Morning Line beat First Dude by a neck to win the Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park on Saturday.
Morning Line, ridden by John Velazquez, took the lead at the start and gave it up in the home stretch before coming on at the finish for his first stakes victory in six career races. Two of those were allowance wins at Saratoga, N.Y., with Velazquez aboard.
Morning finished the 1 1-8 mile in 1:47.85, just a half-second more than the stakes record held jointly by Western Playboy (1989), Rock And Roll (1998) and Timber Reserve (2007).
The dark bay or brown colt by Tiznow from Indian Snow started to show his five rivals the way shortly after the starting gate opened. He carried First Dude, who was running just to his outside, three wide around the first turn before opening up a 1 1/2-length lead into the back stretch.
Morning Line, racing closest to the rail, and First Dude dueled head to head through the lane with First Dude gaining a slight advantage inside the eighth pole. A Little Warm, the winner of Saratoga's Jim Dandy Stakes, joined the fray in mid-stretch to mount a serious challenge to the two frontrunners before Morning Line pulled it out.
Morning Line paid $9.60, $5.40 and $3.60. First Dude, the 8-5 favorite, returned $3.20 and $2.20, and A Little Warm finished third and paid $2.40. Morning Line increased his career earnings to $677,800 for the Thoroughbred Racing Legends Stable, owned by Olin Gentry and Thomas Gaines of Lexington, Ky..
