2026 Bluegrass Oaks

The Bluegrass Oaks is a big $1.5 million purse for the 3yo ladies of the game.  The hot post position is gate #3, where the winner started in three of the last four races.  A large field of 20 will be competing in this year’s event.  Since the first race, which dates back to 2000, there have been three fillies that have pulled off upsets at odds of 20/1 or higher with the highest one at 34/1 (Stormy Megan, 2002).  The lowest odds for a winner is 3/1 and occurred in the first year (2000) by Alone That Baby.  First Degree Bern holds the record for the fastest speed in this race (in 2014) at 113.5. 

This race maybe more a battle of the owners as four players have multiple entrants in this race.  Deperado, Beerkeg and Fdlodge20 each have two runners entered and Tenpoint has flooded the field with five fillies.  Over half of the are owned by these four owners.

Here’s a look at this year’s contenders  in the 9-furlong distance race:

1  OUT OF STATE BOOZE  19/1  (owned by Desperado, Sired by Nyquist)

It wasn’t until October of last year that Out of State Booze found a way to break her maiden when this front running lady figured out to hang on to earn a win with an 89 speed.  She repeated that speed in her last race of 2025 and finished 2^nd after cutting all the fractions.  She kicked off 2026 by wiring  the field with a nicely improved speed of 98.  Her most resent start was another win where she wired the field in her first stakes appearance in the G3 Lady Boutbon, holding on to win in a photo-finish and a career best speed of 100.   She moves up to the highest level in graded stakes and there are several other fillies who will be bidding to take the lead out of the gate.  She goes 9-furlongs for the first time and the longer distance may not be beneficial.

2  I’M NOT LIKE YOU  14/1 (owned by Tenpoint, Sired by Into Mischief)

I’m Not Like You has raced five times in the graded level  and has struggled to deliver consistent results.  Her best finish at this highest racing level is a second in the G1 Vermont is 4 Lovers where she notched her career best speed of 98 and missed the win by a length.  She tried to get a free-ticket to the Bluegrass Derby in her last start, the Florid Derby but struggled against the boys, finishing 6^th.  She does have a win in the listed stake level that she recorded last November and won by a very nice 4-strides.   The graded stakes level has been very challenging to this runner and she will need to bump up her speed figures a bit to take the win against these runners.

3  A HUNDRED LEFTS  19/1  (owned by Tenpoint, sired by Tapit)

Much of A Hundred Lefts success has been achieved in the allowance ranks where she is 2-1-0 in threes starts (including a maiden special allowance).  Grade level racing has been very challenging for this filly.  She has made four starts at this level and hit the board once, which came this past January, finishing a bit more than a stride behind the winner in second with a 96 speed, which is her career best.  It’s hard to get excited by this runner who hasn’t been too competitive in the stake ranks and faces a field with runners who have already reached the 100-speed level.  She does benefit from post #3, which has won three of the last Bluegrass Oak races and maybe the post will be her lucky charm.

4  FROM RICHES  21/1 (owned by Wrathbread, sired by Union Rags)

2025 was a nice season for From Riches as she won 4 of 6 races and roped in a second and third, hitting the board each time she hit the track.  She had a win and a third in a pair of listed stake events and was second in the G3 Schoolerville and concluded the year with a win in the G2 Sell the Queen.  She likes to run near the lead which has worked well for her.   Turning the calendar to 2026, outcomes have not been as favorable.  From Riches raced against some of the entrants in this big race in the G1 Vermont is 4 Lovers (finished 8^th) and the G1 lool Oaks (finished 6^th) with a 98 career-best speed recorded in the latter.  She will need to turn things up a few notches to overtake her foes in this event.

5  EAST COAST SPRIGHT 14/1  (owned by Antisuper, sired by Prince of Monaco)

This filly started her 2-year old racing career in the middle of 2025 and quickly won her first pair of races.  She rolled the dice and tried running in the G1 Darley and finished 7^th.  She stepped back a rung on the ladder into listed stakes in November and picked up her first stake win.  In 2026 she returned to the graded stake level competing in the G3 SilverBulletBeer and took the trophy with a 2-stride victory margin and a classy 100 speed to boot.    East Coast Spright competed against a few others that are entered into this field in the G1 lool Oaks and finished fourth (98 speed) but was 7 behind Zoey’s Reign.  I think her chances in this one would be much better if she had a better outcome in the lool Oaks.

