Brown duo of Raging Bull (FR) and Sacred Life (FR) tops field of nine for Maker’s Mark Mile

Peter Brant’s Grade 1 winner Raging Bull (FR) tops a field of nine older runners entered Tuesday for Friday’s $300,000 Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) to be run over the Keeneland turf course.

The Maker’s Mark Mile will go as the afternoon’s ninth race with a 5:30 p.m. post time. First post time is 1:05 p.m.

Trained by Chad Brown, Raging Bull will be making his 2021 debut after concluding last year with a 10^th-place finish in the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) Presented by PDJF. A two-time Grade 1 winner, Raging Bull finished third beaten a neck in last year’s Maker’s Mark Mile and returned in the fall to finish second in the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1).

Irad Ortiz Jr. will have the mount and break from post eight.

Brown also will send out Sacred Life (FR) for the ownership of Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stable and Bethlehem Stables.

Fourth in the $1 million Turf Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs last September in his most recent start, Sacred Life will be ridden by Javier Castellano and break from post four.

Invading from California and riding a four-race win streak is Hit the Road, winner of the Frank Kilroe Mile (G1) in his most recent start.

Trained by Dan Blacker for the partnership of D K Racing, Radley Equine, Taste of Victory Stables, Rick Gold, Tony Maslowski and Dave Odmark, Hit the Road will break from post two and be ridden by Florent Geroux, who was aboard for the Kilroe victory.

The field for the Maker’s Mark Mile, with riders and weights from the rail out, is: Get Smokin (Junior Alvarado, 120 pounds), Hit the Road (Geroux, 123), Somelikeithotbrown (John Velazquez, 118), Sacred Life (FR) (Castellano, 118), Darain (GB) (Luis Saez, 118), Ride a Comet (Tyler Gaffalione, 118), FlyingScotsman (Corey Lanerie, 118), Raging Bull (FR) (Irad Ortiz Jr., 118) and Field Pass (Joel Rosario, 118).