Literate Can Get Drexler Rolling in $100,000 Key West

Coming off the best Championship Meet showing of his career last winter, Canada-based trainer Marty Drexler will look to get things rolling with C2 Racing Stable’s 4-year-old filly Literate in Sunday’s $100,000 Key West overnight handicap at Gulfstream Park.

Drexler ran his first starter of the 2024-2025 Championship Meet Friday, ex-professional hockey goaltender Randy Exelby’s 7-year-old Ontario-bred gelding Last American Exit, who ran fifth as the favorite in Race 4, a five-furlong claimer for 3-year-olds and up on the all-weather Tapeta.

Last winter, Drexler ranked sixth with 20 wins from 97 starters at the Championship Meet to go along with $739,410 in purse earnings. It marked his third straight year of improvement after going 11-for-64 ($319,000) in 2021-2022 and 14-for-66 ($454,650) in 2022-2023.

“This meet is funny sometimes. You really have to give them a little bit of time,” Drexler said. “I don’t usually run them this quick off the van. I just find that they need a little bit of time coming into the warm weather, and then the distances and stuff are a little tricky. But, yeah, we’re looking forward to a good meet. We had a good meet last year so hopefully we can keep it going.”

The Key West for fillies and mares 3 and older going 1 1/8 miles on the Tapeta will be the sixth start for Literate since Drexler took over her training following more than a year layoff. She owns three wins and a second this year, all on synthetics, and exits a popular 1 ¼-length triumph in a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance Nov. 16 at Woodbine.