Dramedy connects at 30-1 in Elkhorn Stakes

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Dramedy had never won a stakes race, and he was dueling with a fresh horse named My Afleet when far out front of their opposition Saturday in the Elkhorn Stakes at Keeneland.

Despite those supposed handicaps, the 6-year-old Dramedy fought on, outlasting a pair of on-rushing favorites to pull a 30-1 upset in the 30th running of the Grade 2, $250,000 Elkhorn Stakes before a throng of 37,737.

Joe Bravo was aboard Dramedy in the 1 1/2-mile turf race, which was completed in 2:31.17 over a “good” course. The winner paid $63.60.

“He just thrived on the mile and a half,” said Bravo, who snapped a 29-race winless streak dating to March 27 with the triumph. “When we turned for home, he said, ‘Let’s go guys.’ ”

Dynamic Sky, the 3-1 co-second choice, finished a neck shy of the winner in second, while Unitarian, the defending race champion and 2-1 favorite, was another head back in third. Biz The Nurse, the other co-second choice, was fourth by another length and was followed by Aldous Snow, My Afleet, Cary Street, and Holiday Star. Three horses were early scratches: Java’s War, Optimizer, and Xtra Luck.

Dramedy raced outside of My Afleet, who was making his first start in more than seven months, when contesting fractions of 26.57 seconds, 52.47, 1:16.31, and 1:40.66 when opening up more than 12 lengths on the others down the backstretch. Out of the third turn and down the homestretch, as My Afleet tired, Dramedy opened a big lead that was shrinking noticeably just as the wire arrived.

Owned by the John James Revocable Trust and trained by Gerald Aschinger, Dramedy spent the winter at Tampa Bay Downs, where his main accomplishment in five starts since mid-December was winning a second-level turf allowance. A Kentucky-bred son of Distorted Humor, Dramedy had never raced farther than 1 1/8 miles and now has won 4 of 15 lifetime starts, with the $150,000 winner’s share more than doubling his career earnings.

The $2 exacta (1-10) paid $295, the $1 trifecta (1-10-4) returned $497.90, and the 10-cent superfecta (1-10-4-2) was worth $156.50.

Attendance on a warm spring day was the third-highest in track history.

Earlier Saturday, Hootenanny ($2.20) breezed to a 6 1/4-length triumph when facing just three overmatched opponents in a 5 1/2-furlong turf allowance that marked his first start since he won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf last fall at Santa Anita. Hootenanny, a Quality Road colt, is owned by the Coolmore group and trained by Wesley Ward.