Better Then Lotto took his time getting to the races, and when he finally made it at the age of four, he showed speed and gameness in his one-mile debut at Gulfstream Park.

The First Dude colt owned and bred by Frank Hopewell wasn’t hampered by a muddy track, breaking on top under Edgar Perez and leading at every pole the rest of the way. Better Then Lotto fought off several challenges, the last one in deep stretch, and held on to win by three-quarters of a length, clocked in 1:39.37. It another five lengths back to third.

Better Then Lotto paid a generous $25.40 and his first check for Hopewell came to $16,550.