D I Wire Favored in New York Breeders' Futurity

D I Wire looks to add more black type to his resume when he returns to Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack on Monday to run in the $176,238 New York Breeders' Futurity. The six-furlong stake for state-bred 2-year-olds drew a field of five and has been carded as the fourth race on a nine-race Columbus Day holiday program. D I Wire, a son of Yaupon out of the More Than Ready mare Hard to Stay Notgo, won the $100,000 Aspirant Stakes on Sept. 21 at FLGR. The Kelly Breen-trained colt covered the 5 ½ furlongs in 1:04.4 while winning by 2 ¾ lengths under jockey Paco Lopez. He'll now be asked to stretch back out to six furlongs while facing four rivals in the richest race of the Finger Lakes season. "The cut-back (from six furlongs) last time was an advantage," Breen said. "Hopefully six furlongs won't be a problem this time. He's training as well as he did for the Aspirant, that's why we're heading back." So, too, is Lopez, who will be aboard again for the return engagement. D I Wire has won two of his three career starts and earned $131,019 for Screen Door Stables LLC. He is the 4-5 morning-line favorite. Silver Knight figures to offer the greatest challenge. The gelded son of Mitole was well beaten in two starts over the summer at Saratoga but overpowered a short field of three rivals at Finger Lakes on Sept. 23, winning the 5 ½-furlong Maiden Special Weight race by 15 ½ lengths. Shawn Bridgmohan will again ride for trainer Melanie Giddings and owner Domenick Migliorato. "We have always thought highly of him and we feel he's coming into himself," Giddings said. "Since his maiden win, he's done everything right and it seems like he's kinda figuring things out." The holiday program also features two other stakes for older New York-breds, the $50,000 Jack Betta Be Rite Stakes for fillies and mares and the $50,000 Genesee Valley Breeders Stakes for older males. Both will be run at 1 1/16 miles. Trainer Jonathan Buckley sends out a pair of contenders in the Jack Betta Be Rite, which is the seventh race. Intentious is the lukewarm 3-1 morning-line favorite after running second in the Arctic Queen Stakes on Labor Day while Ekwanok is 5-1 and coming off a hard-fought allowance score. Buckley is just four wins shy of 2,000 for his training career. Zi End, the Horse of the Year at FLGR a year ago, is listed at 4-1. She went 6-for-8 in 2025 with stakes wins in the Arctic Queen and Niagara but is just 2-for-7 this year. The Debra Breed trainee was fifth in her most recent start, a one-mile allowance race, and will now go even further for the first time in her career. Jacqueline Davis will ride. Zi End defeated Intentious by a head in the Arctic Queen. Jacqueline Davis will ride, with Joel Cruz hopping aboard Ekwanok after Kevin Navarro chose to stay on Intentious. Trainer llkay Kantarmaci has a pair entered in the Genesee Valley Breeders Handicap, Stickupwithoutagun and Dr. Kraft. Stickupwithoutagun won the Ontario County at FLGR on Sept. 21 after running fourth in the Grade I Allen Jerkins at Saratoga on Aug. 29. The classy Dr. Kraft, a 6-year-old, will be making career start No. 40. He has bankrolled $641,737. The Genesee Valley Breeder's Association is the oldest Thoroughbred breeding organization in the United States. Founded in Avon, New York, in 1914 by Mrs. Herbert Wadsworth, the original mission of the GVBA was to aid and encourage breeding of hunters. Monday's Columbus Day Equibase program can be downloaded online.