The $1 million Rogers Woodbine Mile Stakes Sept. 14 anchors a fantastic “Turf Champions Day” card at Woodbine that boasts four Grade 1 stakes headlined by one of the most important races for turf milers in North America.

This Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” qualifying race for the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF has been won by star racehorses such as Leroidesanimaux, Shakespeare, Ventura, Wise Dan (twice), Tepin, World Approval, Modern Games, and Master of The Seas.

Modern Games in 2022 and Master of the Seas in 2023 both went on to secure victories in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, joining Wise Dan in 2012 and 2013 and World Approval in 2017 in sweeping the two races in the same season.

Woodbine’s Turf Champions Day card also features the $500,000 bet365 Summer Stakes, a “Win and You’re In” race for the Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf; the $500,000 Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes, a qualifying race for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf; and the $750,000 E. P. Taylor Stakes at 1 ¼ miles for fillies and mares.

The Turf Champions Day card will be televised live on FanDuel TV. Be sure to also tune in for livestream second-screen coverage from America’s Best Racing, which will host “Turf Champions Day LIVE!” on-site with analysis and special guests Saturday from Woodbine.

Read on for information about all eight of the Woodbine Mile contenders listed in post-position order with morning-line odds.

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1. Playmea Tune (12-1 morning-line odds)

Jockey: John Velazquez

Trainer: Josie Carroll

Owner: Chiefswood Stables

Career record: 3 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $103,658

Earnings per start: $34,553

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 111

Pedigree: Maclean’s Music – Fifth Overture, by Pulpit

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: While 3-year-old My Boy Prince might be the most interesting contender for the 2024 Woodbine Mile, Playmea Tune is undoubtedly the biggest wild card. The 4-year-old Maclean’s Music gelding has flashed elite ability in three lifetime starts – two wins at Woodbine and a runner-up finish there in his stakes debut in the Grade 3 Bold Venture Stakes Aug. 23 – but he also has never competed in a race on grass or one longer than 6 ½ furlongs. Playmea Tune’s speed figures indicate he’s fast enough to be a factor in the outcome if he handles the surface switch, added distance, and better competition in a Grade 1 race. That’s a lot of “ifs,” three if your counting, but I would be willing to give him a very long look at the right price. He’s stalked the pace in his three sprints on the all-weather Tapeta Footings track at Woodbine and could be positioned very close to the pace by Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, who has won this race a record five times with Riviera (2000), Leroidesanimaux (2005), Wise Dan (2012, 2013), and World Approval (2017).

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2. Naval Power (Even-money)

Jockey: William Buick

Trainer: Charles Appleby

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 9 starts – 6 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $594,549

Earnings per start: $66,061

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 109

Pedigree: Teofilo – Emirates Rewards, by Dubawi

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Naval Power hails from the powerful Godolphin barn for a trainer-jockey tandem that has dominated in recent years in North America, including victories in back-to-back editions of the Woodbine Mile. William Buick guided Godolphin’s Modern Games to a win in the 2022 Woodbine Mile for trainer Charles Appleby and the duo teamed to win the race a year ago with Godolphin’s Master of The Seas. When Appleby and Buick team up in North America, they have been exceptionally successful, winning with 18 of 39 starters since the start of 2021 with 18 graded stakes wins, including 15 in Grade 1 races. Appleby and Buick are not just coming over and winning at a 46% clip, they are doing so in the best turf races on this side of the Atlantic. Naval Power has raced twice in North America and finished second in both starts, coming up 2 ¼ lengths short of stablemate Master of The Seas in the Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes in April at Keeneland and a head shy of Program Trading after leading late in the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic May 4 at Churchill Downs. With six wins in his other seven starts between Europe and Dubai, Naval Power sure looks due for a win after being the bridesmaid twice in North America. He undoubtedly will be one of the betting favorites for his potent connections and should be viewed as a major win candidate.

