Reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna makes her fifth start of the year in the Personal Ensign Stakes, a marquee race for older females Saturday at Saratoga Race Course that also drew last year’s winner, Raging Sea. In fact, five of the seven entrants are Grade 1 winners.

The Personal Ensign is named after one of the sport’s most celebrated female racehorses, who retired with a perfect 13-for-13 record after winning the 1988 Breeders’ Cup Distaff. This year’s event is a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the 2025 Longines Distaff Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

1. Randomized (4-1 morning-line odds): Classy multiple Grade 1 winner ran second in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Distaff and has been a fixture in the division for several years. She’s 3-for-6 career at Saratoga and enters off a front-running, three-length win in the Molly Pitcher Stakes at Monmouth Park. She has set the pace in all six of her career wins, so expect her to be sent to the front in a race with plenty of pace.

JOCKEY: Manny Franco; TRAINER: Chad Brown

2. Dazzling Move (12-1): Speedy graded stakes winner enters off back-to-back seconds in the Ogden Phipps Stakes Presented by Ford and Shuvee Stakes here at Saratoga. A pace presence who could hang on for a minor award at an appealing price.

JOCKEY: Jose Ortiz; TRAINER: Saffie Joseph Jr.

3. Raging Sea (5-1): Last year’s Distaff runner-up to Thorpedo Anna started the season with a bang, defeating Randomized, Dorth Vader, and Thorpedo Anna in a three-quarter-length victory in the Fasig-Tipton La Troienne Stakes May 2 at Churchill Downs. She has run third, beaten by 6 ½ lengths and 13 ½ lengths in two subsequent starts, so she’ll need to get back to her best to win.

JOCKEY: Flavien Prat; TRAINER: Chad Brown

4. Dorth Vader (6-1): She won the Ogden Phipps Stakes at this track and distance June 6, romping by 4 ¾ lengths on a sloppy track against a field that included four horses she’ll face again here, including Raging Sea and Randomized. She followed with an unplaced finish behind Randomized in the Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park, making her a bit of a question in this spot.

JOCKEY: John Velazquez; TRAINER: George Weaver

5. Bernietakescharge (20-1): She’s another filly whose recent wins have all come when setting the pace, and she’ll be tested here in her first attempt in a graded stakes. Speed figures indicate she’s fast enough to be competitive, but she’ll have plenty of company up front from proven Grade 1 winners.

JOCKEY: Romero Maragh; TRAINER: Domenick Schettino

6. Leslie’s Rose (9-2): Posted career-top Equibase and Beyer Speed Figures in her most recent start, a 3 ¾-length win in the Shuvee Stakes July 18 at Saratoga, where she defeated Raging Sea and Dazzling Move. She probably would need to improve again to defeat Thorpedo Anna, who beat her by five or more lengths in all three meetings in 2024, but she is in terrific form.

JOCKEY: Irad Ortiz Jr.; TRAINER: Todd Pletcher

7. Thorpedo Anna (6-5): She bounced back from a head-scratching seventh-place finish in the La Troienne Stakes May 2 with a three-length win in the Grade 2 Fasig-Tipton Fleur de Lis Stakes June 28. The La Troienne was the lone unplaced finish in 14 career starts for the 2024 Horse of the Year, but in four races this season she has yet to match her best Equibase or Beyer Speed Figure from a year ago. Nonetheless, Thorpedo Anna is the one to beat in the Personal Ensign. She has three wins by three lengths or more in four starts this season and ran the fastest race of her career at Saratoga last summer in the DraftKings Travers Stakes when second against males.

JOCKEY: Brian Hernandez Jr.; TRAINER: Kenny McPeek

THE PICK: Thorpedo Anna

LONGSHOT: Dazzling Move

SUPERFECTA: 7-3-6-2