Spice Runner tops 12-horse Springboard Mile

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen has three runners for Saturday’s $300,000 Remington Springboard Mile, a Road to the Kentucky Derby Challenge series qualifier awarding points on 10-5-3-2-1 scale to the top five finishers.

Iroquois (G3) winner Spice Runner leads the way as the 3-1 morning line favorite in the 12-horse field. A troubled seventh in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) last out, the Gun Runner colt will try to rebound with new jockey Stewart Elliott.

He will be joined in the starting gate by stablemates Time for Music, the 9-2 third choice following a runner-up finish in a Churchill Downs allowance, and Way Beyond. Time for Music adds Erik Asmussen, and leading rider Ramon Vasquez takes over on Way Beyond following a fourth-place effort in the Jean Lafitte at Delta Downs.

Asmussen is the leading trainer at Remington Park with 69 wins, 39 more than his nearest challenger, and has won a record seven editions of the Springboard Mile, the most recent coming via Otto the Conqueror in 2023. Last year’s Springboard Mile winner, Coal Battle, finished 11th in the Kentucky Derby (G1) this spring.

The Springboard Mile is scheduled for 11:26 p.m. (ET).

Arctic Beast, a romping back-to-back restricted stakes winner at Finger Lakes, will make his first start against open rivals. By leading freshman sire Yaupon, the Mike Maker-trained colt won his debut over New York-bred rivals at Saratoga. He dominated his next two appearances as an odds-on favorite, winning a pair of sprint stakes by a combined 13 lengths, and Arctic Beast is pegged as the 4-1 second choice Saturday night with regular rider Ricardo Santana Jr.

Essential Time, a 12-1 upset winner of the Clever Trevor at Remington two back, will switch back to the main track after a third in a turf allowance. Other contenders include Supreme Good, who exits an 8 1/2-length win over optional maiden claiming rivals at Aqueduct, and Churchill Downs maiden winner Big Apple Patrick.