TurfPublicists: DIANE KEBA WINS OPPORTUNITY TO "GET TO KNOW MO"

*Please see the attached image of Uncle Mo from the 2010 Champagne at Belmont Park, credit NYRA, Adam Coglianese**

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Contact: Dan Silver

DIANE KEBA WINS OPPORTUNITY TO “GET TO KNOW MO”

OZONE PARK, N.Y. –Diane Keba of Newport, N.Y. is the winner of the “Get to Know Mo” contest, an exclusive meet-and-greet opportunity with Uncle Mo, the expected overwhelming favorite in the Grade 1, $1 million Resorts World New York Casino Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Racetrack on Saturday, April 9.

Keba will have the unique opportunity to spend time with Mike Repole’s undefeated champion Uncle Mo, five-time Eclipse winning trainer Todd Pletcher, and Belmont Stakes-winning jockey John Velazquez on Thursday, April 7 at Belmont Park. In addition to the meet-and-greet, which will occur at approximately 9:30 a.m., the contest also includes a special breakfast at the barn.

“I’m very excited and looking forward to meeting Uncle Mo and I’d like to thank NYRA, Mike Repole, Todd Pletcher, and John Velazquez for making this opportunity possible,” said Keba. “I think it is great for racing to do things like this. I was there when Uncle Mo won the Breeders’ Cup, and now I will be there when he hopefully wins the Wood.”

As part of winning the contest, Keba will also receive VIP treatment on Wood Memorial Day, including paddock passes and winner’s circle access to watch the race.

"I'm a racing fan before a horse owner,” said Repole, who was the leading owner during the 2010 Saratoga Race Course meet. “We are happy to be able to bring MO to his friends by way of social networking and fan contests and share in our excitement over this special horse."

Uncle Mo had a sensational juvenile campaign, including a 14 ½-length score in his debut at Saratoga Race Course, followed by dominant victories in the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont Park and the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs, earning him Eclipse Award honors as 2010’s Champion Two-Year-Old Male.

The Wood Memorial will be his second start of 2011 and his final race before May 7’s Kentucky Derby, for which he is the early favorite. Wood Memorial Day at Aqueduct also includes also includes the Grade 1 Carter Handicap for sprinters, the Grade 3 Bay Shore for 3-year-old sprinters, and the Grade 3 Comely for 3-year-old filly milers.

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