Presque Isle Downs could not have scripted a much better start when it rolled out the inaugural Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes in 2007. The first edition of the race was won by Miss Macy Sue, who went on to run third in the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint later that year. Four of the next six Presque Isle Masters winners would go on to win the Filly and Mare Sprint, capped by Groupie Doll in 2012 and 2013.

As for inaugural Presque Isle Downs winner Miss Macy Sue, she went on to produce Grade 1 winner and sire Liam’s Map as well as leading sire Not This Time in her second career as a broodmare. Safe to say this race made a quick and lasting impact.

The Presque Isle Downs Masters was extended from three-quarters of a mile to 6 ½ furlongs for its third edition in 2009 and has been held at that distance since then on the venue’s all-weather Tapeta Footings main track.

The $300,000 Presque Isle Downs Masters will be broadcast live Friday, Sept. 18, on FanDuel TV with a scheduled post time of 8:36 p.m. ET. Don’t miss ABR’s “Pennsylvania Derby & Presque Isle Downs Masters Preview Show!” set for Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. ET. This livestream hosted by Ashley Wood, Alexa Zepp, and Jessica Paquette will preview and offer gambling analysis of both the Presque Isle Masters Stakes and the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby Saturday, Sept. 19, at Parx Racing. Presented by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Association, “Pennsylvania Derby & Presque Isle Downs Masters Preview Show!” will stream on ABR’s Facebook, X, and YouTube channels.

Read on for information about each of the nine Presque Isle Downs Masters entrants plus some betting analysis:

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1. Sea Runner

Jockey: Antonio Gallardo

Trainer: William Morey

Owner: CUYATHY LLC

Career record: 16 starts – 3 wins – 1 second – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $184,416

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100

Pedigree: Gun Runner - Cuyathy, by Congrats

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Analysis: Sea Runner successfully transitioned to all-weather surfaces after making the first nine starts of her career on dirt or turf, the latter of which was her primary surface. She has two wins, one second, and a third in her last five races, all on all-weather tracks, including a third-place finish in the Wishing Well Stakes in February at Turfway Park. Sea Runner enters off a half-length win in her first try on the Presque Isle main track and picks up the services of two-time Presque Isle Masters Stakes winner Antonio Gallardo. She was unplaced in her two previous starts in graded stakes but profiles as a legit win candidate at what should be appealing odds.

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2. Les Reys

Jockey: Axel Concepcion

Trainer: Miguel Clement

Owners: West Point Thoroughbreds, Peter Leidel, and Winters Equine

Career record: 17 starts – 5 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $280,957

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 104

Pedigree: Penny’s Picnic - Allegria, by Verglas

Age: 5

Color: Gray or Roan

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: She made two starts on the all-weather main track at Woodbine in 2025, winning the Grade 3 Ontario Fashion Stakes Presented by Tanqueray to earn the first graded stakes win of her career in October before a 13^th-place finish in the Grade 3 Bessarabian Stakes. Les Reys returned to the grass this year and is winless in four 2026 starts with a runner-up finish in an allowance race in June at Aqueduct her best result. She’s fast enough to win this race if she can get back to the type of effort she showed in last year’s Ontario Fashion but make sure you are getting decent value on a racemare with only one victory in her last nine starts. Trainer Miguel Clement is having a terrific year and won the Presque Isle Downs Masters a year ago with Gal in a Rush, which means Les Reys could be overbet.

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3. Paradise City

Jockey: Micah Husbands

Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.

Owners: C2 Racing Stable, Shining Stables, Paul Braverman, Timothy Pinch, and BAG Racing Stables

Career record: 15 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $397,367

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 97

Pedigree: McKinzie - Washington Bridge, by Yankee Gentleman

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Paradise City profiles as a bit of a wild card in this race as she has competed against top competition throughout her career on turf and dirt, but she will make her first start on an all-weather surface in the Presque Isle Downs Masters. Last fall, Paradise City finished second by a nose in the Grade 3 Winter Memories Stakes, a one-mile turf race. After a pair of unplaced finishes on the grass followed, she opened her 4-year-old season with back-to-back victories in dirt sprints, including a 1 ½-length victory in the Saylorville Stakes at Prairie Meadows. Paradise City enters this race off a fifth-place finish in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga. She faces an easier group here and cuts back to 6 ½ furlongs for a trainer who has won this race twice, so Paradise City deserves a long look as a win candidate.

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4. Paris Carver

Jockey: Paco Lopez

Trainer: Jorge Delgado

Owner: Amo Racing USA

Career record: 6 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $58,789

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 90

Pedigree: Bolt d'Oro - Orquidias Biz, by Fed Biz

Age: 3

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Paris Carver is the lone 3-year-old in the field and has run very well since she was transferred from Europe to the U.S. barn of Jorge Delgado for 2026, posting two wins and a third in four stateside starts. The lone unplaced finish was not in any way her fault as she fell as a result of a spill in front of her in the July 3 Wild Applause Stakes that impacted six of the 10 runners. Fortunately, Paris Carver was uninjured and returned four weeks later to win a 5 ½-furlong turf sprint Aug. 2 at Monmouth Park. The Bolt d’Oro filly has made one start on an all-weather surface when third by a half-length in her U.S. debut. Like Paradise City to her inside, Paris Carver is a bit of a roll of the dice in only her seventh lifetime start without a win on an all-weather surface. She is one of the few entrants in the Presque Isle Masters with early speed, however, and jockey Paco Lopez probably will be aggressive. Very interesting if the price is right.

