NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mike Smith will not ride Kentucky Derby champion and Preakness runner-up Mine That Bird in the Belmont Stakes next month, his agent said Monday.
Calvin Borel rode the gelding in the Derby but Smith picked up the mount for the Preakness when Borel decided to ride the filly Rachel Alexandra.
Smith's agent, Brad Pegram, said the Hall of Fame jockey will ride Madeo in the Grade I Whittingham Stakes at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif., on the day of the Belmont in New York.
"We made this commitment to Madeo before the Preakness," Pegram told the Daily Racing Form.
The move opens the door for Borel to reclaim the mount if Rachel Alexandra does not ride in the mile-and-a-half (2.4 kms) Belmont on June 6.
Mine That Bird won the Derby by 6-3/4 lengths on May 2 but finished a length behind Rachel Alexandra in Saturday's $1.1 million (718,354 pound) Preakness at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course.
(Writing by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; Editing by John Mehaffey;