The Longines Kentucky Oaks will be the marquee race on Friday, May 5, at Churchill Downs. The 1 1/8-mile race has emerged as the most important North American race restricted to 3-year-old fillies and, like the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, the Oaks has been held annually since 1875.

Notable fillies to have won the Oaks in the past half-century include Davona Dale, Bold ‘n Determined, Princess Rooney, Open Mind, Silverbulletday, Ashado, Rags to Riches, Rachel Alexandra, Blind Luck, Untapable, Monomoy Girl, and Malathaat.

The $1.25 million, Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks is a test of class, stamina, and of course speed for the best 3-year-old fillies in the country. The winner of the last 20 editions of the Kentucky Oaks has posted an average Equibase Speed Figure of 105.7 with a median of 104.5. Only once during that stretch was the race won with an Equibase Speed Figure less than triple-digits (Lemons Forever, 98 in 2005), with a high of 121 by Rachel Alexandra in 2009.

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The 149^th Kentucky Oaks, along with other races from Churchill Downs on May 5, will be televised live on USA Network during a five-hour broadcast from NBC Sports running from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. Post time is set for 5:51 p.m. ET.

Read on for more on the 14 fillies expected to compete in the Kentucky Oaks listed in post-position order (with morning-line odds).

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1. Mimi Kakushi (20-1 morning-line odds)

Jockey: Mickael Barzalona

Trainer: Salem bin Ghadayer

Owner: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed al-Maktoum

Career record: 5 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $212,701

Earnings per start: $42,540

Top Equibase Speed Figure: N/A

Kentucky Oaks points: 50

Pedigree: City of Light – Rite Moment, by Vicar

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: The United Arab Emirates Derby has never produced a Kentucky Derby winner and likewise the UAE Oaks has never been a fruitful path to Kentucky Oaks success. Mimi Kakushi will try to buck history May 5 coming off back-to-back wins in the UAE One Thousand Guineas Presented by Arn Jan. 20 at Meydan and the UAE Oaks Feb. 17. She won the former with ease but was challenged in deep stretch of the about 1 1/8-mile UAE Oaks by Ami Please before digging in gamely to put away that willing foe by 1 ¼ lengths. The City of Light filly was urged early in both of those Dubai stakes wins by jockey Mickael Barzalona to race just in behind the pacesetter, but she very likely will need to extend more energy early in the U.S. to position herself similarly as the pace typically is much faster. She’s a wild card with upside in this race and I would expect the odds to be enticing if you are looking to spice up your exacta and trifecta tickets.

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2. The Alys Look (15-1)

Jockey: Javier Castellano

Trainer: Brad Cox

Owners: Ike and Dawn Thrash

Career record: 6 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $190,528

Earnings per start: $31,755

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 93

Kentucky Oaks points: 54

Pedigree: Connect – Foul Play, by Harlan's Holiday

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: She’s one of three fillies from the barn of trainer Brad Cox on target for the Kentucky Oaks. While I have her listed as a stalker above, The Alys Look has won setting the pace and pressing the pace and could show a bit more speed than she did when third most recently in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks Presented by Fasig-Tipton March 25. She’s fast enough to be competitive with this group and being closer to the front early might assist in making up the seven lengths she finished behind Southlawn in the Fair Grounds Oaks. Cox has won the Kentucky Oaks with Monomoy Girl (2018) and Shedaresthedevil (2020) and has the probable favorite this year in Wet Paint, but The Alys Look profiles as an intriguing longshot to boost the exacta or trifecta payouts. Jockey Javier Castellano won the Kentucky Oaks in 2016 on Cathryn Sophia.

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3. Gambling Girl (15-1)

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owner: Repole Stable

Career record: 9 starts – 2 wins – 2 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $257,410

Earnings per start: $28,601

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 88

Kentucky Oaks points: 61

Pedigree: Dialed in – Tulipmania, by Empire Maker

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This filly won a stakes restricted to New York-breds in her fourth start in September 2022 and has since competed exclusively against stakes competition, including holding her own in four qualifying races on Kentucky Oaks trail. While Gambling Girl has not won since that initial stakes victory, she finished third in the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes and second in both the Busanda Stakes and Grade 3 Gazelle Stakes while consistently picking up points and paychecks by closing from off the pace. It would be a bit of a surprise to see her earn her first graded stakes victory in a race of this caliber against an elite field, but her best speed figure came at this distance and Gambling Girl has a stamina-laden pedigree. She should be doing her best running late with a shot at a top-three finish for trainer Todd Pletcher, who has won this race four times with Ashado (2004), Rags to Riches (2007), Princess of Sylmar (2013), and Malathaat (2021). Prominent owner Mike Repole and four-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. are looking for their first Kentucky Oaks win after finishing second with Nest in 2022.

