Alcomo, Prince Will I Am connections roll dice in BC Marathon

Most horseplayers won’t wager on the Grade 3, $500,000 Breeders’ Cup Marathon until Friday afternoon. But two significant “bets” have already been made by the owners of Alcomo and Prince Will I Am, who required supplemental fees to gain entry.

Alcomo, a Brazilian-bred by Rainbow Corner, was supplemented by owner Abdul Rahman Al Jasmi for $75,000. Prince Will I Am, owned by Casa Farms, was supplemented for $45,000.

By percentage, Al Jasmi had to pay the largest supplemental fee of any horse owner with a starter in the 14 Breeders’ Cup races – 15 percent of the purse – because Alcomo is not by a Breeders’ Cup-nominated stallion, nor was he nominated as a younger horse. For Al Jasmi to turn a profit, Alcomo has to finish at least second, which would return $90,000, or first, which would return $270,000. Running third or worse would result in a loss.

Meanwhile, Prince Will I Am, who is by a Breeders’ Cup-nominated stallion in Victory Gallop, would need to run at least third to offset his supplemental fee; that finish would return $49,500.

Eduardo Caramori, the trainer of Alcomo, said it would not make sense to run based strictly on the potential financial reward. Alcomo’s participation is less of a business decision and more of a sporting one, he said. There are few races as long as the Marathon for Alcomo, a distance dirt specialist, and even if one were available, Caramori said, it would lack the glamour of the Breeders’ Cup.

“I’m lucky the owner was gracious and brave enough to run,” he said.