6  FEEL THIS REAL  17/1 (owned by Tenpoint, sired by Into Mischief)

Feel this Real had a nice 2-yo season, winning three times including a pair of graded events, the hG2 Vermont BB Juvenile Filly and the G1 Walnut Tree where she ran just off the early pace and pounced to take both races by ¼-stride in each.  She struggled in the season ending G1 Breeder’s Bowl Juvenile where she had nothing to offer at the end of the race and faded off to a 10^th place finish.  She notched her best speed in her 2026 season first race, the G1 Vermont is 4 Lovers where she made a moderate effort and finished 3^rd with a 97 speed.   Seeking a Derby Lock, she last ran against the boys in the Arkansas Juvenile and failed to deliver, finishing 8^th with a drop in speed to 93.   The boys may have been too much of a challenge for her to tackle and she returns to compete with the gals in this race and may get a boost with the change in competition.

7  CHLOE LAMB  13/1 (owned by Beerkeg, sired by Curlin)

Chloe’s Lamb has been ITM 7 times in her 8 career starts and has amassed five wins.  She is typically slow leaving the gate and will make a roaring late charge.  She showed this off in her last start, the G1 lool Oaks where she was next to last at the half, some 13 strides off the leader, and fired off her rockets to finish 2^nd by over five lengths  and a career best speed of 100 (beaten by Zoey’s Reign who is in this field).    She had a tough time in her prior start which was her first time in a grade-level race, the G1 Vermont Is 4 Lovers where she was also next to last in the early going but could only muster herself up to sixth place and 94 speed figure.  Her last start was a nice improvement and she stretches out a half-furlong which could buy her the additional time needed to get to the top spot.

8  RECREATE THE SCENE  13/1 (owned by Tenpoint, sired by Not This Time)

Recreate the Scene has is a strong late runner who has hit the board 5 times (including a pair of wins) in 8 race appearances.  She did very well on a wet track last year in the G1 Getaway with a strong finish, rallying from 9 behind to finish second by a quarter-stride.  She came up short in the Breeders’ Bowl Juvenile Filly, surging from 18^th at the half to finish fifth by two after trailing by 11 strides earlier.  The Movieland Starlet saw her once again chiseling a deficit of 12 strides at the half to a near miss 2^nd place finish by a half stride.  Her recent start, the G1 California Derby, resulted in a 9^th place finish.  She did make up some 10-strides in the last half of the race but this was a Derby Lock race and facing the boys was probably too much at this time for her.  She returns to the ladies here, and her powerful late run could be the scene that fans will talk about for a long time.

9  SURVIVORSHIP BIAS 15/1 (owned by Desperado, sired by Arabian Knight)

This filly has found a spark in 2026. She won her first 2 starts in 2025 in allowance levels and ran well back at the end of the year in a listed stakes.   Survivorship Bias tried the listed stakes right away in her season debut running 2^nd throughout the race and finishing there with a 95 speed.  She would repeat that speed in another listed stake in February, this time earning her first stake win by a half-stride.  Her last race was a big test as she sailed up the ladder to the G1 California Oaks and came from 6-lengths behind, in her mid-field position, to cruise to the top spot by another half-stride with a very nice 101 speed.   Her form is something to take notice of as she has been performing well this season.

10  HUSTLEETA HOOSIER 12/1 (owned by Amir, sired by Game Winner)

A bit of a Cinderella story here, as Hustleeta Hoosier starter her career in a $50k claimer and finished second after cutting all the fractions.  She was claimed and went into a maiden allowance, wiring the field by a half-stride.  She then advanced to the allowance level and scored another win, wiring the field by over 2-lengths.  Hustleeta Hoosier then test the listed stakes level, last October, and was untouchable as she ran away from the field by more than 5-strides.  Her only time off the board came in the G1 Movieland Starlet where she ran second early on and wore out finishing 12^th.  She has sharpened up in the 2026 season, with a pair of victories in the G1 Los Vinegrette and G2 Fantasia Handicap (sloppy surface) with speeds of 100 and 104, winning each by narrow margins.   This filly loves to wire the field, but will have to outrun Niagra Verdict to do so as she also likes to do the same thing.

