Verrazano to train up to Dirt Mile

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Elmont, NY (Sports Network) - When post positions were drawn on Monday for the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing, missing from the field was Haskell Invitational winner Verrazano.

Co-owned by Let's Go Stable, Verrazano was not entered in the 1 1/8-mile PA Derby and will not start until the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita on Saturday, Nov. 2.

The 3-year-old, trained by Todd Pletcher, was expected to start in the PA Derby on Saturday after a seventh-place finish in the Travers at Saratoga on Aug. 24.

"Verrazano got a beautiful trip," Pletcher said after the Travers. "He slipped behind and dropped way back, not his characteristic spot. Mike (jockey Mike Smith) thought he was much the best; the break killed him. It's horse racing. We would have liked to have won it, but we've had a great meet and we're not going to cry about it. We'll regroup and try again."

Verrazano was unraced in 2012, but has won six of eight starts this year including wins in the Tampa Bay Derby and Wood Memorial. The colt has earned $1,556,300.