The Penn Mile Stakes is one of the showcase races held during Hollywood Casino at Penn National’s lengthy meet. The $400,000, Grade 3 turf race for 3-year-olds has been won by some accomplished horses through the years, including eventual Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Bobby’s Kitten in 2014; 2016 winner Catch a Glimpse, the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner and Canadian Horse of the Year; and $1.4 million earner Major Dude in 2023.

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This year’s 13^th running of the Penn Mile is set for Friday, May 29, and drew a competitive field of seven sophomore colts and geldings – six shipping in from other tracks, and one locally-based contender. One of the entrants, Alpyland, races for the same owner-trainer-jockey team (D. J. Stable, Mark Casse, and Javier Castellano) as last year’s Penn Mile winner, Dream On. The race will be broadcast live on FanDuel TV with a scheduled post time of 7:51 p.m. ET.

Don’t miss America’s Best Racing’s livestream Thursday, May 28, previewing the Penn Mile and three other stakes. The show is presented by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Association and will be hosted by ABR’s Dan Tordjman, Ashley Eisenbell from PHRA, and Ryan Anderson with special guest Jessica Paquette. It airs at 8 p.m. ET Thursday and can be viewed on ABR’s Facebook, X, and YouTube channels.

Get information on all of the contenders plus some gambling insights in our Penn Mile Stakes Cheat Sheet:

1. Bonsai Warrior (12-1 morning-line odds)

Jockey: Luis Rivera Jr.

Trainer: Panagiotis Synnefias

Owner: Premier Stable

Career record: 5 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $48,870

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 79

Pedigree: Yaupon – Burdeos, by Malibu Moon

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Bonsai Warrior makes his turf debut in a very tough spot after racing five times on dirt, all at sprint distances. He won his debut last July at Monmouth Park by a nose after rallying late, and then made three more starts in fall 2025 at Laurel Park at the allowance level without making much of an impression. The Yaupon gelding switched to trainer Panagiotis Synnefias’ barn and came back for his 2026 debut on May 16. He set a pressured pace in a six-furlong dirt sprint at Monmouth Park, losing by a neck in a game effort. Bonsai Warrior earned a career-best 79 Equibase Speed Figure in that race, which is about 20 points lower than those of the top contender in the Penn Mile. Wheeling back in less than two weeks, he projects to be part of the early pace and one of the longest shots in the field.

2. Baytown Dreamer (15-1)

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Jockey: Christopher Elliott

Trainer: Paul McEntee

Owners: Baytown Partnership and Win The Day Racing

Career record: 13 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $270,092

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 85

Pedigree: Mendelssohn – Colerful Bride, by Munnings

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Closer

Analysis: Baytown Dreamer has had an interesting and active career through 13 starts, the most in the Penn Mile field. After two races sprinting on dirt last spring and summer, he switched to turf and promptly won a one-mile race at Ellis Park in July by 1 ¾ lengths after setting the pace. His connections then elevated the Mendelssohn colt to test stakes company and he made three starts on grass at that level with one third-place finish the best result before closing out his juvenile season with an unplaced effort in a grass allowance race at Keeneland. Baytown Dreamer returned in 2026 on the road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, and he has competed five times so far at age 3 on dirt and all-weather surfaces at long odds, finishing third in his season debut in the Smarty Jones Stakes and fourth in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes to earn Derby points. However, in two races since the Battaglia, both graded stakes, Baytown Dreamer has finished a combined 64 ¾ lengths out of first. Now returning to turf, he projects as a double-digit longshot who, at his best, could fill out the superfecta in this small field. Anything more than that would be a surprise.

3. Classic Nofty (15-1)

Jockey: Angel Cruz

Trainer: Phil Schoenthal

Owner: HnR Nothhaft Horse Racing

Career record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $52,000

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 86

Pedigree: Classic Empire – Move, by Silver Train

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Analysis: Classic Nofty carries the local hopes in this year’s Penn Mile coming off of a sharp two-length win in a one-mile turf allowance race on the course May 15. That was his debut on grass and a very good bounce-back effort after he had finished ninth and beaten by 28 ½ lengths in the Federico Tesio Stakes on dirt at Laurel Park in his previous race. The Classic Empire gelding also has a win on Presque Isle Downs’ all-weather track to his credit, earned last summer, and although he doesn’t match up against the leading Penn Mile contenders based on speed figures, his open-length win two weeks ago deserves respect. He should be coming from off the pace in the late stages and, if he moves forward in his second turf start, has a chance to fill out the trifecta or superfecta at double-digit odds.

