Miner League comes through on inside to win Auburn Stakes

Miner League won for the fourth time in five lifetime starts while taking Sunday’s $50,000 Auburn Stakes over six furlongs at Emerald Downs.

The son of Mineshaft was taken in hand early to race just behind a contested pace in 21.75 seconds and 44.52 while saving ground much of the way. At the top of the stretch the outcome seemed uncertain, but Miner League persevered along the inside and reported home 1 3/4 lengths in front of Powerized, the 3-5 favorite. It was another three-quarters of a length back to Tougherthantherest in third in the field of six after Where You Gonna Go was scratched.

Powerized was compromised at the start when he hopped in the air just as the gates opened, forcing the Frank Lucarelli trainee to play catch-up on the way toward leading at every call prior to the finish.

Miner League is owned by George Todaro, trained by Tom Wenzel, and was ridden by Carlos Montalvo. The colt covered the six furlongs in 1:09.26 and paid $7.94 to win. The 2023 2-year-old champion at Emerald Downs is now 2 for 2 in 2024 and appears to have a bright summer in front of him.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.