Saturday’s $1 million Woodbine Mile is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” race for the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF, offering the winner a fees-paid berth to the Oct. 31 race on the second day of the World Championships at Keeneland.

Learn more about Turf Champions Day!

The Woodbine Mile annually draws some of the best middle-distance turf horses in North America as well as strong international interest. European trainer Charlie Appleby won three of the last four editions with Modern Games in 2022, Master of The Seas in 2023, and Notable Speech a year ago. He will send out Notable Speech again this year seeking his fourth victory in five years. 

The Woodbine Mile is one of four Challenge Series races on Woodbine’s Turf Champions Day card that grant the victor an expenses-paid Breeders’ Cup berth. The $500,000 bet365 Summer Stakes is a “Win and You’re In” race for the $1 million Brown Advisory Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Oct. 30, the $500,000 Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes is a Challenge Series race for the $1 million John Deere Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, and the $750,000 E. P. Taylor Stakes is a qialifying race for the $2 million Maker's Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf Oct. 31 at Keeneland. Those four Challenge Series races plus two other stakes Saturday at Woodbine will be televised by FanDuel TV.

Learn more about the Woodbine Mile with these 10 fun facts.

What’s in a name. The Woodbine Mile had three name changes before it was called the Woodbine Mile Stakes in 1997 and 1998. It then held a different name – the Atto Mile – from 1999 through 2005, and returned to the Woodbine Mile Stakes in 2006 with several sponsors n the two decades since then.

Argos, inside, wins 2025 Summer Stakes (Eclipse Sportswire)

It's an event. The Woodbine Mile headlines Turf Champions Day at the track, a day of elite turf racing, style, dining, and more. The Turf Champions card also features the Grade 1 Summer Stakes, a one-mile turf race for 2-year-olds; the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes, a one-mile turf race for 2-year-old fillies; the Grade 1 E. P. Taylor Stakes, a 1 1/4-mile turf race for fillies and mares; the $150,000 Ontario Matron Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 race for fillies and mares on the all-weather Tapeta Footings surface; and the $150,000 Branded Cities Vigil Stakes, a seven-furlong Grade 3 sprint for 3-year-olds and older on the all-weather main track. Turf Champions Day is Canadian racing at its best!

Back to 1988. The Woodbine Mile was first contested in 1988 as the Molson Export Challenge, held at 1 ¼ miles on the dirt for 3-year-olds. From 1991 to 1996, the race was held on dirt at 1 1/8 miles, and changed to a mile race on turf for 3-year-olds and older in 1997 – the same surface and distance as it is today.

Neil Drysdale. Racing Hall of Fame member Neil Drysdale holds the title for most wins by a trainer, having won three editions of the Woodbine Mile and once when the race was held as the Molson Export Challenge at a mile and a quarter. Canadian and U.S. Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse won the Woodbine Mile for the third time in 2024 with Win for the Money; Charles LoPresti won three consecutive editions of the Woodbine Mile from 2011 to 2013; Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel trained the winner in 2000, 2005, and 2009; and Appleby (as mentioned above) has won three of the last four editions. Back to Drysdale ... he holds a unique international background: He was born in England, studied in Spain, and worked in the Thoroughbred industries of Argentina and Venezuela, all before working as an assistant to trainer Charlie Whittingham in the U.S. Drysdale’s four winners of the Woodbine Mile reflect his international experiences: U.S.-bred Prized in 1989; English-bred Labeeb in 1998; French-bred Touch of the Blues (2003); and Becrux (2006), who was bred in Italy. 

International representation. In total, the Woodbine Mile has been won by horses bred in seven different countries: U.S., Canada, Brazil, France, Ireland, England, and Italy. Brazilian-bred Leroidesanimaux holds the greatest winning margin of 7 ¾ lengths in 2005. He is the sire of 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom.

Most races by an owner. Sam-Son Farm holds the most Woodbine Mile victories as an owner with four: Dance Smartly (1991), Quiet Resolve (1999), Soaring Free (2004), and El Tormenta (2019). Dance Smartly went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in 1991, and Quiet Resolve was second in the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Turf. Sam-Son Farm, an Ontario-based operation with a base in Ocala, Fla., has won 12 Sovereign Awards (5 for founder Ernie Samuel and 7 for Sam-Son Farm) and one Eclipse Award for outstanding owner. In 2021, Sam-Son was honored with a Special Soverign Award celebrating its 50 years in the Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum's Godolphin can equal Sam-Son's record of four wins in the Woodbine Mile. Godolphin won the race with Modern Games in 2022, Master of The Seas in 2023, and Notable Speech a year ago.

Consecutive winners. Hall of Fame racehorse Wise Dan is the only dual winner of the Woodbine Mile, winning in 2012 and 2013 before going on to win the Breeders’ Cup Mile both years. The fan-favorite gelding also holds the record for the fastest time, 1:31:75, set in 2013. As noted above, his trainer, Charlie LoPresti, holds the record for most consecutive wins by a trainer, having also won the Woodbine Mile in 2011 with Turallure. Notable Speech has a chance to become the second back-to-back Woodbine Mile winner on Saturday.

Winningest jockey. Wise Dan was piloted in both his Woodbine Mile victories by jockey John Velazquez, who holds the most wins by a rider. His other winning mounts were Riviera (2000), Leroidesanimaux (2005), and World Approval (2017). He also happens to be a three-time winner of the Kentucky Derby. Velazquez, who was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2012, is scheduled to ride European invader Silius in the 2026 Woodbine Mile. 

Racemares. Four female racehorses have won the Woodbine Mile. The aforementioned Dance Smartly was the first in 1991 (at the time on a different surface and distance than the present-day event). Ventura, who was bred by Juddmonte Farms in the U.S., began her racing career in England before returning to North America. Runner-up in the 2008 Woodbine Mile, she was victorious in 2009. Tepin traveled to Royal Ascot in England to win the 2016 Queen Anne Stakes in June and followed that performance by winning the Woodbine Mile in September. In 2020, Starship Jubilee became the fourth female winner when she won the Woodbine Mile by a length as a 7-year-old.

Modern 3-Year-Old. Since the Woodbine Mile was switched from a dirt race restricted to 3-year-olds to a turf race for 3-year-olds and older, no 3-year-old had been able to best elders in the race ... until Modern Games shipped in to Woodbine in 2022 and won by 5 1/4 lengths as the odds-on favorite. Modern Games went on to win the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile in November at Keeneland and was named the Eclipse Award winner as champion turf male for 2022. There has not been a 3-year-old winner since Modern Games with none entered in 2026.