Jack Milton among seven in Maker's 46 Mile

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Maker’s 46 Mile lacks its superstar from the last couple of years, but at least the Grade 1 race has a more competitive look than it did for those two runnings.

Wise Dan won the 2013 and 2014 runnings of the Maker’s 46 Mile, both times as the reigning Horse of the Year and a 2-5 favorite, but with the 8-year-old gelding still sidelined, favoritism in the $300,000 race Friday over the Keeneland turf will be distributed more evenly among Summer Front, Za Approval, and Jack Milton.

From the hedge, and with jockeys, this is the field of seven older horses for the Maker’s 46 Mile: Skyring, Marcellino Pedroza; Long On Value, Joel Rosario; Summer Front, Victor Espinoza; Aripeka, Julien Leparoux; Legendary, Sheldon Russell; Za Approval, Mike Smith; and Jack Milton, Javier Castellano.

Jack Milton, trained by Todd Pletcher, will be making his second start as a 5-year-old after finishing fourth as the favorite in the Feb. 21 Canadian Turf at Gulfstream Park.

“This race was one that was on the radar for him,” said Pletcher assistant Tristan Barry. “We thought he ran very well in his last race. He had a wide trip that day in his first start off a [five-month] layoff.”

This will be the 27th running of the Maker’s 46, formerly known as the Maker’s Mark Mile. The traditional autograph session of limited-edition bottles will be held Friday morning. Adolph Rupp is featured on the 2015 bottles.

Wise Dan is nearing a return to training after being diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his right foreleg last October.

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Stakes-rich weekend

Four stakes will be run Saturday at Keeneland: the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley, Grade 3 Lexington, Grade 3 Ben Ali, and ungraded Giant’s Causeway.

Two more stakes, both for 3-year-old fillies, are set for Sunday: the Grade 2 Beaumont and Grade 3 Appalachian.

The Appalachian, a one-mile turf race, will have Lady Eli as a huge favorite. Unraced since her explosive victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last fall, the Chad Brown-trained filly has had nine recorded workouts since early February, the latest a five-furlong breeze Monday over the Keeneland turf.