2026 Woodbine Mile Preview

Key Takeaways:

• The Woodbine Mile features a strong eight-horse field led by defending champion Notable Speech and six-time winner Deterministic, with an automatic Breeders’ Cup Mile berth on the line.
• There isn’t much early speed signed on, which could favor Deterministic and Silius, while giving Notable Speech a tactical setup similar to the one he used in his latest Group 1 win.
• Deterministic (2-1) is the top pick after six straight wins, and his tactical versatility should allow him to handle the pace whether he leads or sits just off it.
• Notable Speech (1-1) looked back to his best in the City of York (G1), and his recent seven-furlong prep should have him sharp enough to defend his Woodbine Mile title.
• Silius (12-1) offers plenty of value as a Group 3 winner with strong recent form, and his forward-running style should help him stay close enough to make an impact late.

The Grade 1, $1 million Woodbine Mile is one of the flagship events of the Woodbine horse racing meet, and perennially one of the most important prep races for the Breeders’ Cup Mile. The Woodbine Mile offers an automatic berth for the championship race on October 31 at Keeneland – and just last year, Notable Speech parlayed a victory in the Woodbine Mile to a score in the Breeders’ Cup.

Notable Speech, coming off a decisive victory in the City of York (G1) on August 22, returns to defend his title in the Woodbine Mile. It won’t be an easy task, however – he’ll have to face Deterministic, who has won six straight races including the last two editions of the Fourstardave (G1) at Saratoga. The up-and-coming Archivist, who won the Strensall (G3) at York last out for Hamad al Jehani, shapes as another contender getting good at the right time, especially since top international rider Joao Moreira hops on the plane to take the call.

Notable Speech’s sweep of the Woodbine Mile and the Breeders’ Cup Mile last year was hardly an anomaly. His trainer, Charlie Appleby, swept the same double with Modern Games in 2022 and Master of the Seas in 2023. Other notable winners who swept both in the same year recently include World Approval (2017) for Mark Casse, as well as Wise Dan (2012, 2013) for Charlie LoPresti.

Woodbine Mile Information

• Race Date: Saturday, September 12
• Track: Woodbine Racetrack in Etobicoke, Ontario
• Post Time: 5:20 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: One mile on the E. P. Taylor turf course
• Age/Sex: Three-year-olds and up
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2026 Woodbine Mile Draw and Odds

These are the eight horses entered in the 2026 Woodbine Mile, including their post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Woodbine Mile Prep Race Results

Six of the eight horses in the Woodbine Mile come out of graded-stakes or group-level races.

The only race with more than one last-out runner is the King Edward (G2) at Woodbine on August 15, the local prep for the Woodbine Mile. Despite there being only a field of six, Gas Me Up got plenty of pace to rally into and got up to win by a nose. Irish Aces also made a late run but just missed; he finished third, a head behind Gas Me Up in a blanket finish.

Two horses come out of top-level races, and they’re the two who will likely be at the top of the market on race day. Notable Speech, regrouping after a shock defeat at Royal Ascot, looked every bit himself, winning the City of York (G1) by 2 ¾ lengths on August 22 at York. Deterministic, going for his second straight Fourstardave (G1) on August 8 at Saratoga, ran to the money, winning by 1 ½ lengths.

Archivist, who makes his first visit to North America for the Woodbine Mile, was also last seen at York; he rallied to win the 1 ⅛-mile Strensall (G3) by 7 ½ lengths on August 22 and cuts back for the Woodbine Mile. Silius, who ventures out of France for the first time for this race, won the Prix Messidor (G3) by a neck at Chantilly on July 19.

The other two horses in the race, both long shots, come out of allowance company. Pierre, who was based at Woodbine before selling at auction in June, was pipped at the post in an allowance-level turf mile at Saratoga on August 27 for new trainer David Jacobson and returns to Ontario for his first start after that nose defeat. Itsastormymonday rallied from midfield to win a second-level allowance turf mile by three quarters of a length at Woodbine on July 26.