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4. Southlawn (8-1)

Jockey: Rey Gutierrez

Trainer: Norm Casse

Owner: Robert E. Masterson

Career record: 7 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $318,369

Earnings per start: $45,481

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 102

Kentucky Oaks points: 100

Pedigree: Pioneerof the Nile – Mo d'Amour, by Uncle Mo

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Sometimes it takes a bit of trial and error to find a racehorse’s best surface and/or distance and sometimes Thoroughbreds simply require a few starts to figure everything out. In Southlawn’s case, it seems to have been a combination of the both; however the lightbulb has definitely come on for her in her last two starts going long on the dirt under Reylu Gutierrez. She won an allowance-optional claiming race by eight lengths in February at Fair Grounds and followed with by far the best race of her career when storming past Pretty Mischievous in the stretch to win the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks Presented by Fasig-Tipton by 3 ¼ lengths March 25. Southlawn has some versatility as she has won setting the pace, pressing the pace, and stalking the pace, and the Pioneerof the Nile filly’s 102 Equibase Speed Figure for the Fair Grounds Oaks indicates she is a serious win candidate. Her dam (mother), Mo d’Amour, was a stakes winner at 1 1/16 miles, so distance should not be an issue for Southlawn as she bids to give her jockey, trainer, and owner their first Kentucky Oaks victory. Norm Casse, who is enjoying success early in his career as a trainer, is the son of Hall of Famer Mark Casse, who conditions Oaks rival Wonder Wheel.

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5. Wonder Wheel (12-1)

Jockey: Joel Rosario

Trainer: Mark Casse

Owner: D. J. Stable

Career record: 7 starts – 4 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $1,578,225

Earnings per start: $225,461

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 94

Kentucky Oaks points: 48

Pedigree: Into Mischief – Wonder Gal, by Tiz Wonderful

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Wonder Wheel won four of five starts in 2022, including the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies by three lengths, on her way to an Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old filly. She is winless in two races as a 3-year-old, however, and enters the Kentucky Oaks off the first unplaced finish of her seven-race career when sixth, beaten by 5 ¾ lengths, in the Central Bank Ashland Stakes April 7 at Keeneland. Wonder Wheel will need a sharp turnaround in terms of form, but she has significant back-class and a 2-for-2 record on the main track at Churchill Downs, including a 6 ¾-length romp last July in the Debutante Stakes. She appears to have come out of the Ashland Stakes in good order as evidenced by a half-mile workout April 20 at Churchill Downs that was the fastest that day at the distance. For a racehorse who has never crept higher than 4.10-1 odds in any of her races, the Kentucky Oaks might be the best opportunity to get a square price on a champion filly if you are still a believer. I expect Wonder Wheel to run well May 5 for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, who finished second with Wonder Gadot in the 2018 Kentucky Oaks. With regular rider Tyler Gaffalione committed to Pretty Mischievous, Wonder Wheel picks up the services of 2021 Eclipse Award winner Joel Rosario.

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6. Botanical (4-1)

Jockey: Chris Landeros

Trainer: Brad Cox

Owners: LNJ Foxwoods and Clearsky Farms

Career record: 6 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $374,410

Earnings per start: $62,402

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 112

Kentucky Oaks points: 70

Pedigree: Medaglia d'Oro – Daisy, by Blame

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Unlike a few of her fellow Kentucky Oaks entrants, Botanical absolutely is fast enough to win this race coming off back-to-back dominant stakes wins that produced a 101 Equibase Speed Figure and a 112 most recently for her front-running 2 ½-length win in the $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks March 25 at Turfway Park. In fact, the Medaglia d’Oro filly has won four straight races by a combined margin of 24 ¼ lengths after she began her career with two races on turf. The key question for Botanical is can she carry her impeccable form over to dirt in her first try on that surface after she has been untouchable on the synthetic Tapeta Footings surface at Turfway. It’s impossible to know for sure, but her pedigree would seem to indicate the talent will transfer. She’s by Medaglia d’Oro, a three-time Grade 1 winner in dirt route races and out of Daisy, a graded stakes winner at a mile on dirt by a proven dirt sire in 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame. If she is as fast on dirt as she is on a synthetic surface, look out. Trainer Brad Cox has won two of the last five editions of the Kentucky Oaks – Monomoy Girl (2018) and Shedaresthedevil (2020) – and co-owner Clearsky Farms won the 2017 Kentucky Oaks with Abel Tasman, owned in partnership with China Horse Club.

