.