OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Sunday’s second-level allowance/optional $80,000 claiming feature is a solid race regardless on which surface it is run. Scheduled for six furlongs over the outer turf course, the race is in jeopardy of being rained off the grass due to a Memorial Day weekend forecast that calls for rain Saturday through Monday. Mentee, trained by Todd Pletcher, is a contender on either surface. He has made his last four starts on turf, winning the Grade 3 Futurity over this course in October 2024 and is coming off a third with a troubled trip in this same condition on April 25. When he debuted, in June 2024, Mentee set a track record for five furlongs on dirt, covering the distance in 56.97 seconds. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Mentee missed his entire 3-year-old season. In his first start off a 16-month layoff, he finished seventh in a March 6 allowance, one in which he got embroiled in a hot pace battle. Last month, over yielding Aqueduct turf, he lost significant ground when forced to steady entering the turn. Mentee showed late interest to get up for third. “Thought he ran on well late once he got on track,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “Hopefully, he can take a step forward.” Final Verdict, trained by Eddie Barker, finished second in the same race Mentee finished third. Final Verdict was making his first start in five months and is likely to take a step forward in his second start back. “That horse that beat us is going to be a stakes horse,” Barker said, referring to John the Beer Man. Speaking of his horse, Barker said, “He is coming out of his skin.” If the race is moved to dirt, Vibrant Express becomes the one to beat, though he has never previously started on an off track. Vibrant Express won five consecutive races before finishing second in an open allowance on May 3, a race for which he earned a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure. “If he’s able to repeat that, he’d be pretty salty in there,” Weaver said. “I’ve never run him on an off track. He’s by Vekoma, he’s supposed to like it. But supposed to like it and does like it, there’s only one way to find out.” Commuted, trained by Linda Rice, has proven to like a wet track. However, most of his success has come in races longer than six furlongs. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.