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The last Saturday in June may not be as big as the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. However, there is still a strong card of major graded racing on tap to close out the month.
The featured race at Churchill this Saturday is the Stephen Foster Stakes. This is one of four major graded events on the card. The other big race on tap is the Wise Dan Stakes. Both of these events are open to Thoroughbred horses four and older. This Saturday’s card at Churchill also marks the start of the 2021 summer racing schedule at any number of popular racetracks all across the country.
2021 Wise Dan Stakes Picks
When: Saturday, June 26th 2021
Where: Churchill Downs
This Grade 2 stakes race for Thoroughbreds four and older will be contested on the turf track at Churchill covering 1 1/16 miles in total distance. The prize purse for this year’s event is set at $300,000.
With Saturday’s official field still coming together, Horse Racing Nation has six contenders listed as probable. The best horse in the projected field would be Somelikeithotbrown. Trained by Michael Maker, this five-year old New York-bred horse is coming off a big win in the Grade 2 Dinner Party Stakes at Pimlico on May 15.
This horse’s unique name relates back to Big Brown as his sire. While his overall career may not be as successful as his father’s, he has made a name for himself as a champion turf horse over the past four years. This goes all the way back to a third-place finish in the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Churchill Downs.
My second choice for this year’s Wise Dan Stakes would be trainer Paulo Lobo’s In Love. This five-year old gelding was bred in Brazil. He has the third-highest HRN rating in the projected field at 6.30. While extremely limited in US racing action, he comes into this race fresh off a second-place finish at Churchill in a 1 1/8 miles Allowance Claimer on May 23.
2021 Stephen Foster Stakes Picks
When: Saturday, June 26th 2021
Where: Churchill Downs
The premier stakes race on Saturday’s card at Churchill is a Grade 2 event with a total prize purse of $600,000. Open to Thoroughbreds four and older, this race covers 1 1/8 miles on the dirt in total distance.
The featured event of the day is shaping up to have six competitors in a limited but rather deep field. If trainer Brendan Walsh decides to run Maxfield on Saturday, he should go off as the morning line favorite. He has a lofty 8.19 HRN rating coming off a victory in this year’s Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes at Churchill on April 30. He covered 1 1/16 miles on dirt in 1:41.39.
The four-year old Kentucky-bred colt has placed in the money in each of his of seven career races with an impressive six victories. The son of Street Sense saw his five-race winning streak come to an end back in March with a third-place finish in this year’s Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap.
Moving down the short list of other probable entries, my second choice for this race would be Silver Dust after winning the Grade 3 Ben Ali Stakes on April 10 at Keeneland. The veteran seven-year old gelding posted a winning time of 1:50.21 over 1 1/8 miles on the dirt.
Sired by Tapit, Silver Dust placed third in last year’s Stephen Foster behind Tom’s d’Etat and By My Standards.
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