Belmont Stakes runner-up to have ankle surgery

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Lexington, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Commissioner, the runner-up at last week's Belmont Stakes, will undergo a procedure to remove a small chip in his front left ankle. The chip was discovered on Monday.

"Commissioner was sent back to WinStar Farm on Sunday for a brief freshening before targeting the major late-summer 3-year-old races. The first day back he looked good, but on the second day he had some filling in his left ankle," said Elliott Walden, WinStar's President & CEO. "We took x-rays and discovered he had a small lateral P1 chip."

Dr. Larry Bramlage will remove the chip this week at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington. It is hoped the colt can return to racing later this year.

"It's always disappointing when you have a setback with such a talented and improving colt like Commissioner, especially with races like the Haskell and Travers around the corner. I believe he was set to have a big summer. But the good news is the chip is in a favorable spot, and we expect him to be back to 100 percent soon. We've always been very high on Commissioner, and he's only going to continue to get better and better," added Walden.

The Belmont was the second straight stakes that Commissioner finished second to Tonalist. The two colts were one-two in the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park last month.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Commissioner has earned $515,767 with two wins and three seconds in eight career starts.