Race 10 at Churchill Downs | Saturday, June 27 | Post Time 5:31 PM Eastern

Wise Dan Stakes – Grade 2 | Purse $500,000 | One Mile and One-Sixteenth on Turf | Four Years Old and Upward

Top contenders: Silent Heart (1), Chase the Crown (4)

Other contenders: Lagynos (2), Dresden Row (6)

Silent Heart (1) gets the rail and the best early speed. No other horses in this field have ever been in the lead at the start and at the start of the first half. Silent Heart just won a route turf race at Churchill Downs on May 15, leading from the start and was never threatened by any of the other nine runners. He is also in a pattern, making his third start after ending an 11-month layoff in April in a sprint in which he still led past the one-sixteenth pole and finished third. That was his first time in a claiming race for $100,000, and trainer Mike Maker claimed him. Over the past five years, Maker has won 24 of 91 (26%) when the horses won their last races, and his record is 3 for 8 in stakes. Luis Saez rode Silent Heart to win previously and earned a career-best 111 Equibase Speed Figure. In his last race, Silent Heart earned a career-best figure of 112, matching the 112 figure Lagynos ran when he won the Arlington Stakes on May 30, and the 111 figure when he won the Opening Verse. Silent Heart, given this is his third race off the layoff and off a pattern of sprint-route-route, has a big shot.

Chasing the Crown (4) is also trained by Mike Maker, and one of his owners is also a part-owner of Silent Heart. While Silent Heart has early speed, Chasing the Crown is a closer. He earned his last two races by rallying from eighth early in each race, earning an 111 figure, and he earned a 110 figure when he finished second in the 2024 Wise Dan. In his most recent race, he rallied from sixth and was beaten by a nose by Lagynos in the Opening Verse. With his stablemate, Silent Heart, to ensure a strong pace, Maker has a pair of horses that can win this year’s Wise Dan.

Dresden Row (6) has won three races in a row. The first of the three came when he won the Autumn Stakes last November where he earned a 110 figure. Then he was off for five months on April 15, his first layoff since he changed to Todd Pletcher, where Dresden Row earned a 105 figure. His last race earned a 108 figure at this distance at Churchill Downs when he was first ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr., who rides him again. Pletcher is on a suspension, but his assistant, Anthony Sciametta Jr., is a longtime trainer who, before he started working for Pletcher in 2010, won more than 250 races in 2000 starts. Consider that Dresden Row has won eight in 17 races and earned more than $600K. He has a big shot, too.

Lagynos (2) has won four of six races in 2026, and he with jockey Jose Ortiz has five wins and two seconds in seven races over the past year. In last year’s Wise Dan, Lagynos finished third (106 figure). He also finished third in the Arlington (105) and second in the Opening Verse (98) in 2025. He is in his best career form this year, having won the Opening Verse with a 111 figure and the Arlington (112). He can win and given that he has finished second in better than 50% of his turf races (12 of 21), he should be considered for a win. He will be the favorite, but in terms of figures, his aren’t much better than those of the other three contenders.

Win Bets:

Consider that both Silent Heart (1) and Chasing the Crown (4) are trained by Mike Maker; even though they aren’t coupled, we must treat them as coupled, and we should bet BOTH horses at 3 to 1 and higher.

As to the other contenders, I would consider a win bet for Dresden Row (6) at 7 to 2.

It is likely that Lagynos (2) will be the favorite and at less than 7 to 1, so we will cover him on exactas.

 

Exactas:

These two exactas help us to win the exacta twice if Silent Heart (1) and Chase the Crown (4) finish first and second, in each position.

Silent Heart (1), Chase the Crown (4) over Silent Heart (1), Chase the Crown (4), Lagynos (2), Dresden Row (6)

Silent Heart (1), Chase the Crown (4), Lagynos (2), Dresden Row (6) over Silent Heart (1), Chase the Crown (4)