Woodbine Mile Contenders

This is the eight-horse field for the Woodbine Mile, in order of their post draws:

1. Deterministic: The good news is, he has won six races in a row, all at the graded-stakes level, including four Grade 1 events in that time. He’s a proven miler, and he has the tactical speed to be able to lead at every call or sit just off the pace and take over. The big question is how he performs outside of New York. He keeps taking down graded-stakes races in New York, but very rarely leaves. In fact, he has only raced out of New York twice: A win in the Virginia Derby (G3) two years ago and a second-place finish in a washed-off allowance race in April of 2025. If he can bring his usual day at the office to Canada, though, he fits well – and with Notable Speech and some other overseas shippers in the field, there’s at least some chance he’ll be a playable price.
2. Gas Me Up: He had a breakout year last year, winning the King Edward and finishing a good third in the Woodbine Mile before finding the Breeders’ Cup Mile a little too tough. He ran a brief West Coast campaign in the winter, returned to Woodbine for the King Edward, and was sharp enough to win first off the layoff. He’ll need to move forward from that, but Kevin Attard tends to hold his horses in form second off the lay. There’s also the question of how much pace there will be. Deterministic on the inside probably goes, but the question is whether horses on the outside will want to – or be able to – go with him to set up a pace. But, he certainly likes Woodbine’s turf course, and that could be enough for a minor award.
3. Notable Speech: He came up flat two back at Royal Ascot, but after a freshening through the summer he was ready for more elite turf racing: looked like the old Notable Speech again in the City of York (G1). It was his first try at seven furlongs, giving him some options for the future – but of course he’s now back at a mile, the distance that has been his bread and butter. A midfield type when he runs in North America, he stands to benefit from there being a few speed horses in the field – and with upside second off the layoff, he looms as the clear horse to beat.
4. Archivist: Trainer Hamad al-Jehani, who began his career in Qatar and set up a yard in England two years ago with some horses owned by Wathnan Racing (the Emir’s operation), made his first attempts in North American races last year. He took a pair of big prizes at Woodbine: Haunted Dream won the Singspiel and Silawi upset the Canadian International. This goes to say that even though he still isn’t well known on these shores, he has a good idea of who would succeed at Woodbine. Archivist has class to prove against the top of this field, of course, but he is versatile with respect to race shape, and he has seen his best success at the one-mile distance. He should also be very fit, turning back from a 1 ⅛-mile win over soft ground.
5. Irish Aces: In three starts since a 14-month layoff, this Brendan Walsh trainee hasn’t won yet, but he has come close twice in graded company at Woodbine. He hasn’t shown the early speed that carried him to victory before the lay; his late-running style often gets him a piece. In short, he deserves to be a long shot because of the class questions, but on exotic tickets that get narrow at the top and spread more for third or fourth, he could be worth sprinkling in because he is so consistent for a piece.
6. Silius: He makes his first start outside of France. He is coming into the best form of his career so far, coming off a Group 3 win at Chantilly which came after a pair of Group 3 placings at ParisLongchamp. That last-out win has been franked big time by third-place Erdenali – who probably would have won with a cleaner trip, and came back next out to beat Ten Bob Tony and Gstaad in the Prix du Moulin (G1), stamping himself a top Breeders’ Cup Mile prospect. Silius has a forward-running style, at least in his French races, and probably won’t be far back in this. Furthermore, his jockey John Velazquez has been very effective in his visits to Woodbine this year, with five wins and two seconds in just 12 starts.
7. Itsastormymonday: A versatile sort, Itsastormymonday won last out from off the pace, but went gate to wire two back. However, those were second- and first-level allowance wins, respectively, and it’s a huge step forward from that to not only his first stakes-level start, but a Grade 1 start against some proper top-level horses, even with excellent local turf rider Rafael Hernandez in the irons, and a trainer, Donald MacRae, who doesn’t have many graded-stakes horses but can outperform expectations when he does.
8. Pierre: He’s a quasi-local taking a class test; in 19 starts, his only stakes tries have been off-the-board efforts in the King’s Plate and the Prince of Wales against Canada-breds in 2024. He bounced between allowance and starter-optional for a while until finally hitting a hot streak in his last three starts: he finally cleared his first-level and second-level allowance conditions for previous trainer Kevin Attard, was sold to new connections, and got nosed out in a tougher allowance condition at Saratoga for new trainer David Jacobson last out. It makes sense to try him back at Woodbine where he has seen so much success, and he could get an outside pressing trip from this gate. But, in the end, the class challenge may prove too tough, and the mile trip doesn’t suit him as well as something a little longer.

