Kentucky oaks 2021

The Return to Normalcy Tour at Churchill Downs starts Friday when the Longines Kentucky Oaks returns to its traditional spot on the eve of the first Saturday in May. A field of 13 will be on hand for the famed Grade 1 stakes that has once again attracted a stellar collection of the best 3-year-old fillies in training and turned the 1 1/8-mile stakes into a highly attractive betting affair.

1. Pauline’s Pearl (20-1 morning line odds): She’s certainly interesting at the odds and from the rail. After finishing a good second in the Honeybee Stakes while making her stakes debut, she earned her spot in this field by winning Fantasy Stakes over another Oaks starter in Coach. Deserves some consideration to figure in the exotics. Notable that she gets Asmussen’s top rider, Ricardo Santana Jr.

JOCKEY: Ricardo Santana Jr. TRAINER: Steve Asmussen

2. Maracuja (20-1): Was second to one of the Oaks favorites, Search Results, in the Gazelle Stakes, so you can’t toss her out. That was a big improvement over previous tries and there’s a good chance she may bounce off it in a bigger and better field.

JOCKEY: Kendrick CarmoucheTRAINER: Rob Atras

3. Clairiere (5-1): Asmussen’s leading candidate has never been worse than second in four career starts. Has raced against Travel Column three times, winning once. A quick pace and the added distance will definitely help her cause.

JOCKEY:Tyler GaffalioneTRAINER: Steve Asmussen

4. Crazy Beautiful (15-1): Another interesting longshot possibility. She was Grade 1-placed at age 2, then was reluctant to load when a distant second in her 3-year-old debut. She was better behaved in the Gulfstream Park Oaks and won by 2 ¼ lengths. Continued improvement would make her a contender here.

JOCKEY: Jose OrtizTRAINER: Ken McPeek

5. Pass the Champagne (15-1): She was only a head behind Malathaat, the Oaks favorite, in the Grade 1 Central Bank Ashland Stakes, which makes her a big threat at nice odds. The drawback is that the added distance may work against her.

JOCKEY: Javier CastellanoTRAINER: George Weaver

6. Travel Column (3-1): In her last three starts, all in Grade 2 company, she has two wins and a second by a neck. With two wins already at Churchill Downs, she figures to be a force in this field and just might be the one to beat.

JOCKEY: Florent Geroux TRAINER: Brad Cox

7. Ava’s Grace (50-1): Scratched.

8. Moraz (30-1): She’s never been worse than third in five career starts and it’s hard to toss her out. But in a field as competitive as this, you would like to see at least one stakes win to her credit and so far, she’s 0-for-3 in that regard. At least she has the services of a hot jockey in California’s Flavien Prat.

JOCKEY: Flavien PratTRAINER: Michael McCarthy

9. Coach (50-1): Another who has long odds and has been competitive with several of the main horses in this race. She was third in the Fantasy, so it wouldn’t be a shock if she wins, but it doesn’t seem likely, either. On the bright side, maybe she kicks off a huge weekend for Luis Saez and Brad Cox.

JOCKEY: Luis SaezTRAINER: Brad Cox

10. Malathaat (5-2): She’s undefeated and the morning-line favorite. You can’t knock four wins in as many tries, but she had to work hard to win the Central Bank Ashland in her lone race at 3-year-old. The other top contenders appear to have an edge in being battle-tested this year and perhaps that will be the deciding factor in the final furlong.

JOCKEY: John VelazquezTRAINER: Todd Pletcher

11. Will’s Secret (30-1): She won a pair of Oaklawn stakes, including the Honeybee Stakes, but then was a little more than five lengths behind Malathaat when third in the Central Bank Ashland. A wide trip may have hurt her there, but ground loss could be a problem once again here from post 11.

JOCKEY: Jon Court TRAINER: Dallas Stewart

12. Search Results (3-1): She’s a perfect 3-for-3 and seems ready to handle the big step up in class from a Grade 3 win at Aqueduct to the Oaks. The post is a concern, but the skills of jockeyIrad Ortiz Jr. just might negate that. She is definitely one of the major players in a highly contentious race.

JOCKEY: Irad Ortiz Jr.TRAINER: Chad Brown

13. Competitive Speed (50-1): Having lost by four lengths or more in her last three starts, she has not lived up to her name. We’ll pass on her, especially from post 13.

JOCKEY: Chris Landeros TRAINER: Javier Gonzalez

14. Millefeuille (20-1): She led in mid-stretch in the Gulfstream Park Oaks but settled for second behind Crazy Beautiful. She was a little less than a length behind Malathaat as a 2-year-old in the Demoiselle Stakes, so, there are things to like in her past performances. What’s much tougher to like is post 14 in a field where there’s little to choose between many of the top contenders and significant ground loss promises to be costly.

