Wild Shot Wins 2017 Pat Day Mile Stakes After Late Burst in Final Stretch

Wild Shot pulled away from the field to win the 2017 Pat Day Mile Stakes Saturday.

Coming from the No. 8 post, the thoroughbred went wide around the final turn before exploding on the homestretch, winning by a few lengths.

Ron Flatter of the Vegas Stats and Information Network described the end of the race:

Uncontested held the lead for a majority of the race but fell apart down the stretch and was eventually passed by both Wild Shot and No Dozing before finishing in third place.

Result	Horse	Jockey
Win	Wild Shot	Corey Lanerie
Place	No Dozing	Joel Rosario
Show	Uncontested	Mike Smith

Gene Kershner of the Buffalo News provided a look at the winner:

Corey Lanerie helped run a perfect race, keeping his horse running strong through the end while peaking at the right time. The combination finished in a time of 1:35.67 on a muddy track to take home the $250,000 top prize.

Wild Shot only had a single win in his career in seven previous races, never finishing better than second at any of the five graded events. There were respectable showings, like third at the Breeders' Futurity Stakes and third at the Tampa Bay Derby, but this was finally a chance to end up in the winner's circle on a big stage.

The event, which was formerly known as the Derby Trial Stakes before being renamed for legendary jockey Pat Day, is a Grade 3 event for three-year-olds. Although Wild Shot wasn't able to qualify for the Kentucky Derby, this performance is quite a consolation prize.