Report: Peter Pan runner-up McAfee will return in Ohio Derby

McAfee, who finished second behind Hill Road in the Grade 3 Peter Pan on May 10, will point to the Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown on June 21 for his next start.

McAfee will not press on to the Belmont alongside Peter Pan winner Hill Road, according to a report from David Grening of Daily Racing Form on Monday. Jake Ballis, managing partner of McAfee's co-owner Black Type Thoroughbreds, said the Belmont Stakes is turning up too tough for the horse at this point in his career though he is optimistic that he will continue to develop.

It would also cost McAfee's connections a $50,000 nomination fee to run in the Belmont Stakes, since he was not nominated to the Triple Crown.

McAfee is a 3-year-old colt by Cloud Computing out of the Uncle Mo mare Sataves. This makes him a half-brother to reigning horse of the year Thorpedo Anna. The Rick Dutrow trainee has a 5: 1-2-0 record so far, with $150,880 in earnings. The lone win came on debut in an auction-restricted maiden special weight at Churchill Downs in November.

In two graded-stakes starts before the Peter Pan, McAfee ran fifth in both the Gotham (G3) and the Wood (G2). His hard-fought second in the Peter Pan, three quarters of a length behind the late-running Hill Road, was his first stakes placing.