Adare Manor 5-2 morning-line favorite in Black-Eyed Susan; will start from post 10
Adare Manor was installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite when the field was drawn Monday for Friday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Pimlico.
The Black-Eyed Susan shares top billing on the program with the Grade 3, $300,000 Pimlico Special. The post positions for the field of 13 3-year-old fillies entered in the Black-Eyed Susan were drawn at Citron, a waterfront restaurant in Baltimore, in an event featuring the draw for Saturday's Preakness Stakes.
Adare Manor, a daughter of classic sire Uncle Mo, will break from post 10 under John Velazquez.
Adare Manor won her first two starts of the year, including a 13-length triumph in the Grade 3 Las Virgenes Stakes on Feb. 6 at Santa Anita. She was later among the horses transferred away from trainer Bob Baffert, who is currently serving a 90-day suspension.
In an outing for trainer Tim Yakteen, Adare Manor was second by a neck as the favorite in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks on April 9. The upset winner, Desert Dawn, came back to run a creditable third in the Kentucky Oaks - beaten 2 1/2 lengths by divisional leader Secret Oath, who runs in Saturday's Preakness.
Adare Manor has since been transferred to trainer Sean McCarthy by owner Michael Lund Petersen.
Among Adare Manor’s foes in the Black-Eyed Susan is Beguine, runner-up in the Grade 3 Fantasy at Oaklawn Park in April. The filly failed to draw in from the also-eligible list for the Kentucky Oaks. Jose Ortiz picks up that mount for trainer Danny Peitz. Beguine is a 12-1 shot from post 5.
Locally based Luna Belle, next door in post 6, was installed as the second choice at 9-2.
From the rail out, the field for the Black-Eyed Susan is: Divine Huntress, 15-1; Missy Greer, 20-1; Miss Yearwood, 20-1; Midnight Stroll, 15-1; Beguine, 12-1; Luna Belle, 9-2; Distinctlypossible, 6-1; Candy Light, 20-1; Interstatedaydream, 6-1; Adare Manor, 5-2; Radio Days, 12-1; Favor, 8-1; and Morning Matcha, 30-1.
Lang, Dinner Party stakes top Preakness undercard
There are eight stakes on Saturday’s Preakness undercard. First post for the 14-race program is 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
Unbeaten Old Homestead, who is coming off an impressive victory at Keeneland, will be llooking to keep rolling in the Grade 3, $200,000 Chick Lang Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters, which boasts a list of impressive recent winners.
The six-furlong Lang has been won in recent years by Mitole (2018), Lexitonian (2019), and Yaupon (2020), all subsequent Grade 1 winners. Mitole earned the Eclipse Award as outstanding male sprinter of 2019.
After winning his first two career starts at Delta Downs for trainer Brett Brinkman, Old Homestead was a 3 3/4-length winner of the Lafayette Stakes at Keeneland in April. Runner-up Surfer Dude was a subsequent winner at Churchill Downs.
:: Get ready for the Preakness with DRF past performances, picks, and betting strategies!
Front-running Old Homestead drew post 5 in the field of nine under regular rider Thomas Pompell. Next door in post 6 is Chasing Time, who will be cutting back in distance after chasing the Triple Crown trail.
Set Piece was scratched from a stakes race Kentucky Derby week to await the Grade 2, $250,000 Dinner Party Stakes for older horses, a 1 1/16-mile race that traditionally immediately precedes the Preakness, but this year has been moved earlier in the card.
Ethereal Road, whose now-infamous scratch from the Kentucky Derby the day before the race allowed upset winner Rich Strike into the field, drew the rail in a field of 10 3-year-olds for the $100,000 Sir Barton, a 1 1/16-mile restricted stakes.
The other undercard stakes are the Grade 3, $150,000 Maryland Sprint (with seven entrants) for older horses; the Grade 3, $150,000 Gallorette Stakes (seven) for fillies and mares on the turf; the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint (10), which this year has been moved into the slot immediately preceding the Preakness; the $100,000 Skipat Stakes (10) for female turf sprinters; and the $100,000 James W. Murphy Stakes (11) for 3-year-olds on the turf.