Peter Pan Stakes 2024
With renovations ongoing at Belmont Park, the Peter Pan Stakes at Aqueduct Race Track is even more of a prep race for the Belmont Stakes than in years past. The Peter Pan is a Grade 3 race run at 1 ⅛ miles, which is normally a good bit shorter than the Belmont, but this year’s Belmont Stakes is 1 1 ¼ miles because it will be run at Saratoga.
This is considered the “local” prep race for the final leg of the Triple Crown and does have a field of seven horses this year for the Saturday, May 12 race with a 3:08 p.m. ET post time as Race 6 of 11 in the program.
Peter Pan Stakes 2024 Entries, Horses, Jockeys, and Trainers:
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Protective | T. Pletcher | I. Ortiz Jr. | 8-1 |
| 2 | Unique Insight | C. Brown | E. Cancel | 8-1 |
| 3 | The Wine Steward | M. Maker | L. Saez | 5-2 |
| 4* | Lonesome Boy | H. Padilla | A. Bowman | 20-1 |
| 5* | Tuscan Gold | C. Brown | F. Prat | 2-1 |
| 6 | Antiquarian | T. Pletcher | J. Velazquez | 6-1 |
| 7 | Deterministic | C. Clement | J. Rosario | 5-1 |
| 8 | Native Land | R. Mott | J. Alvarado | 12-1 |
Note: Entries from NYRA.com as of Friday at 1 p.m. ET for Race 6 on Saturday.
* While Lonesome Boy and Tuscan Gold are still technically entered in this race, it is expected that neither will race. Lonesome Boy is also entered in the Long Branch Stakes at Monmouth Park and Tuscan Gold is pointed towards next week’s Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.
The odds will obviously change as those two horses get scratched. The Wine Steward will move to a smaller favorite, while the prices for the rest of the field should get a little bit shorter and tighter. Deterministic should be the clear second favorite.
Here are some thoughts on each horse at the odds at time of publish:
1. Protective (8-1): The first of two Todd Pletcher colts in the field, Protective draws the rail post for Irad Ortiz Jr., who gets the ride after Kendrick Carmouche rode to a show finish in the Wood Memorial last month. Pletcher is a four-time winner of this race and the son of Medaglia d’Oro and Grace Hall could be poised for a big run. His parents were 11-time stakes winners combined. This would make for one hell of a maiden and I think it’s possible with Ortiz in the mount.
2. Unique Insight (8-1): The son of Gun Runner and Raucous faces longish odds here, but 2024 has been good to Unique Insight. The stakes (pardon the pun) are raised here in the G3 Peter Pan, but Unique Insight won his maiden in February and followed up with a dominant performance at 1 ⅛ miles right here at Aqueduct in an April allowance. He’s a good early breaker and had no issues with the distance in two previous ‘24 starts. The difference here is a better cast of competitors, but a repeat of that April 12 performance could very well be good enough to win.
3. The Wine Steward (5-2): The most accomplished horse in this field is the Michael Maker colt with Luis Saez in the mount. The Wine Steward has three wins and two seconds in five career races, including a runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Futurity last year and a second in the G3 Lexington Stakes on a six-month layoff. The homegrown son of 2019 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Vino Rosso will be very popular in a race short on accolades.
4. Lonesome Boy (20-1): Without big-name connections and speed figures comparable to the rest of the field, Lonesome Boy looked like one of the few horses that can be tossed in the Peter Pan Stakes. The bloodline is thin here as well. Not surprisingly, Lonesome Boy will run the Long Branch Stakes at Monmouth Park instead.
5. Tuscan Gold (2-1): The morning line favorite will save his bullets for the Preakness at Pimlico next weekend. After a maiden win in February at Gulfstream Park, Tuscan Gold went to Fair Grounds and ran third in the Louisiana Derby. Kentucky Derby runners Catching Freedom and Honor Marie finished ahead of Tuscan Gold. Surely you’ll read about Tuscan Gold next week with our Preakness Stakes coverage.
6. Antiquarian (6-1): Pletcher’s other entry draws John Velazquez in the irons after finishing sixth in the G2 Louisiana Derby. That race was at 1 3/16 miles, so this one will be a bit longer. Antiquarian had a rough start to the LA Derby and faded with the distance. With the extra distance here, as impressive as the connections are, it’s a tough ask. The son of four-time New York stakes winner Preservationist and lightly-raced Lifetime Memory may get the benefit of the doubt with Pletcher and Velazquez, but I don’t see a board finish.
7. Deterministic (5-1): After a stellar performance in the one-mile Gotham Stakes, Deterministic was pointed towards the Wood Memorial. He finished eighth in a race that wound up being pretty unimpressive by time and speed. Traffic was a factor for rider Joel Rosario and he never seemed to find running room or a clear path. That was a 12-horse field and more physical of a race than we’re likely to see here. After being the odds-on favorite in the Wood, we might get a nice price here with some horseplayers having trust issues with the Christophe Clement’s lone entry.
8. Native Land (12-1): This will be the stakes debut for Native Land, who rides maiden and allowance wins at Oaklawn Park and Keeneland into this one. A win as a shipper had to be a positive sign for young trainer Riley Mott, son of legendary trainer Bill Mott. The 32-year-old Mott turns to Junior Alvarado here with a horse that has hit the board in all four races and seems okay with distance. It is a big step up in class, though, and a longer trip from the far outside.
Peter Pan Stakes Predictions
With Tuscan Gold out, this looks like a three-horse race to me. I do like Protective moving forward, but this is between Unique Insight, The Wine Steward, and Deterministic. The payouts will be suppressed a bit here when we go down to six horses and the odds get bunched up. For a nice, round number, we’ll call it $40 on this race.
$4 Win:
2 Unique Insight
Taking a shot on the longer shot straightaway here with a decent chance to win.
$3 Trifecta Key
Key 3, 2/7 ($18)
Key 7, 2/3 ($18)
Keying in the two most expected winners in what I do believe is a three-horse race as mentioned.
