On Saturday at Saratoga, the top female sprinters in the country will compete in the 36th running of the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes. The seven-furlong race has drawn a field of nine fillies and mares to compete for the winner’s share of the $500,000 purse.
Topping the field at odds of 3-1 is My Miss Aurelia, a Breeders' Cup winner and Eclipse champion as a juvenile. The five-year-old Stonestreet Stables homebred made her first start for Todd Pletcher in the Shine Again Stakes last time out and was third in her first outing since March of 2013. John Velazquez will be back in the irons and the pair will break from post position four. My Miss Aurelia has won six of her ten starts.
Second choice on the morning line at odds of 7-2 is La Verdad for trainer Linda Rice. Jose Ortiz, the regular rider of the four-year-old daughter of Yes It's True, will remain aboard as she goes for her first Grade 1 victory. She has won nine of her twelve starts, five of which have come this year. Bred in New York, she was last seen finishing fifth in the Honorable Miss (G2) at Saratoga and will break from post six.
Tabbed at 4-1 on the morning line is Better Lucky for trainer Tom Albertrani. Javier Castellano will be in the irons carrying the royal blue silks of Godolphin Racing from post position two. The five-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper earned her first win of the year last time out in the Shine Again Stakes. A multiple Grade 1 winner on turf, she will be trying to earn her first graded stakes victory on dirt.
The Grade 2 $1.25 million Pennsylvania Derby features the two biggest names from the Triple Crown trail September 24 at Parx as a field of 12 gathers in one of the most intriguing betting races of the year.
The $1 million Cotillion Stakes September 24 at Parx features a true clash of the titans as the six-horse field is headlined by the undefeated, five-time grade 1 winner Songbird who figures to face the most stern challenge of her career.
In a completely wide open renewal of the Presque Isle Mile September 18 at Presque Isle Downs, 13 runners including the also-eligible will contest the eight furlong trip over synthetic footing.
Champion Songbird is set to make her much-anticipated return to the races in the $200,000 Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita on Saturday. The Grade 2 event will be run at a mile and a sixteenth and has attracted a field of seven.
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