Two $150,000 stakes races on Saturday at Laurel Park could have massive implications for local connections dreaming of Pimlico. The featured race on the card, the Federico Tesio, is a Win and You’re In qualifier for the Preakness, while the winner of the Weber City Miss automatically earns a spot in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan. In the Federico Tesio, run at 1 1/8 miles, three 3-year-old colts will likely vie for favoritism. Pay Billy is easily the best runner in the Laurel division, but Surfside Moon and Kentucky Outlaw are crashing in after strong performances at other tracks. In Surfside Moon’s juvenile season, trainer Chuck Lawrence could not find many races on dirt going longer. Instead, he put the colt on turf, where he won his maiden but struggled in stronger races. In his 2025 debut, he switched back to dirt in the $250,000 Withers at Aqueduct and finished a clear second at 33-1. Earning a 90 Beyer Speed Figure seemingly out of nowhere, he shocked everyone but his trainer. “I was extremely excited about the 1 1/8 miles in the Withers,” Lawrence said. “The concern was that he was coming off a pretty good layoff, but he responded and ran big.” Following his improved performance, Surfside Moon came down with an illness and had to take more time off. Kentucky Derby dreams are off the table, but the Tesio provides another backdoor to the Triple Crown, and Lawrence said he is willing to take a shot in the Preakness if given the opportunity. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Surfside Moon made his last start before Kentucky Outlaw debuted, but the latter colt has since won two races on the front end at Parx Racing by 13 1/2 combined lengths. Trainer Felissa Dunn and her family were patient after purchasing him for $12,000 at auction last year, but they knew they had a stakes-caliber horse the moment he began training. “The first time we got on him, we knew he was a really nice horse,” Dunn said. Kentucky Outlaw and Surfside Moon are both contenders shipping in, but they won’t be dealing with pushovers in Maryland. Pay Billy proved himself to be Laurel’s top 3-year-old last time out when he overwhelmed a local group in the Private Terms, winning by 3 1/2 lengths. “There are a few horses that obviously have some talent, but he’s doing great,” trainer Michael Gorham said. “He came out of his last race really good, and he seems to be at the top of his game.” Pay Billy will stretch out slightly in the Tesio, but Gorham sees the move as beneficial. In the 1 1/16-mile Private Terms, the colt had to act quickly to find a favorable position in the short run to the first turn. More distance will give him a better chance to get settled in the early going. Weber City Miss Three horses will likely earn the attention of bettors in the Tesio, but the Weber City Miss could be even more wide open as a quartet of 3-year-old fillies seem poised to take a step forward. Closing from well back in the Beyond the Wire, Safe Trust won her first stakes race by disqualification when Moon Cache, a 17-1 longshot, bumped her in the stretch and won a nose photo at the wire. Trainer Jose Corrales brought Safe Trust back in an allowance at Laurel last weekend, when the filly cut back to six furlongs and won by three lengths. Under instructions from the trainer, jockey Denis Araujo pulled her up almost immediately after the wire, one of several steps the connections took this week to preserve her for the 1 1/16-mile Weber City Miss. “In the back of my mind, I was thinking that we don’t run, but we had to enter Sunday,” Corrales said. “So we decided to enter and see where we were. So far, she’s bounced back, eating good. We’re leaning toward running now.” :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  While Safe Trust prepares to run on short rest, Moon Cache has had a much lighter training schedule for this race. Gorham, who claimed her for $40,000 in February, is content with her progress. “She ran a huge race and unfortunately got disqualified, but she seems to be on her game, coming into this race as good as she came into the last one,” Gorham said. Reply and Complexity Jane both seem like spoiler candidates coming out of Brittany Russell’s barn. Reply won her debut by 2 3/4 lengths in a $72,000 maiden special weight at Colonial Downs last month, while Complexity Jane was awarded first money after being beaten three-quarters of a length in a Laurel allowance, her first race against winners. “She’s a big type with some maturing to do,” Russell said of Reply. “I was proud of her to get up that day, but I think the two turns here is what she really wants. I think we’ll learn a lot about her this weekend.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.