11  RADICAL MAGIC 15/1 (owned by John5539, sired by Good Magic)

Radical Magic had a very nice “magical” 2025 season where she won five of her six races as a 2-year old and finished second once.  After a nice second in her first listed stake appearance, she won her next listed stake try by a head after keeping close up with the front runners.  She wrapped up the 2025 season with a victory in the G3 Reflection Futurity, by a ¾-stride margin and a 96-career best speed.   The magic has not followed into 2026 as she finished 11^th in the G1 Vermont is 4 Lovers and more recently was a flat 7^th in the G3 Lady Bourbon.   She will need to find her magic wand and wave it around several times to restore the magic she had last season to get the boost she will need to snag the win here.

12  NIAGRA VERDICT 13/1 (owned by Jwest44, sired by Nyquist)

This lady has a near perfect race career winning 5 of six starts with a second to boot.   The second place finish came in her first stakes race, the G2 Iron Deck where she led throughout the race and got beat at the wire by ¾-length.  She responded to this defeat byt winning a listed stake event (wiring the field by four lengths) and popped a nice win in the G1 Movieland Starlet by a half stride, wiring the field again with a 97 speed.  Niagara Verdict came into 2026 on fire and immediately went to town by doing another wire job in the G2 Louisana Oaks with a lifetime best speed of 102 and by a decisive 4-stride margin.  This lady must be respected as she has the ability to outrun the field once again.

13  NOGOLDINFORTKNOX 17/1 (owned by Tenpoint, sired by Medaglia D’Oro)

This front-running filly has won three times and place three times in seven career starts.  Last season, in her first stake race appearance, the G2 Camlaw,  Nogoldinfortknox sat in the second seat for most of the journey and petered out in the stretch run, finishing 8^th.  Things improved off that start as she was dropped down into the listed stakes class and delivered a pair of second place finishes.  These outcomes gave her a boost back up to the grade level competition and she captured her first stakes win in the G2 Miss Bonnie with a lifetime best speed of 100.  Her form looks fine but will be in a battle for several other fillies who enjoy the front end.  She wired the field in her last going 9-furlongs and will need to repeat that effort.

14  GUNADO  14/1 (owned by Kingranch, sired by Gun Runner)

Guando has had a perfect 2026 season thus far.  She kicked the year off by winning a pair of listed stakes with speeds of 96 and her career best of 100.  She notched a third win in her last start running second early on and then pouncing to the top and winning the G2 Oaks Preview by just shy of a stride.  She loves to run on the lead and will have to fight her way to get to the leader’s seat as there are other ladies in this field who also will be seeking control of things.  Taking her fourth of the year are possible for this feisty lady.

15  TRINITY OLSEN 18/1  (owned by Beerkeg, sired by Tapit)

Trinity Olsen won her first G1 race in the Darley last September rallying from 8^th early on to take the victory.  She ran poorly in the Breeder’s Bowl Juvenile Filly (15^th out of 20) and had a mediocre performance in the G1 Movieland starlet, concluding the race in a mid-field 6^th to conclude the 2025 season.  She made a nice turnaround in her 2026 debut in the G1 Vermont is 4 Lovers notching a career best speed of 99 and taking a win by a stride.  She has won 5 of 7 career starts and hopefully has left her pair of poor outings at the end of the ’25 season behind her.