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3. Secret Reserve (20-1)

Jockey: Leo Salles

Trainer: Michael Mattine

Owners: Carlo D’Amato and Stacey Van Camp

Career record: 26 starts – 6 wins – 1 second – 8 thirds

Career earnings: $401,212

Earnings per start: $15,431

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 106

Pedigree: Giant Gizmo – Smart Suzie, by Smart Strike

Age: 6

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker/closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Secret Reserve has carved out a nice career with four stakes wins and more than $400,000 in career earnings but the Woodbine Mile looks like an ambitious spot for a 6-year-old who has not won a race on turf since the Lake Superior Stakes in October 2021. Most of his success, including his lone graded stakes win in the 2022 Bold Venture Stakes, has come on the all-weather main track at Woodbine. Secret Reserve enters the Woodbine Mile off a solid third-place finish at this one-mile distance in the Grade 2 bet365 King Edward Stakes on the turf at Woodbine. His 44.75-1 odds in that race, however, reflect the fact that he had not won in four previous races this season and last visited the winner’s circle in December 2023. Rounding out the trifecta again at a massive price looks like the ceiling for Secret Reserve in the 2024 Woodbine Mile.

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4. Big Rock (6-1)

Jockey: Umberto Rispoli

Trainer: Maurizio Guarnieri

Owner: Yeguada Centurion

Career record: 14 starts – 5 wins – 5 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $1,710,387

Earnings per start: $122,171

Top Equibase Speed Figure: n/a

Pedigree: Rock of Gibraltar – Hardiyna, by Sea The Stars

Age: 4

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Pacesetter

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Last year at this time, Big Rock was in peak form in the midst of a season in which he won five of nine starts, with three runner-up finishes in Group 1 stakes. In October 2023, he finally earned a breakthrough Group 1 victory with a six-length romp on soft turf in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot. That version of Big Rock would be a leading contender – if not the favorite – for this year’s Woodbine Mile. Unfortunately, the 4-year-old Rock of Gibraltar colt is unplaced and has been well-beaten in all three of his races in 2024. He has faced elite competition while racing exclusively in Group 1 stakes in England and France, and Big Rock enters off his best start of the year when fifth by 6 ¼ lengths in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois. He figures to set or contest the pace and must be respected given his credentials, but picking Big Rock to win would take a leap of faith that he can turn around his recent form in his first trip to North America.

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5. Filo Di Arianna (5-2)

Jockey: Kazushi Kimura

Trainer: Mark Casse

Owners: Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, and Peter Deutsch

Career record: 17 starts – 9 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $615,828

Earnings per start: $36,225

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 111

Pedigree: Drosselmeyer – Principessa Capri, by Northern Afleet

Age: 8

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Filo Di Arianna was Canada’s champion sprinter and champion male turf horse in 2022 and owns graded stakes wins on his résumé from three-quarters of a mile to a mile. Seven of his nine career wins have come at either seven furlongs or one mile, so the Woodbine Mile would appear to be right in the Drosselmeyer gelding’s wheelhouse in terms of ideal distance. He also happens to be in impeccable form having posted a 2 ¼-length score in the Grade 2 bet365 Highlander Stakes June 29 and a front-running nose victory in the one-mile, Grade 2 bet365 King Edward Stakes Aug. 23, both on the Woodbine turf. Filo Di Arianna is versatile enough to set, press, or stalk the pace and I would expect him to be prominent early with a chance to seize command in early stretch. He was unplaced in his two previous starts in Grade 1 races, but this appears to be a perfect spot and Filo Di Arianna has never been better. He’s a legitimate win candidate for trainer Mark Casse, who won this race with Tepin in 2016 and World Approval in 2017. Co-owner Gary Barber raced 2006 Woodbine Mile victor Becrux in partnership.