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5. Reagan’s Flame

Jockey: Edgard Zayas

Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.

Owners: St. Elias Stable, BAG Racing Stables, Turf Express Racing, and Watkins Diamond Stables LLC

Career record: 23 starts – 8 wins – 5 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $596,963

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 105

Pedigree: Flameaway - Mizzen Donald, by Mizzen Mast

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: She looks like the logical favorite and a strong win candidate with three wins in four starts on all-weather main tracks, all coming this year, with her most recent outing a 3 ¼-length runaway victory from just off the pace in the seven-furlong Seaway Stakes on the all-weather surface at Woodbine. Prior to this year, Reagan’s Flame had made 10 starts on dirt and eight on the grass, but she has really taken a step forward with the surface switch and earned a career-best 105 Equibase Speed Figure and 92 Beyer Speed Figure on all-weather when winning the Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes Presented by Crown Royal at Woodbine in May. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. won the Presque Isle Masters in 2022 and 2023 and has a great shot to make it three wins in five years with Reagan’s Flame and stablemate Paradise City.

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6. Pondering

Jockey: Pietro Moran

Trainer: Brendan Walsh

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 17 starts – 4 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $437,468

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 101

Pedigree: Hard Spun - Always Thinking, by Street Sense

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer/stalker

Analysis: Pondering is unplaced and well-beaten in her three starts this year, all in turf sprints. Prior to that, she raced twice on all-weather surfaces to close out her 2025 season, first defeating Canadian classic winner Caitlinhergrtness to win the Grade 3 Bessarabian Stakes by three-quarters of a length at Woodbine Nov. 8. She then closed out her 3-year-old season with a runner-up finish at Turfway Park in the Holiday Inaugural Stakes Presented by Claiborne Farm. Pondering recorded a career-best 101 Equibase Speed Figure and a career-top 90 Beyer Speed Figure for the Bessarabian. She is a viable win candidate if she regains her top form with a switch back to the all-weather surface Friday, but Pondering’s three turf losses in her three races so far this year don’t inspire confidence.

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7. Mitole Magic

Jockey: Gaddiel Martinez

Trainer: Randall Russell

Owner: Randall Russell

Career record: 18 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 6 thirds

Career earnings: $177,285

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 96

Pedigree: Mitole - Blake's Magic, by Bernstein

Age: 5

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Pacesetter

Analysis: This local runner appears to be the controlling speed in the race and has enjoyed success on the Presque Isle Downs all-weather main track with three wins, four seconds, and four thirds from 13 starts. A year ago, Mitole Magic rallied for second in the Satin and Lace Stakes in August at Presque Isle before setting the pace and fading to finish sixth in the Presque Isle Masters. She missed by just a head in the 2026 Satin and Lace Stakes Aug. 3 in her prep for this year’s edition of the Presque Isle Masters. She probably will try to control the pace in search of her first career stakes win on Friday. That feels like a tall order for Mitole Magic, but she could hang on for a minor award and fill out the exacta or trifecta at a nice price.

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8. Lovely Emma

Jockey: Israel Rodriguez

Trainer: Peter Eurton

Owner: C R K Stable LLC

Career record: 13 starts – 4 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $265,758

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 102

Pedigree: Twirling Candy - Salsa Diavola, by Mineshaft

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker/press the pace

Analysis: Lovely Emma has raced exclusively on the grass during her career with the exception of a turf race that was moved to a muddy main track in January 2026. She is cross-entered in the Floral Park Stakes, a three-quarter-mile turf sprint Saturday at Belmont Park, but considering she was supplemented to this race, perhaps her connections prefer to try her on a new surface and take a shot at a graded stakes victory (or placing). Lovely Emma won three straight races earlier this season and enters the Presque Isle Masters off a third-place finish in the 5 ½-furlong Hummingbird Stakes Presented by Sterling Industrial Aug. 1 on yielding turf at Ellis Park. Her speed figures indicate she should be competitive with this group, but the all-weather surface is a major question mark for a 4-year-old filly seeking her first stakes win.

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9. Jill Jitterbug

Jockey: Taylor Kingsley

Trainer: Ryan Walsh

Owners: Shagbark Farm

Career record: 36 starts – 4 wins – 6 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $384,795

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 94

Pedigree: Cross Traffic - Sweet Nkosi, by A. P. Warrior

Age: 6

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Jill Jitterbug was unplaced in this race in 2023 and 2024 and is winless in 27 starts since a victory in the 2023 Lady Erie Stakes on the all-weather surface at Presque Isle in August 2023. She has finished in the top three five times during the winless stretch, including four times in her last nine races, but she has not been facing this type of competition, and the speed figures indicate she is outclassed in this race. The main bright spot is a wealth of experience on all-weather surfaces — 11 top-three finishes in 23 starts, including two wins and two seconds in eight races at Presque Isle — but Jill Jitterbug figures to be the highest price on the toteboard on Friday.

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