Sharing with you my fascinating discoveries about Thoroughbred racing, sales, fashion, food, beverage, tips and more.
Two weeks after the Kentucky Oaks, Lemon Muffin is returning for the second leg of the filly Triple Crown. The George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes races Friday. Lemon Muffin takes on seven other fillies May 17th, 2024.
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To compliment the second jewel of The Triple Crown, Pimlico Race Course, in Baltimore, MD, will host The George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. This classic G II stakes is for 3 year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1919, this edition is lucky race 13 on a card of 14. The $300,000, 1 and 1/8 mile, dirt race will post at 5:44 PM ET on Friday, 5/19/23. Watch the 98th Black-Eyed Susan on the Peacock channel, streaming from 4:30 PM to 6 PM ET.
The field of 12 is as follows by post/horse/jockey/trainer/owner/and morning-line odds:
May you enjoy your Black-Eyed Susan day in every way and thank you from Thoroughbred U!
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Thoroughbred U is sharing with you its ponderings on the Preakness. This Saturday, May 21, 2022, is the 147th edition of the Preakness Stakes! Prepare to compare the fine nine contenders.
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This weekend’s wagering should be easy as cake. Well, at least I have the right recipe to share with you. With help from Horseradish, we bring you the perfect race day desert for the Black-Eyed Susan and the Preakness Stakes.
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It is almost time for the middle jewel of the Filly Triple Crown! Now repeat this triple times, “Should She Sweep the Susan, Should She Sweep the Susan, Should She Sweep the Susan?” That is a hard question to ask and a harder one to answer. Who will sweep the Susan? I have a few ideas about the fillies entered in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes.
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Saratoga is having a big summer! I won’t be able to make it there myself, but our regularly contributing handicapper friend did. He spent the end of the week and last weekend visiting and got us some great pictures. Saratoga is the place to be for Thoroughbred racing right now.
Saratoga Race Course was established in 1864 in Saratoga Springs, New York. It had its first race over 150 years ago. Today, 8/5, the city of Saratoga Springs will celebrate its Centennial. The city was founded in 1915. The Saratoga Sales, put on at Fasig-Tipton, will take place in Saratoga Springs on August 10th and 11th. This Saratoga race course meet started on July 24th, with live racing, and will remain open through September 7th. Above we see a welcoming sign and the backyard where Saratoga’s sweet summer is savoured. The race course motto is, “Health, history and horses”. The racetrack is located on 350 acres of land. The main track is 1 and 1/8th mile. The turf track is 1 mile in length. Other smaller courses are located throughout. In the many stables, there are over 1,800 stalls. The facility can hold about 70 thousand fans but the record attendance has exceeded that. The largest one day handle was over 10 million dollars. That was on Travers Day in 2003 which brings us to yesterday’s big news. American Pharoah’s next race will be the grade 1 Travers Stakes on August 29th!
AmericanPharoah just won his 8th straight graded Stakes race while at Monmouth Park in New Jersey this past weekend. He easily beat out Keen Ice in the grade 1 William Hill Haskell Invitational Stakes on Sunday, 8/2. Keen Ice riden by Kent Desormeoux and trained by Dale Romans put in a great effort. Keen Ice was 7th in the KY Derby and 3rd in the Belmont is showing improvement. That race gave the park a record crowd of over 60 thousand fans. Meanwhile, over 3 million viewers tuned in to television to watch the live race on NBC. The plan is to race American Pharoah in the Breeders Cup in October at Keeneland in Lexington, KY. We are all waiting on pins and needles to see where he goes next, in the meantime. For now, we know he made it safely back to Del Mar in California and he will make his Saratoga debut later this month in the Travers.
Back in Saratoga last week, Thursday was a bit wet and the live racing that day included the John Morrissey won by Moonlight Song with Jose Ortiz riding. Friday Saturday and Sunday featured some big races too but those weren’t limited to just the horses. There were several activities to raise money for the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund and one of those events was a jockey foot race. Above, see a photo of the gates being loaded for a soggy Thursday race and a shot of the jockeys running.
When the fans weren’t watching PDJF events or Thoroughbred racing they could check the Walk of Fame. Above we see a display for Angel Cordero, Jr. and D. Wayne Lukas. Cordero was born May 8, 1942 in Puerto Rico. He had over 7 thousand career wins as a jockey. He won 3 Kentucky Derby races, 2 Preakness Stakes, 1 Belmont Stakes and 4 Breeders’ Cup races in addition to many other graded stakes. He has 3 Eclipse Awards, he is a member of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame, he was the leading rider at Saratoga for 13 years and he was the jockey for Triple Crown winning Seattle Slew when Cordero had his best ride ever in the 1978 Marlboro Cup Handicap. I have had a lot of good things to say about D. Wayne Lukas before and I met him in June and covered that in my post Birthday, Breezing, Betting and Backside. I also met several of his horses that day too. One was Hillbilly Style who ran 2nd in a claiming race at Saratoga this weekend. Lukas also took the stage in the finale of the jockey karaoke fundraiser for the PDJF this weekend. He will have another entry in at Saratoga on 8/7 in a maiden special weight allowance optional claiming race. Lukas is a top trainer and top class in my book.