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6. Win for the Money (10-1)

Jockey: Patrick Husbands

Trainer: Mark Casse

Owner: Live Oak Plantation

Career record: 15 starts – 4 wins – 5 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $354,938

Earnings per start: $23,663

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 112

Pedigree: Mohaymen – Mayakoba, by War Chant

Age: 5

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Win for the Money is a fast and consistent racehorse who has been knocking on the door of a breakout win in a graded stakes. Could that race come in the Woodbine Mile? It’s possible. He owns the highest Equibase Speed Figure (112) in the field, earned more than a year ago in his turf debut at Gulfstream Park, where he was disqualified from first and placed second. Since then, he has raced primarily on the grass with quality results and also placed in a pair of graded stakes on Woodbine’s all-weather Tapeta Footings main track. Win for the Money won the Mr. Steele Stakes at Gulfstream in May by 6 ¾ lengths in his season debut and enters the Woodbine Mile off a second-place finish in the KY Downs Preview Mint Millions Turf Mile Stakes at Ellis Park. In between those two starts, he was fourth behind highly regarded Ottoman Fleet in the Grade 2 Wise Dan Stakes at Churchill Downs. Win for the Money should be considered one of the secondary win contenders for the Woodbine Mile with a chance at an upset if he runs his “A” race. Trainer Mark Casse won this race with Tepin in 2016 and World Approval in 2017, the latter for Win for the Money’s owner, Live Oak Plantation. Jockey Patrick Husbands won the Woodbine Mile 23 years ago aboard Numerous Times.

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7. Niagara Skyline (20-1)

Jockey: Rafael Hernandez

Trainer: John Charalambous

Owners: Paul Braverman and Timothy Pinch

Career record: 24 starts – 6 wins – 5 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $250,492

Earnings per start: $10,437

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107

Pedigree: War Dancer – Expressly Yours, by Big Brown

Age: 6

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: While speed figures indicate Niagara Skyline might be fast enough to be competitive in the Woodbine Mile, the War Dancer gelding has only competed in a stakes race once in 24 starts and finished fifth, beaten by 11 lengths, against New York-breds in that attempt in December 2023. Simply put, the Woodbine Mile marks a monumental step up in class for Niagara Skyline. It is important to note that his previous stakes race was held on a sloppy dirt main track at Aqueduct, so that one race should not be disqualifying when evaluating how he might perform in a one-mile turf stakes. Niagara Skyline has been very good in three starts this year with a win, one second, and a third and Equibase Speed Figures ranging from a 100 to a 107. He also boasts tactical speed that should allow him to secure good position in the early stages of the race and should feel right at home with five wins in 13 races on the grass at Woodbine. Niagara Skyline profiles as a live longshot for the Woodbine Mile with a very good chance to outrun his odds.

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8. My Boy Prince (12-1)

Jockey: Sahin Civaci

Trainer: Mark Casse

Owner: Gary Barber

Career record: 11 starts – 6 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $752,215

Earnings per start: $68,383

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107

Pedigree: Cairo Prince – Hopping Not Hoping, by Silent Name

Age: 3

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: My Boy Prince is arguably the most interesting entrant in the 2024 Woodbine Mile. The 3-year-old takes on older horses for the first time after finishing second as the 3-5 favorite in the King’s Plate on the all-weather main track at Woodbine, but he showed significant ability on grass during his 2-year-old season. The Cairo Prince colt ran second in the Grade 1 bet365 Summer Stakes in September 2023 at this one-mile distance and then won the 1 1/16-mile Cup and Saucer Stakes, both on the Woodbine turf. He closed out his 2-year-old season with a third-place finish against the best of the best in the Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, but his 3-year-old season was geared toward a bid for the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown with a focus on races on Woodbine’s all-weather surface. My Boy Prince streaked into the King’s Plate on a dominant three-race winning streak before coming up just short to Caitlinhergrtness in his first try at 1 ¼ miles. He should relish cutting back to a mile and My Boy Prince also might really like getting back on the grass; however, facing older horses is a major hurdle for any 3-year-old in late summer/early fall. It’s encouraging that Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse has the confidence to spot him here and My Boy Prince should be viewed as a threat to take home the winner’s share of the purse. Casse won this race with Tepin in 2016 and World Approval in 2017; owner Gary Barber raced 2006 Woodbine Mile victor Becrux in partnership.

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