Afleet Alex enjoys another morning at Old Hilltop

Under the watchful eye of trainer Tim Ritchey, Preakness S. (G1) hero AFLEET

ALEX (Northern Afleet) jogged 1 1/2 miles, turned around and galloped

about 1 3/4 miles at Pimlico on Thursday.

"He jogged well, switched leads in his gallop and was a happy camper,"

Ritchey said. "Exercise rider (Salamon Diego) had a big smile when he pulled

up and said everything felt perfect."

Although there is no Triple Crown on the line this year, the $1 million

Belmont S. (G1) on June 11 could serve as a rubber match between Afleet Alex and

Kentucky Derby (G1) winner GIACOMO (Holy Bull).

"He just has to run his race," Ritchey added. "Being it is a mile and a half

he has to sit back and relax like he normally does and make that big burst the

last three-eighths of a mile."

Ritchey plans on training his charge twice on Friday. On Saturday, the bay is

scheduled to jog at Old Hilltop before vanning to New York.

In other news:

Alex's Lemonade Stand for Pediatric Cancer Research raised $18,000 at two

locations at Pimlico last Saturday. The connections of Afleet Alex donate a

percentage of the horse's winnings to the charity, and earlier this week,

Huckleberry Farm, another client of Ritchey, donated $10,000.

"Fasig-Tipton had a stand at the Timonium sale Monday and I know they raised

a significant amount of money as well," Ritchey said. "I hope we can get what we

want accomplished on Belmont day and that is to have a lemonade stand at every

racetrack that runs that day. It would be a great story."

Pimlico is committed to having a stand on Belmont day.

NBC Sport's television broadcast of the 130th running of the Preakness

averaged a 5.1/13 national rating/share, down from last year, but up slightly

from the same figures for 2003.

The 5.1 rating dropped 16 percent from the 2004 broadcast, which earned a

6.1/15 rating/share. This year's rating is up 2 percent from 2003 when the

broadcast earned a 5.0/13.

NBC's five-year average rating for the Preakness is 5.5.