Woodbine Mile: 3 Best Bets

These are the three best bets in the 2026 Woodbine Mile:

1. Deterministic (2-1)

Seeing Deterministic leave New York is a novelty; he has been unstoppable in turf races there but rarely hits the road. However, he did win his only out-of-state start that stayed on the lawn. And, though most of his races have covered longer than this one-mile trip, the fact that he has won two straight editions of the Fourstardave (G1) proves that he is effective at the mile.

He should also get a nice setup in terms of pace. He is drawn at the rail, which means he will have to come away well and go early. However, there isn’t a whole lot of speed in this race: the pair of long shots drawn to the outside can sometimes show speed but don’t have to, and probably don’t want to actually try to take it to Deterministic early in the interest of having anything left in the tank late. And, if something weird happens and another horse really does decide to hit the gas? Kendrick Carmouche knows how to ride and win from just off the pace with Deterministic, too.

2. Notable Speech (1-1)

Last year’s Woodbine Mile winner vies to become the first repeat winner of the race since the great Wise Dan in 2012 and 2013. He’ll be a well-defined favorite to repeat – and even though he thought he laid an uncharacteristic egg two starts back in the Queen Anne (G1) at Royal Ascot, he looked like he was back to his usual self last time out at York.

His victory in the City of York (G1) isn’t only attractive because it was a Group 1 win in a big race overseas … though of course, that kind of class level always appeals in a North American spot. It’s the fact that he got such a tactical trip over a shorter distance. He’s shipping back to North America, but the race doesn’t have a lot of speed drawn into it. That last race was seven furlongs, and he got a forward and tactical trip. That effort could have been just the right thing to get him sharpened up for the Woodbine Mile – a race that didn’t draw an overwhelming amount of speed, and where he’ll probably have to reel in a very good horse late, Deterministic.

3. Silius (12-1)

The top two betting choices are the clear horses to beat, but Silius is an interesting spoiler candidate – and may sail under the radar of the North American betting public. But, for one, he has more than enough class to turn up in this spot. He has been competitive over and over again in Group-level races at Metropolitan tracks in France, and hasn’t been worse than fourth in seven starts this year. Last out, he won a blanket finish in the Prix Messidor (G3), a mile race at Chantilly – defeating Erdenali, who has since emerged as a leading hope for the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

His running style should also play well in the Woodbine Mile. He should be able to get a forward trip without having to battle for the lead, meaning he won’t leave himself too much to do late under jockey John Velazquez. This all adds up to a lot to like about a horse who will probably fly under the radar behind the other overseas shippers, Deterministic, and perhaps even last year’s show finisher Gas Me Up.

Woodbine Mile FAQ

Q: When is the Woodbine Mile?

A: The Woodbine Mile happens Saturday, September 12, at 5:20 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race is carded as the ninth of 12 on the card. The card features five other graded-stakes races, including the Natalma (G1), Summer (G1), E. P. Taylor (G1), Vigil (G3), and Ontario Matron (G1).

Q: Where is the Woodbine Mile?

A: The Woodbine Mile happens at Woodbine Racetrack in Etobicoke, Ontario.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Woodbine Mile?

A: Neil Drysdale leads all trainers with four victories in the Woodbine Mile; his wins came between 1989 and 2006. Charlie Appleby can tie that record if Notable Speech repeats in 2026.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Woodbine Mile?

A: Off a strong victory at York, Notable Speech is the even-money favorite for the Woodbine Mile. He should hold as the chalk; he is a proven global shipper, and he won both the Woodbine Mile and the Breeders’ Cup Mile in 2025.

Q: Who is the best Woodbine Mile jockey?

A: John Velazquez leads all jockeys with five victories ranging between 2000 and 2017. He can extend that record to six if he rides Silius, trained by Christophe Ferland, to an upset victory.

Q: Who won the Woodbine Mile in 2025?

A: Notable Speech won the 2025 Woodbine Mile for trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick. Appleby and Buick return with Notable Speech this year.