4. Teddy’s Rocket (3-1)

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Jockey: Manny Franco

Trainer: Miguel Clement

Owners: Steve Duncker, St. Elias Stable, and Susan Karches

Career record: 3 starts – 1 win – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $82,056

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 93

Pedigree: Liam’s Map – Autonomous, by Quality Road

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Analysis: Teddy’s Rocket is lightly raced with plenty of untapped potential, and he should improve in his second start at age 3 after finishing fourth in the Woodhaven Stakes on Aqueduct’s turf course in April. He stumbled at the start of the Woodhaven and never threatened, finishing fourth of five runners. As a juvenile in 2025, the Liam’s Map colt won his debut at Saratoga by a half-length and then finished fourth, defeated by only 1 ½ lengths, in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine. He’s made all three starts of his career at the one-mile distance and retains the services of jockey Manny Franco, who rode him in the Woodhaven. Teddy’s Rocket flashed a good closing kick in the Summer Stakes and should attempt a similar off-the-pace rally in the Penn Mile. A leading win candidate.

5. Immortalised (4-1)

Lauren King/Coglianese Photo

Jockey: John Velazquez

Trainer: Brendan Walsh

Owners: Feld Family Racing and Starry Night Racing

Career record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $157,770

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 93

Pedigree: Romanised – Notte d’Oro, by Montjeu

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Immortalised comes into the Penn Mile on a three-race winning streak, all coming at age 3 on turf at Gulfstream Park. The French-bred colt has improved his Equibase Speed Figure each start this year, starting out with a neck win going a mile. He followed with a one-length score at 7 ½ furlongs (around two turns) and most recently posted a head victory at the same distance in the Cutler Bay Stakes. He was positioned close to the early pace in all three races and should attempt the same trip again under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, who’s been aboard in his last two starts. Immortalised has an interesting turf-oriented pedigree as a son of Irish Two Thousand Guineas winner Romanised from a female family featuring several turf stakes winners in Brazil. Expect Velazquez to have this colt forwardly placed and in a good position to battle for the lead in the stretch. He’s shown plenty of fight so far in his young career and is a threat to win the Penn Mile.

6. Honey Dutch (2-1)

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Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione

Trainer: Whit Beckman

Owners: Legion Racing and Awestrike Racing

Career record: 9 starts – 1 win – 4 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $379,885

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 101

Pedigree: Knicks Go – Ms V Time, by Tiznow

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Analysis: Honey Dutch should vie for Penn Mile post-time favoritism with Alpyland drawn just to his outside as both come out of solid efforts in the American Turf Stakes May 2 at Churchill Downs. Honey Dutch vied for and then took the early lead in the 1 1/16-mile, Grade 1 American Turf and opened up by three lengths on the far turn. He could not hold on in the homestretch however, as 6-5 favorite Stark Contrast surged to an emphatic victory, second betting choice Remember Mamba rallied past to get second, and Honey Dutch settled for third and a career-best 101 Equibase Speed Figure. In his start prior to the American Turf, Honey Dutch pressed the pace in the UK HealthCare Transylvania Stakes held at 1 1/16 miles at Keeneland and fought with Remember Mamba in the stretch before yielding by a half-length. This Knicks Go colt has a dirt-oriented pedigree but has made his last seven starts on turf and has not finished worse than third, although he has only one win to his credit. He’ll cut back in distance for the Penn Mile, and either one of his recent efforts, if repeated, should be good enough to win this race. Tyler Gaffalione was in the saddle for both and will ride Friday.

7. Alpyland (5-2)

Ryan Thompson/Coglianese Photo

Jockey: Javier Castellano

Trainer: Mark Casse

Owner: D. J. Stable

Career record: 9 starts – 4 wins – 0 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $317,996

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 98

Pedigree: Vekoma – Il Brigante, by Kela

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Alpyland is similar to Honey Dutch in that he made his first two career starts on dirt, both last summer at age 2, but found a home on turf after that with success at the stakes level. This Vekoma gelding is 4-for-7 on grass, posting wins in the one-mile Dania Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park and the one-mile Columbia Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs earlier this year, and he comes into the Penn Mile off of a decent fourth-place finish in the 1 1/16-mile American Turf Stakes May 2 at Churchill Downs, where he loomed a threat at the top of the stretch but flattened out and checked in six lengths back of winner Stark Contrast and 2 ¼ lengths behind third-place Honey Dutch. Alpyland should be among the post-time favorites in the Penn Mile with Javier Castellano back in the saddle. He projects to get a good stalking trip behind Immortalised, Honey Dutch, and Bonsai Warrior and can give his connections back-to-back wins in the Penn Mile with a rebound effort.