16  CANDY TAPS  15/1 (owned by Fdllodge, sired by Tapit)

Candy Taps is still seeking her first grade level win.  She has tried four times at this level and hit the board twice.  The first came last September in the G1 Darley where she trailed by 8 and sliced the gap to 4 and a third place finish.  In December this filly cut a 13 stride disadvantage at the half to just under 3-strides and another third place finish.  She did compete in the G1 Breeders’ Bowl Juvenile Filly, a race that included several others that are entered into this field, and finished in 12^th in the large 20-horse field.  Her last start was on a wet surface in the G2- Fantasia Handicap where she made up some late ground, but finished 6^th.   Her best outing was this past February where she grabbed her first stake win in a listed stake event with a 98 speed, her career best.  Candy Taps has late run ability, but the speed needs to bet boosted as others in the field are now hitting the 100-level.

17  KENTUCKYSTORM VIII  12/1 (owned by Balata, sired by American Pharoah)

In seven career starts, Kentuckystorm VIII has put in only one poor race showing, which was in the G2 Miss Bonnie where she finished 10^th and was never a threat in the race.   She has three listed stake wins to her credit (two of these in residency events) with a third also coming in a residency sponsored listed stake race.   She is loaded with dangerously strong late run, which was displayed in her last outing, the G1 California Oaks.   She was 12^th at the half, trailing by some 13-lengths and fired things up.  She missed the win by under a stride and crossed the line in third.  She also slashed out a career best speed of 100 in the process.  Bears watching.

18  FLOSS AND ROSES  18/1  (owned by Deyoto, sired by American Pharoah

Floss and Roses has suddenly come to life and found her stride.  She has won her last three starts, which began with an allowance level win against a small field with a 93 speed figure.  She then advanced to a listed stake race and improved her speed to 96 with her second win.  The most recent victory came as she again climbed the ranks into the G3 Whitetail winning by the largest margin in either of these three races a 2-1/2 length margin and a lifetime best speed of 100.  She has nice late closing ability and all three of these races were at 9-furlong.  Prior to going 9-furlongs, she was primarily posting speeds in the 70’s with the exception of one race where she ran an 84.  9-furlongs seems to be the distance of choice for Floss and Roses, which is the distance of this Bluegrass Oaks and she could keep her current streak rolling.

19  CHARGED AUSSIE  17/1  (owned by Fdlodge20, sired by Into Mischief)

Charged Aussie has had a tough time racing with graded competition.  She has four starts at this level and all have been at the G2 level.  She failed to hit the board in her first three races but the fourth time she found a spot on the tote board.  This came in her last start, the Oaks Preview, where she fell a good 13-strides behind the leader at the halfway point.   She then got her head into the game and rallied hard to finish second and less than a stride behind the winner and posted a career best 98 speed in the process.  She will need to produce a similar effort in this race as well as kicking up the speed figure a few notches to take down this field.

20 ZOEY’S REIGN 11/1 (owned by Jwsonny, sired by Constitution)

This talented lady has started the 2026 season off on the right foot.  She picked up a win, on the wet surface in the G3 Davola Dane South with a 103 speed rallying from 6-back at the half to gallop off to an impressive 4-stride win at 8/1.   Zoeu’s Reign improved off of that effort with a 107 speed in her last start, the G1 the lool Oaks and trailed by about 8-strides at the half and powered her way to an even larger win by nearly 6-strides.  These two races are a vast improvement from the pair of G2 races that she concluded the 2025 season with which included the Golden Red (3^rd with a 91 SP) and the KeggerDay Fillies Juvenile Mile (6^th, 85 SP).  Zoey’s Reign is looking very solid this season and enters off a very nice effort.  The large margins of victory in both her starts are something her competition needs to pay attention to.

My Selections

Zoey’s Reign has won the last two races by very healthy margins and 100+ speeds, current form looks solid to boot!

Floss and Roses could benefit from a nice trip by settling a little bit off the front runners and waiting patiently to pounce.  9-furlong distances seem to be her delight of late and she could get perfect positioning to make a run for the wire.

Chloe Lamb has a very nice late kick and will be charging late and could reel in the field.  Late runner is dangerous.

Speedster Niagara Verdict is a tough one to catch and only lost one race in her career (and finished 2^nd in that one).   She’ll be tested on the front end with other early runners in this field.

Hustleeta Hoosier is another front runner who will be battling on the front end for the lead and has wired the field five times over 7 starts.  She has been pressured on the front end before and performed well.