So, what about those big races at Saratoga last weekend? Well, Texas Red beat out Frosted in the grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes seen in the two pics above. Texas Red was riden by Kent Desormeaux and trained by the jockey’s brother. He is looking like a fine runner and has placed in multiple graded stakes including a win in the Sentient Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 2014 and ranked 16th in earnings that year. Frosted, sired by Tapit, a descendant of Secretariat, riden by Joel Rosario and trained by Kiaren McLaughlin has a fine racing history as well with a win in the grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes, 4th in the KY Derby and 2nd in the Belmont Stakes. Not pictured, but I must mention, Rachel’s Valentina’s win in the Maiden Special Weight at Saratoga too. I am excited about this Todd Pletcher trained and Joel Velazquez riden daughter of Rachel Alexandra. Rachel Alexandra won the Kentucky Oaks, Mother Goose and Haskell in 2009. She was an amazing runner in her day. I hope her little girl does as well. Her sire, Bernardini swept the Preakness, Jim Dandy and Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2006 with a 2nd place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic that year too. Another big filly win at Saratoga this past weekend went to Stopchargingmaria over Untapable in the grade 3 Shuvee Handicap. Stopchargingmaria won the Black-Eyed Susan, Alabama Stakes and the Coaching Club of American Oaks last year. Untapable has an Eclipse Award and a win in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff as well as a win in the Kentucky Oaks and Mother Goose. That was quite a showdown of great fillies.
I wish to extend thanks to our friend and tipster with the photos. I hope someone wants to share some info on the Saratoga Sale and other fine races ahead. Tapit has yearlings for sale with hips 24, 34, 51, 70, 160, 177, and 182. The Tapit filly at Fasig-Tipton’s July Sale brought in the most money. I hope you all enjoyed this peek at Saratoga as much as I did. Have a great week!
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I am horsing around today for sure. I got an early start this morning at the Thoroughbred Center watching the horses breeze and petting them and a barn cat. Tonight, I am attending Downs After Dark at Churchill Downs for some live racing, including some graded stakes. In between, I am watching the Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park. It is a busy day for this blogger and I will share some trip photos and stories later but now let’s focus on the Mother Goose Stakes.
The Mother Goose Stakes started in 1957 and was named for Mother Goose, herself. She had the distinction of being the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Futurity in 1924. The Grade 1 stakes race is 1 and 1/16 miles on dirt. It is currently held at Belmont Park in New York, where we recently saw American Pharoah win the Triple Crown. The Mother Goose is for 3 year old fillies. The purse is $300,000. At different periods, in our nation’s history, this race has been considered part of the filly triple crown or triple tiara. The other legs were usually the Acorn and the Coaching Club American Oaks. Those two races and the Alabama Stakes are currently considered the New York Triple Tiara. The fastest and largest margin to win the Mother Goose was Rachel Alexandra. She also won the Kentucky Oaks and the Preakness. She holds the record for the largest win at the Kentucky Oaks too. She was the first filly to win the Preakness in 85 years. She has the record for speed at the Mother Goose and was less than a second from Secretariat’s speed record. Tonight at 5:28 pm, the Mother Goose Stakes will be race 9 at Belmont. The Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks won’t take place until late July and August. It has only been 3 weeks since the Acorn. Curalina won the Acorn Stakes and she will not be participating in the Mother Goose. In fact, only one horse in this stakes race was entered at the Acorn. The 10 featured horses are:
Embellish the Line won both of her 2 starts this year. This will be her 1st stakes race. Include Betty came in 8th at the Kentucky Oaks and 2nd in the Black-Eyed Susan stakes. She is the horse with the experience to win this, having 9 career starts including 4 graded stakes, 1 of which she won. Hot City Girl is one of only 2 New York bred horses in this race, the rest are from Kentucky. She has 7 starts but just 1 win, back in January, and none of her races have been graded stakes. Munasara is my favorite. She is undefeated but she has had just 2 entries. The last win was at Belmont Park. I like her tainer Kiaran McLaughlin and her jockey John Velazquez. Her jockey won the Mother Goose last year on American Champion 3 Year Old, Untapable. Chide has won 2 of her 3 starts. Her last two races were at Churchill Downs. Pleasant Tales has been in a total of 4 races at Churchill, of her 8 starts, and she won her last race there. Moneysoncharlotte came in lucky 13 in the Kentucky Oaks. That was her last race of 7 career starts. Danessa Deluxe was 4th in the Black-Eyed Susan when she had John Velazquez for a jockey. Tonight, Manuel Franco will ride her. She has not won in 2015 but she has 7 lifetime starts, with the last 3 being graded stakes. Eskenformoney came in 10th in the Kentucky Oaks. She has had 10 starts with 3 of them being graded. In those graded stakes she was third and then 2nd before her Kentucky Oaks race. Finally, Wondergal is considered the favorite. She is the other New York filly. She was 3rd in the Acorn as well as the 14 Hands Winery Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies race. 5 of her 6 starts were graded stakes.
