Major Dude Aims to Abide in the Fort Lauderdale

Defending race winner Major Dude  and fellow millionaires Wolfie's Dynaghost  and Chasing the Crown  lead a stacked group of 10 older horses set to contest the $200,000 Fort Lauderdale Stakes (G3T) Dec. 20 at Gulfstream Park.

The 69th running of the Fort Lauderdale for 3-year-olds and up, scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on the grass, is the last of five stakes, two graded, worth $750,000 in purses on an 11-race Pegasus Preview Day program that begins at 12:20 p.m ET.

Named for the famed coastal city 14 miles north of Gulfstream, the Fort Lauderdale serves as the local prep for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) Jan. 24. The other graded race Saturday at Gulfsteam is the $150,000 Harlan's Holiday Stakes (G3), a prep for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1), the main event Jan. 24.

Spendthrift Farm's Major Dude is looking to become the Fort Lauderdale's first repeat winner after rallying for a dramatic neck victory over millionaire Fort Washington  last year, one of five career stakes win and third and most recent against graded company. He has two wins and two seconds in six lifetime races at Gulfstream, including a victory in the 2023 Kitten's Joy Stakes (G3T).

"We'll give him a chance to defend his title," said Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, who called Major Dude a "cool horse, just so consistent."

Major Dude most recently was a popular winner of the 1-mile Artie Schiller Stakes Oct. 11 on the Aqueduct Racetrack turf, boosting his career bankroll to more than $1.4 million. He is 2-for-3 at the 1 1/8-mile distance and is attempting to give Pletcher his fifth Fort Lauderdale win following Silver Medallion  (2012), Mshawish  (2015), and Largent  (2020) prior to last year.

"Even though he won last time at Aqueduct, we didn't feel like he handled the turf course there so we felt that, knowing that he runs well fresh and he ran well in this race last year, that we would give him a little extra time in between races and point for this," Pletcher said.

Hall of Famer John Velazquez, up for the last three starts, returns to ride from post 8. They are rated at 5-1 on the morning line.

Woodslane Farm's 7-year-old homebred gelding Wolfie's Dynaghost is chasing his 14th career win, third in a row, and second straight since joining the barn of trainer Brian Lynch following a front-running 2 3/4-length triumph in the 1 1/8-mile River City Stakes (G3T) Nov. 8 at Churchill Downs.

Wolfie's Dynaghost has a history of success at Gulfstream, winning the Carousel Club overnight handicap in 2022 and 2023 over the all-weather Tapeta on the Pegasus World Cup undercard. He also ran second by a half-length in the 2022 Appleton Stakes (G3T) going a mile on the Gulfstream turf for original trainer Tom Albertrani.

Lynch previously won the Fort Lauderdale with 5-year-old Heart to Heart  in 2016. 

Irad Ortiz Jr. is named on Wolfie's Dynaghost, the 2-1 program favorite, from post 2. 

Other contenders include Chasing the Crown , Cugino , Beach Gold , and Divin Propos .

The Fort Lauderdale is one of three turf stakes Saturday at Gulfsteam, the others being the 5-furlong Janus Stakes and 1-mile Suwannee River Stakes. The nine-horse Janus includes last year's winner, Coppola , as well as graded stakes winner Reef Runner , fourth in the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) at Del Mar. Later, a deep cast of 11 fillies and mares races in the Suwannee River, a wide-open race that includes recent $500,000 acquisition Crevalle d'Oro .