ARCADIA, Calif. – In several ways, Freedom’s Not Free’s win in the Grade 3 Daytona Stakes was the most important victory of his 10-race career. Not only was the Daytona Stakes Freedom’s Not Free’s first graded stakes win, but the result showed trainer Mark Glatt that the colt can be effective as a 4-year-old. “You never know how the 3-year-olds will transition to their 4-year-old” seasons, Glatt said. “If they’re stakes horses, as he was as a 3-year-old, the water gets much deeper when they face older horses.” Freedom’s Not Free won two minor stakes at a mile on turf for 3-year-olds in February and March of 2025 at Santa Anita. Later in the season, Freedom’s Not Free was second or third in three stakes on turf, including a second by one length in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby last September in his final start of the year. :: Play Santa Anita racing with confidence. Get DRF Past Performances, Clocker Reports, and more. At the forthcoming Del Mar meeting, Freedom’s Not Free may start in two one-mile turf races – the $100,000 Wickerr Stakes on July 19 and the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on Aug. 22. The Wickerr is restricted to nonwinners of a stakes worth $50,000 or more to the winner in races at a mile or more since Oct. 1. The Daytona Stakes was run at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course. Freedom’s Not Free, who was ridden by Juan Hernandez, closed from seventh in a field of 11 to catch stretch leader Sumter by a nose. “It was nice to see that quick turn of foot,” Glatt said. “Going in, I would have been happy with a good, solid finish and a race under his belt and a race that showed he belonged against older horses. The goal is always to win. It was nice to see him get up in the last jump and actually win the race.” Glatt said Freedom’s Not Free benefited from a layoff of more than nine months. “He needed the time off,” Glatt said. “He was on a pretty long campaign. He’s come back a bigger and stronger horse, which he needed to do to improve. Freedom’s Not Free is owned by a partnership that includes Blinkers On Racing and Janlois Racing. The Glatt-trained Dr. Venkman, third in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar last November in his most recent race, is booked to have his first start of 2026 in the Grade 3 Bango Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs at Churchill Downs on June 27. A winner of 4 of 12 starts, Dr. Venkman worked five furlongs in a minute at Santa Anita on Sunday. “He’s been solid,” Glatt said of Dr. Venkman’s recent training. “I think he’s ready going into his comeback race.” Dr. Venkman has won two Grade 2 stakes in his career, both at Del Mar – the 2024 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles and the Pat O’Brien Stakes at seven furlongs last August. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.