LEXINGTON, Ky. – Emmanuel is a colt of upward mobility with back-to-back Grade 3 wins to start his year. Speaking Scout and In Love already are Grade 1 winners. Chez Pierre is 5 for 6 in a career of promise. Up to the Mark is unbeaten on grass for Todd Pletcher, and Dr Zempf seems to have unlimited potential for Chad Brown. And Cabo Spirit is a three-time stakes winner out West. Unfortunately for these top older horses in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile, they’ll all have to face one of the most accomplished turf milers on the planet when Modern Games makes his 4-year-old debut Friday at Keeneland. “It’s a very tough race with Modern Games in there,” said Paulo Lobo, trainer of In Love. “But our horse loves Keeneland, so let’s take a chance on that.” Modern Games, the latest in a long line of superstars bred and owned by the worldwide Godolphin powerhouse, will break from post 7 in a field of eight in the $600,000 Maker’s Mark Mile, the ninth of 10 races on an outstanding Friday card that starts at 1 p.m. Eastern. The Dubawi colt is 3 for 3 in North America, all in Grade 1 company, with his latest win coming last fall in a spectacular effort in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Modern Games will have William Buick back aboard when he breaks from post 7 in the 35th Maker’s Mark. The stretch-running colt arrived earlier this month from his Newmarket base in England – this is already the fourth time he will have made the round-trip overseas flight to America for a single start – while in the care of traveling lad Chris Connett. Trainer Charlie Appleby was scheduled to arrive here Thursday. While Modern Games has won 4 of 10 starts in Europe, including a victory in the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas last May, he has been a sensation on this continent. In November 2021, he won a highly controversial renewal of the BC Juvenile Turf at Del Mar, where he was an impressive winner despite being considered a non-starter for wagering purposes. :: Bet Keeneland with Confidence: Get DRF PPs, Picks, and Betting Strategies. Shop Now.  Last September, Appleby sent him to Canada to earn a 112 Beyer Speed Figure in dominating the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, after which he returned to England to finish second to Bayside Boy in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. Then came the BC Mile on Nov. 5, in which he closed with an absolute flourish under Buick, his three-quarter-length win margin perhaps belying the ease with which he prevailed. Modern Games is a justifiable 3-5 favorite on the Keeneland morning line set by Nick Tammaro. The 4-1 second choice is Emmanuel (post 4, Javier Castellano), whose recency makes him perhaps the top upset threat. Trained by Pletcher for WinStar Farm and Siena Farm, the More Than Ready colt enters off triumphs in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes in February and the Grade 3 Canadian Turf last month at Gulfstream Park. Pletcher’s second starter is Up to the Mark (post 2, Irad Ortiz Jr.), who also has flourished since moving to the grass, having quickly gone through his first two allowance conditions this past winter over the Gulfstream turf. Dr Zempf (post 5, Tyler Gaffalione) is the wild card of the field, having earned a 96 Beyer in winning a splashy North American debut for Brown and owner Peter Brant last month in a Gulfstream allowance. In Love (post 6, Vince Cheminaud) won the Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile with a 104 Beyer at the 2021 fall meet, giving Lobo sufficient reason to try him in this demanding spot. Speaking Scout (post 1, Luis Saez), trained by Graham Motion, won the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby last fall at Del Mar and most recently outran his 24-1 odds when third in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf in late January at Gulfstream. Chez Pierre (post 3, Flavien Prat) had a perfect record go by the wayside when sixth as the favorite behind Emmanuel in the Tampa Bay Stakes on Feb. 4, his first start in more than nine months. “He probably needed the race,” said his trainer, Arnaud Delacour. “I hope and think he will move up on that.” :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play with FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic.  Cabo Spirit (post 8, Umberto Rispoli), a last-out third at 37-1 in the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita, probably has his work cut out for him as perhaps the longest shot in a terrific lineup. The Maker’s Mark purse includes $100,000 in bonuses restricted to Kentucky-breds, meaning half the field – including the Irish-bred Modern Games – are competing for the equivalent of a $500,000 purse. Post time for the Maker’s Mark is 5:16 p.m. It anchors a program that also features the Limestone Stakes (race 7, 4:12) for 3-year-old fillies going 5 1/2 furlongs on a turf course that probably will be rated firm, given the lack of rain throughout this week and in the Friday forecast. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.