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My mom grew these pretty flowers in her yard, right here in Kentucky, but they happen to be Maryland’s state flower and also the name sake, for the second jewel of the de facto Filly Triple Crown, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes.
Friday, 5/15/15, Pimlico Race Course will host the 91st running of this race. At 4:50 p.m. EST in race 11, nine 3 year old fillies will compete to make history and a $250,000 purse, the smallest amount in 4 years. Pimlico is located in Baltimore, Maryland. This race was created in 1919 and at that time was called the Pimlico Oaks. It wasn’t until 1952 that the name was changed to the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, named for this 13 petaled flower representing MD as one of the 13 original colonies. They made a drink by that name as well, The Black-Eyed Susan Recipe. This dirt race is 1 and 1/8 miles or 9 furlongs. It 1st became a graded race in 1973 and has held Gr. II since 1976. The fastest time is 1:41:20 and the largest win is by 9 lengths.
The Filly Triple Crown is generally comprised of the Kentucky Oaks held at Churchill Downs, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and the Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park. Some may argue that this isn’t the correct line up but these are the three races that match the counterparts to the Triple Crown; The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. There are other important filly races and New York has there own Triple Tiara too. There have only been 3 horses to win the Filly Triple Crown. Those were Wistful in 1949, Real Delight in 1952 and Davona Dale in 1979. Each of these Thoroughbreds were bred and owned by Calumet Farm in Lexington, KY. Nellie Morse ran and won the Pimlico Oaks and the Preakness stakes back in 1924. She was the fourth filly to win the Pimlico Oaks and no filly did that again until 2009, she is Rachel Alexandra, also born in Lexington,KY.
This year’s Black-Eyed Susan Stakes isn’t just about one race. It got its own day! The 1st post starts a 12 p.m. and for just $10, those who attend, get 14 races, 7 of those being stakes races, and 5 live bands. I love living in the horse capital of the world but now would be a great time to visit Baltimore. The Maryland Jockey group developed Empowerment 3600 to make this day “The Ultimate Girls Day Out” by partnering with groups year round for development of healthier and happier lives. They chose to fund raise for Susan G. Komen, for breast cancer and Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, for retired horses. The bands are the Gin Blossoms, Fuel, Vertical Horizon, The Reagan Years, and Margaret Valentine. The final race of the day is the Pimlico Special. This is a Gr. III race for horses 3 and older. This year all ten contenders are 4 and 5 years of age. The race is 1 and 3/16 or 9.5 furlongs on the dirt. This is the same race that Seabiscuit beat War Admiral in, back in 1938. There are some good betting opportunities this day. The Black-Eyed Susan Stakes has a gifted field, so anything could happen there and the day holds two 50 cent pick 4s and one 50 cent pick 5 with guaranteed pools. Also, there is a daily double that flows into the following day for the Preakness.
So, what about this gifted field, all bred in Kentucky, listed in post position…
Danessa Deluxe is the second favorite. She has just 1 start this year in which she placed in a Gr. II. She has had 6 starts total. This race will be long for her. Pure has 3 starts in 2015 and 7 lifetime. She won her maiden in San Anita last month. Ahh Chocolate won her race at Keeneland and she is undefeated but has only had 2 starts total. She is the third favorite and runs off the pace. Gypsy Judy has had her eye on this race for sometime. She is slower but of 5 starts she has won twice, placed once and showed once. Include Betty is the only horse in this race that just ran 2 weeks ago in the Kentucky Oaks. That makes her our only hope for a Filly Triple Crown this year. She finished 8th in the Oaks after getting bumped and running into too much traffic. She finished 7 lengths behind the winner, Lovely Maria, who shares her same owner. Include Betty has had 8 starts and is a graded stakes winner. She is the 1st horse to run this race following the Oaks since 2010. She likes to run from behind and this is the horse I want to see win. Sweetgrass, with 4 starts has 2 wins and 2 shows. Her last race was at Keeneland where she won. Devine Aida has 6 races in her past in which she was 1st four times and 2nd once as well. She is a multiple stakes winner. Luminance is the favorite. She is trained by Bob Baffert. He pulled her out of contention for the KY Oaks pretty late saying he intended to enroll her in this race and the Acorn. She has a stellar pedigree. She likes to jump up front then sit off the pace. In 3 starts she has 2 wins and one place. Finally, we have Keen Pauline. She has the same jockey, Javier Castellano, as last years winner, Stopchargingmaria. She has no wins of 2 starts this year but in her last 4 races she ran 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in that order.
Cheers to the ladies. I’m pulling for the Filly Triple Crown!
Update! There will not be a Filly Triple Crown winner this year. Congratulations to Keen Pauline!
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