After Book'em Danno won the True North Stakes (G3) on the Belmont Stakes undercard at Saratoga Race Course June 7, owner Mark Rubenstein said that his millionaire runner would likely race next at Monmouth Park, an apt choice for the New Jersey-bred.
Instead, Rubenstein and his partners in Atlantic Six Racing have brought the 4-year-old back to Saratoga, a track over which he’s 2-0-1 from three starts, including last summer’s half-length win in the Woody Stephens (G1) during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, to take on seven rivals in the $400,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes (G2).
Trained by Derek Ryan, the dark bay gelding has been installed as the 5-2 morning line favorite and will break under Paco Lopez, who’s been in the saddle for the runner’s last three starts.
“Everything is going good and he’s training great,” Ryan said. “This is a little short for him, but he’s doing good and Paco knows him now. He’ll keep him close and hopefully he’ll be able to get the job done again.”
Book’em Danno is cutting back to six furlongs, a distance at which he’s undefeated in three starts, for the first time since last July.
Trainer Steve Asmussen’s Skelly is looking to break the $2 million mark, making his 23rd start for owners Red Lane Thoroughbreds. All but one of those starts have come at 6 furlongs, with 12 wins and 6 seconds. The well-traveled 6-year-old will be ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr. Second in this race last year to Nakatomi, Skelly is looking to get back to the graded stakes winner’s circle for the first time since the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn Park in April 2024.
The third of four millionaires in the Vanderbilt is Mullikin, winner of Saratoga’s Forego Stakes (G1) last August. Worse than third only twice in a 13-race career, Mullikin was purchased by WinStar Farm at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $500,000. The morning line second-choice at 7-2, he will be ridden by José Ortiz.
“He won the grade 1 last year and ran a pretty big number last out, so he likes it there,” said trainer Rodolphe Brisset. “I would love to have a fast track for him, and it would be his first race this year where he would have a normal track. We’re looking forward to having him on a fast track.”
The winner of this race last year, Nakatomi has banked just shy of $1.7 million in 22 races, his lone graded stakes success coming at Saratoga. Jockey Emisael Jaramillo gets the call for trainer Wesley Ward and owners Qatar Racing and Mrs. Fitriani Hay.
Hoping to join the millionaires’ club is trainer Bill Mott’s Baby Yoda, who earned his first graded stakes win in the 2024 True North Stakes (G2) at Saratoga and has compiled a record of 10-4-4 from 30 starts, and 4-0-1 from 8 starts at the upstate New York course. Owned by Pantofel Stable, Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, and Jerold Zaro, Baby Yoda will be ridden by Dylan Davis.
Mott will also send out Damon's Mound, ridden by Junior Alvarado. Completing the field are Full Moon Madness and Nash.
The Vanderbilt will be run as race 11 with an expected post time of 6:13 p.m. ET.
Saratoga Race Course, Saturday, July 19, 2025, Race 11Entries: Alfred G. Vanderbilt S. (G2)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Skelly (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 122 Steven M. Asmussen 4/1 2 2Full Moon Madness (KY) Kendrick Carmouche 122 Michelle Nevin 15/1 3 3Damon's Mound (FL) Junior Alvarado 122 William I. Mott 15/1 4 4Mullikin (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 124 Rodolphe Brisset 7/2 5 5Book'em Danno (NJ) Paco Lopez 124 Derek S. Ryan 5/2 6 6Nash (KY) Joel Rosario 120 Brad H. Cox 8/1 7 7Baby Yoda (FL) Dylan Davis 124 William I. Mott 6/1 8 8Nakatomi (KY) Emisael Jaramillo 124 Wesley A. Ward 9/2
