2024 Woodbine Mile Preview

The Grade 1, $1 million Woodbine Mile is one of the most important turf miles in the world. Run at the sweeping one-turn mile over the E. P. Taylor Turf Course at Woodbine Racetrack, it always provides an important preview of one or more live horses for the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Fittingly for such an elite thoroughbred race on turf, it is a Win and You’re In prep for the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Six times in the last 13 years, the winner of the Woodbine Mile has gone on to win the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Those winners include Court Vision (2011), Wise Dan (2012, 2013), World Approval (2017), Modern Games (2022), and Master of the Seas (2023). Tepin, who won this race in 2016, won at the Breeders’ Cup the previous year as well.

Charlie Appleby has won the last two editions of the Woodbine Mile with Modern Games and Master of the Seas, both of whom went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Mile. He aims for the three-peat with Naval Power, who makes his first start since a close second in the Turf Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs. Other major contenders include Filo di Arianna, Big Rock, and My Boy Prince.

Woodbine Mile Information

• Race Date: Saturday, September 14
• Track: Woodbine Racetrack in Etobicoke, Ontario
• Post Time: 6:16 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: one mile on the E. P. Taylor turf course
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds and up
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2024 Woodbine Mile Draw and Odds

These are the eight horses entered in the 2024 Woodbine Mile, including their post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Woodbine Mile Prep Race Results

The eight horses in the Woodbine Mile come out of seven different races, all but one of them being stakes races. The only race with more than one last-out runner is the King Edward (G2), the traditional local prep. Filo Di Arianna overcame a tough break to take the lead, confront a bid down the lane, and get the nose down over War Bomber at the line. Second-place War Bomber does not run in the Woodbine Mile; Secret Reserve, who tracked the pace and finished 2 ¾ lengths back in third, does try to go two better.

Two other runners come out of top-level races at other tracks. Naval Power, the likely favorite, most recently finished second in the 1 ⅛-mile Turf Classic (G1) on the Kentucky Derby undercard, missing by a head to Program Trading. Big Rock, who makes his first North American start in the Woodbine Mile, will try to bounce back from a fifth-place run behind Charyn in the Prix Jacques Le Marois (G1) at Deauville on August 11.

The only other runner to come out of a stakes race on the lawn is Win for the Money, who missed by 1 ½ lengths in the Kentucky Downs Preview Mint Millions Turf Mile at Ellis on August 3. In range the whole way, he made an early move but only proved second best behind Tut’s Revenge.

Two others come out of local races, though both were on Tapeta and not turf. Playmea Tune comes out of the Bold Venture (G3), a 6 ½ furlong sprint where he rallied late and missed by a neck. My Boy Prince most recently ran second in the King’s Plate at Woodbine Racetrack against sophomore Canada-breds, missing by ¾ length to Caitlinhergrtness, though he has back form at the top level on grass.

The only horse coming out of a non-stakes race is Niagara Skyline. He comes out of a victory going 7 ½ furlongs against second-level allowance company on the inner turf at Woodbine Racetrack, and tries graded-stakes company for the first time in the Woodbine Mile.

Woodbine Mile Contenders

This is the eight-horse field for the Woodbine Mile, in order of their post draws:

1. Playmea Tune: With only three starts, this four-year-old is the wild card of the field. He tries turf for the first time in the Woodbine Mile, and stretches past 6 ½ furlongs for the first time in this race. He has class to prove, but he may well have the tools to step up. After all, his existing form is fast enough to stack up against this field, he has the pedigree to stretch out to the mile, and his dam—though her lone graded win came on dirt—has already produced three turf winners. He also carved a tactical trip from the fence in an allowance win two back.
2. Naval Power: The Charlie Appleby offering, he has yet to prove himself at the top level, but he has not been far away. He came back from a 13-month layoff to score at the Group 2 level at Meydan two back, and has finished second in a pair of American Grade 1 races in his next two starts. Two back in the Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) at Keeneland, the only horse he couldn’t catch was Master of the Seas—a Breeders’ Cup Mile champion. With tactical versatility and connections who know how to get the job done in the Woodbine Mile, he looms as the one to beat.
3. Secret Reserve: A versatile sprinter-miler with good form over the grass and the synthetic at Woodbine, he comes into his first career Grade 1 try after a third-place finish in the King Edward. He stayed on evenly for third behind Filo Di Arianna in the King Edward, the local prep. It was one of his best efforts, making it logical to try this company. The big question is whether he can run back to it. If he can, he can get a piece—the skeptics may say he can bounce. But on the other hand, he will be a price and there’s a possibility that he is finally finding his niche, as the King Edward was his first turf mile try.
4. Big Rock: He fits the profile of an interesting horse to try in a North American Grade 1 on the lawn, since he has some wins and placings at the top level across the ocean but needs to find his way again. However, he has been off the board in three starts this year. And, more concerning given the weather in Toronto this week, he is unlikely to find the cut in the ground that his record indicates he prefers.
5. Filo Di Arianna: The good news is he is undefeated in five starts at Woodbine, and has three wins in five starts at a mile on the grass. That includes two of the last three editions of the King Edward, a race over the same course and distance as the Woodbine Mile. Class is the question, as he always seems to find one (or more) too good when the real big dogs line up against him. Perhaps it goes differently over his home turf, but the price probably won’t be right in the win pool, and he appeals more underneath.
6. Win for the Money: This Mark Casse trainee often shows up, though frequently at the ungraded level. He did nab a second in graded-stakes company going 1 ½ miles on the Woodbine Tapeta last year, though based on his form so far the mile may be on the short side for him. He does have tactical speed and gets a well-proven Woodbine Racetrack jockey in Patrick Husbands, but he would be a surprise.
7. Niagara Skyline: He will likely be part of the early pace, though he will have to run the race of his life to be involved at the end. He is well proven sprinting over the Woodbine lawn, and comes off a nice win on the inner track, but he has only gone a mile on the lawn once and has built most of his career showing up repeatedly at allowance level. Hanging on for a lower rung of the exotics if the track is playing well for speed appears to be his ceiling.
8. My Boy Prince: It isn’t common for a horse stepping up from a defeat in Canadian-bred company to be a live contender in a Grade 1, but My Boy Prince looks like an interesting exception to that rule. After all, he has spent most of this year running on Tapeta but he is more class-proven on lawn. Looking back to his juvenile season, he finished second over this course and third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. With a likely clean trip from the outside and a return to his better surface, a better effort looks on the horizon.

Woodbine Mile FAQ

Q: When is the Woodbine Mile?

A: The Woodbine Mile (known for sponsorship reasons as the Rogers Woodbine Mile, after many years as the Ricoh Woodbine Mile and the Atto Mile) happens on Saturday, September 14, at 6:16 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Q: Where is the Woodbine Mile?

A: The Woodbine Mile happens at Woodbine Racetrack in Etobicoke, Ontario. The race is the 10th of 12 on the card, which includes five other graded races. Those include the Natalma Stakes (a Grade 1 prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies), the Summer Stakes (a Grade 1 prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf), the E. P. Taylor (G1), the Ontario Matron (G3), and the Vigil Stakes (G3).

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Woodbine Mile?

A: Neil Drysdale leads all trainers with four victories in the Woodbine Mile; his wins came between 1989 and 2006. Among the trainers entered in the 2024 edition, Charlie Appleby and Mark Casse lead with two wins apiece. Appleby won with Modern Games (2022) and Master of the Seas (2023), while Casse had Tepin (2016) and World Approval (2017).

Q: Who is the favorite for the Woodbine Mile?

A: The even-money morning-line favorite for the Woodbine Mile is Naval Power, who comes off a pair of Grade 1 placings for Charlie Appleby, winner of the last two editions of this race. He should hold as the favorite through post time.

Q: Who is the best Woodbine Mile jockey?

A: John Velazquez leads all jockeys with five victories ranging between 2000 and 2017. He goes for his record-extending sixth victory this year with Playmea Tune.

Q: Who won the Woodbine Mile in 2023?

A: Trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick won this race with Master of the Seas in 2023, and they come back to the fray with Naval Power.

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