In its first weekend on turf in 2025, Laurel Park is running three $100,000 stakes races over the surface Saturday on Preakness Preview Day. Eight runners are scheduled to run in the Dahlia, while more expansive fields have been assembled for the King T. Leatherbury and Henry S. Clark.
Sparkle Blue, a 6-year-old mare trained by Graham Motion, has raced in graded stakes company for most of her 21-race career, giving her a notable class edge in the Dahlia.
Weekend GamePlan recently has gone cold. An unseasonably hot Saturday is forecast for the central swath of America. Let’s get warmed up.
Oaklawn Handicap
Just last week, Steve Asmussen, working for owner Winchell Thoroughbreds, masterfully prepared Extra Anejo to win the Grade 3 Commonwealth at Keeneland, the horse’s first start since September. An important win, the first in a stakes for a horse with a stallion career ahead of him.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Skippylongstocking has a history of repeating in major races and will attempt to do so again Saturday when he starts as the 123-pound highweight in the Grade 2, $1.25 million Oaklawn Handicap.
The 1 1/8-mile race is the richest of three stakes on a 12-race card that has a special first post of 12:20 p.m. Central. The $200,000 Bathhouse Row on the undercard awards its winner a berth into the Preakness Stakes.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – McKellen, derailed from an attempted trip down the Triple Crown trail, looks to jump-start his 3-year-old season in Saturday’s $150,000 Bay Shore Stakes going seven furlongs at Aqueduct.
McKellen won his debut in October at Gulfstream Park before running a solid second behind Disco Time in an allowance on Nov. 30 at Churchill. Disco Time came back to win the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds before having to be stopped on by trainer Brad Cox.
The 6-year-old grass horse Grand Sonata’s 2025 campaign has at its heart a 1 1/2-mile turf race at a Kentucky track whose name starts with the letter “K.”
Last Sept. 7, Grand Sonata hit the line first by a half-length in the 1 1/2-mile Kentucky Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs. The race was worth $2 million. Grand Sonata, trained by Todd Pletcher for his breeder, Whisper Hill Farm, picked up a paycheck just less than $1.2 million, more than he’d earned in his first 23 starts. Finding a horse who likes quirky Kentucky Downs can be half the battle.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Instant Replay and Caldera will both be looking to become stakes winners Saturday in the $200,000 Bathhouse Row at Oaklawn Park after placing in separate prep races for the Kentucky Derby.
The horses are chief contenders in the Bathhouse Row, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds that rewards its winner with a berth in the Preakness Stakes. The field of seven includes Tiz Secure, who invades from Southern California for trainer Bob Baffert.
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.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Gulfstream Park Championship meet is long over, although several northern-based horsemen continue to make their presence felt on the local front. The group includes Todd Pletcher, whose Grade 3 winner Antiquarian will make his much anticipated return from an extended layoff as the solid choice in the last of three optional-claiming/allowance races on Saturday’s card. The main event will be decided at seven furlongs over the main track for a $57,000 purse.
The NBA playoffs tip off this weekend, and Caesars Sportsbook promo code PLAYRACEDYW will give all first-time Caesars bettors the chance to win double on up to 10 of their favorite bets during the games.
Everything there is to know about Caesars' new-user deal can be found below.
Baeza, the Santa Anita Derby runner-up who needs several defections to make it into the Kentucky Derby field, will ship to Churchill Downs and be entered, at the very least, as an also-eligible for the race, trainer John Shirreffs said Thursday.
The Thoroughbred Daily News reported the change in plans Wednesday night.
