SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Tough losses are becoming frequent for the 5-year-old mare Grand Job. After finishing second by a nose to Eclatant in the Grade 1 Madison Stakes at Keeneland on April 4, Grand Job was beaten a nose by Ways and Means in the Grade 2 Bed o’ Roses Stakes for fillies and mares at seven furlongs at Saratoga on Friday. Grand Job set the pace in the Bed o’ Roses Stakes, and led by 1 1/2 lengths with a furlong remaining before she was caught at the finish. The problem for trainer Bill Mott and the partnership that owns Grand Job is that their next objective – the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes at seven furlongs at Saratoga on Aug. 29 – may also include Ways and Means. “I don’t know if it will be possible to win a Grade 1 with Ways and Means out there,” Mott said on Sunday. Grand Job has won 4 of 12 starts and earned $510,851. She was purchased for $105,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September yearling sale. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Grand Job, who races for Bell Tower Thoroughbreds, Medallion Racing, and Mark Stanton, won her first start of 2026 in the Grade 2 Inside Information Stakes at seven furlongs at Gulfstream Park in January, her lone stakes win. “Anything we get is a bonus,” Mott said. “She’s turned out to be pretty good. She’s pretty valuable at the moment.” The pattern of having months-long gaps between races will continue. “She’s not the type you can take over there every 30 days,” Mott said “She needs time.” The $500,000 Ballerina Stakes is one of the nation’s leading races for older female sprinters on dirt. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland on Oct. 31. After the Bed o’ Roses, trainer Chad Brown said the Ballerina is a goal for Ways and Means, a four-time stakes winner. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.