This is the first Saturday of the marquee summer meets at Saratoga and Del Mar and, not surprisingly, that’s where the big stakes action will be found. Saratoga’s feature is the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana, supported by the Grade 3, $150,000 Sanford. Del Mar’s co-features, two Grade 2, $200,000 events, are the San Diego Handicap and the San Clemente Stakes. Diana Stakes The Diana may have drawn only seven, but there are still several high-quality options here for bettors, with Sistercharlie likely to be the most popular. Sistercharlie is arguably the ranking female turf horse in the country, despite a near miss at 1-2 in the New York Stakes most recently, because her overwhelming score in the Jenny Wiley two starts back in her seasonal debut was the best performance by far in her division this year. However, Chad Brown, who trains Sistercharlie, is also represented by New Money Honey, who beat Sistercharlie in last year’s Belmont Oaks and who got the job done in her recent seasonal bow, and A Raving Beauty, who won stakes in her first two U. S. starts. This field also includes Proctor’s Ledge, a game second to A Raving Beauty most recently and winner of the Lake George and Lake Placid stakes last summer on the same Mellon turf course at Saratoga she goes on Saturday, and Hawksmoor, who is hoping to recapture the sharp form she showed last year, form that would make her competitive. Pace is an especially important consideration here, as there isn’t much of it. The Hawksmoor of old could capitalize on the lack of speed, but while her Gamely outing last time can be thrown out due to a terrible start, she was not good losing her first start this year at 1-5, raising the question of whether she’s the horse she once was. Sistercharlie, who was much too far back early in the New York, can win because she might simply be decidedly best. That said, she is a deep closer who, after receiving favorable pace setups in her first three U.S. starts, could be pace compromised this time, so it’s worth taking a shot against her. I like A Raving Beauty. A Raving Beauty impressed winning the Beaugay in her U.S. debut, and followed with a victory in the Just A Game Stakes that I thought was more decisive than it looks on paper. She does stretch out from a mile to 1 1/8 miles, but given good performances earlier in her career in Europe going nine and 10 furlongs, she might be even better with added ground. Most importantly, A Raving Beauty has good positional speed, meaning she won’t be compromised by slow fractions. :: Clocker Reports: Get in-depth workout analysis for Del Mar & Saratoga Sanford Stakes Sombeyay is the only one in this field of eight 2-year-olds with stakes experience, having been a narrowly beaten second in the Tremont. But I didn’t feel the Tremont was a particularly strong race, and after the expected scratch here of good-looking debut winner Dream Maker, I find Bano Solo, one of the remaining five first-out winners, more interesting. Bano Solo delivered in clever fashion as the favorite at Churchill Downs in his debut. He shot right to the front and controlled the pace despite being under a good hold, which leads me to believe he can willingly rate. Bano Solo put his field away when drew off in upper stretch, and then was taken well in hand in the late stages. It’s clear to me that Bano Solo has considerably more to show than he did first time out. San Clemente Stakes Unlike the Diana, this one-mile turf race is absolutely loaded with outright speed horses, or those who have shown a need to be right with the pace to be effective. And War Heroine only complicates matters. She is the speed of the speed, is 2 for 2 on turf, and earned the highest Beyer Figure in the field of 92 winning most recently. But at this moment, she is a giant question mark at anything beyond a sprint distance. I want a closer, and that closer is Flammetta. Flammetta is actually new to an off-the-pace style as she was a front-running maiden winner at this distance in her turf bow four starts back. But she adopted a closing approach on the downhill at Santa Anita in her last two outings and won both over increasingly tougher company.