JOCKEY: Joel Rosario TRAINER: Bill Mott

THE PICK: Travel Column

LIVE LONGSHOT: Pauline’s Pearl

SUPERFECTA: 6-1-12-10

See also: Kentucky Oaks and Road to the Kentucky Oaks

The 2021 Road to the Kentucky Oaks is a points system by which Thoroughbredfillies qualified for the 2021 Kentucky Oaks held on April 30. The field for the Kentucky Oaks, the filly equivalent of the Kentucky Derby, is limited to fourteen horses, with up to four "also eligible" horses in case of a late withdrawal from the field. The 30 races in the Road to the Kentucky Oaks were held from September 2020 (when the fillies were age two) through April 2021 (when they had turned three). The top four finishers in the specified races earn points, with the highest point values awarded in the major preparatory races held in late March and early April. Earnings in non-restricted stakes act as a tie breaker.

Fillies who instead wish to enter the Kentucky Derby have to earn the necessary points in the races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby: points earned on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks are not transferable. However, if a filly does earn qualifying points for the Derby by racing in open company, those points also count towards qualifying for the Oaks.^[1]

The 2020 Road to the Kentucky Oaks suffered major disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the postponement of the 2020 Oaks itself to September. For 2021, the Road to the Kentucky Oaks instead reverted to schedule for the 2019 Road to the Kentucky Oaks, except as follows:

• the Cincinnati Trophy, added as part of the 2020 Road, was retained for 2021
• Points for the Bourbonette Oaks were increased from 20 for first place to 50
• the Sunland Park Oaks was not held because of the cancellation of the Sunland Park race meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[2]}}

For the first time, points will not be awarded to horses that have been administered furosemide (Lasix) on race day.^[3]

Standings[edit]

The following table shows the points earned in the eligible races.^[1] Entries were taken on April 27.

• Entrants for Kentucky Oaks in pink
• Did not qualify/Not nomininated/Injured/Bypassing the race in gray-->

Race results[edit]

Prep season[edit]

Championship Series[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Friday, May 6th, 2022

Buy Tickets

The Longines Kentucky Oaks is America’s premier and most lucrative race for 3-year old fillies – female horses - held each year on the day before the Kentucky Derby. This feature race is a $1.25 Million Grade 1 stakes race and awards the winning filly a garland of lilies, appropriately named “lilies for the fillies.” Like the Kentucky Derby, the Longines Kentucky Oaks race is one of the longest continually held sporting events in American history, and one of the only horse races to take place at the original site of its inception. The race was established on May 19th, 1875, by the same founder of the Kentucky Derby, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, and is modeled after the British Epsom Oaks. View the fillies in the Longines Kentucky Oaks.

Kentucky Oaks Day at Churchill Downs is the second highest attended horse race in the United States – following the Triple Crown of racing; the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. Aside from thunderous live horse racing, fans celebrate fashion and fundraising for critical women’s health issues.

During Kentucky Oaks Day, the Churchill Downs Racetrack is a vision in pink as more than 100,000 guests are asked to prominently incorporate pink into their attire in an effort to drive national attention to the fight against breast and ovarian cancer. One of the most beloved traditions of this 12-year effort is the Survivors Parade - a march of breast and ovarian cancer survivors that takes place on the historic racetrack prior to the running of the Longines Kentucky Oaks. In 2021, the parade will be virtual due to COVID-19 social distancing protocols. Kentucky Oaks charitable initiative has raised more than $1,000,000 for charity since its inception.

As part of this year’s Kentucky Oaks charitable initiave, Churchill Downs has partnered with the Breast Health Program at Norton Cancer Institute to help cover the costs to renovate the Norton Prevention & Wellness Mobile Prevention Center, which provides free screening services to underserved patients age 40 and older in Jefferson and surrounding counties. Money raised through this effort has also funded the addition of 3-D mammography technology to the mobile unit.   

Furthermore, Churchill Downs has previously donated $1 for the sale of each Finlandia Oaks Lily, the official drink of the Kentucky Oaks. 

If you are planning to attend the Kentucky Oaks, we encourage you to wear any color as long as it is PINK — from hats to handkerchiefs, suits to sundresses, sunglasses to stilettos! Churchill Downs invites you to THINK PINK when planning your attire for Kentucky Oaks day, in honor of the Oaks official flower — the stargazer lily.

You can show off your pink duds in the Longines Kentucky Oaks Fashion Contest, for an opportunity to win a Longines time piece.