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7. Wet Paint (5-2)

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Trainer: Brad Cox

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 6 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $689,000

Earnings per start: $114,833

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 97

Kentucky Oaks points: 170

Pedigree: Blame – Sky Painter, by Street Cry

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This talented filly by 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame has reeled off three straight stakes wins by two lengths of more on wet-fast, sloppy, and fast main tracks at Oaklawn Park. Entering Wet Paint’s final tune-up for the Kentucky Oaks in the $600,000 Fantasy Stakes April 1, there were still doubters who thought her previous two wins in the Martha Washington and Honeybee Stakes were aided by “off” tracks. She silenced the naysayers with a powerful rally to surge from last of 10 after a half-mile to first in early stretch on her way to a 2 ½-length victory. Her only poor race in six starts came on the turf in her debut, but she has been a model of consistency on the main track. Expect Wet Paint to be the heavy favorite in the Kentucky Oaks and she should have no trouble handling the 1 1/8-mile distance given her pedigree: her dam (mother) is stakes-placed winner Sky Painter, by Street Cry. Trainer Brad Cox won the Kentucky Oaks in 2018 with Monomoy Girl and in 2020 with Shedaresthedevil. Owner-breeder Godolphin, a global powerhouse in Thoroughbred racing, is seeking its first Kentucky Oaks win.

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8. Promiseher America (30-1)

Jockey: Jorge Vargas Jr.

Trainer: Ray Handal

Owners: Hoffman Thoroughbreds and Tom F. McCrocklin

Career record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $198,138

Earnings per start: $49,535

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 89

Kentucky Oaks points: 100

Pedigree: American Pharoah – Promisedyouheaven, by Unbridled's Song

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Promiseher America is a late developer who was well-beaten in her first two career starts in sprint races in December 2022 and January 2023. Something clicked in her third race when stretching out to a mile Feb. 19 at Aqueduct, where she seized command in the stretch and powered to a 6 ¼-length runaway. Trainer Ray Handal tested her next against top 3-year-old fillies April 8 in the Grade 3 Gazelle Stakes, a qualifying race for the Kentucky Oaks, and the American Pharoah filly aced the exam with a half-length win at 26.50-1 odds. Promiseher America demonstrated some grit in turning back third-place finisher Shidabhuti in the stretch and earned a career-best 89 Equibase Speed Figure to give Handal his first career graded stakes win. The speed figure does not inspire a ton of confidence and many of the best 3-year-olds winter outside of New York, but Promiseher America completed the final furlong of the 1 1/8-mile Gazelle in 12.46 seconds and her final three-eighths of a mile in :37 after pressing the pace.

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9. And Tell Me Nolies (15-1)

Jockey: Ramon Vazquez

Trainer: Peter Miller

Owner: Peter Redekop B.C. Ltd.

Career record: 7 starts – 3 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $472,800

Earnings per start: $67,543

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 88

Kentucky Oaks points: 70

Pedigree: Arrogate – Be Fair, by Exchange Rate

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer/stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: And Tell Me Nolies got off to a terrific start to her career, winning three of her first four races including the Grade 1 TVG Del Mar Debutante and Grade 2 Chandelier Stakes. But after closing her 2-year-old season with an unplaced finish in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, the Arrogate filly has been unable to regain her winning form as a 3-year-old. Sure, she finished second in both of her starts in graded stakes, but she was well-beaten in both races, most recently finishing 6 ½ lengths behind Faiza in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks. And Tell Me Nolies is a very nice filly but on paper she does not look fast enough to win. The lowest winning Equibase Speed Figure in the last 20 editions of the Kentucky Oaks was a 98 by Lemons Forever in 2006; And Tell Me Nolies would need to improve her career-best 10 points just to reach that benchmark. On the bright side, stamina should not be an issue for a daughter of Arrogate out of Be Fair, a graded stakes winner at 1 1/8 miles and a half-sister (same dam [mother], different sire [father]) to 2009 Stephen Foster Handicap winner Macho Again. She looks more like a candidate to pass a few horses late for a minor share than to win the Kentucky Oaks.

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10. Flying Connection (15-1)

Jockey: Florent Geroux

Trainer: Todd Fincher

Owners: Brad King, Randy Andrews, G. Chris Coleman, Jim Cone, Suzanne Kirby, and Lee Lewis

Career record: 7 starts – 4 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $294,700

Earnings per start: $42,100

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 101

Kentucky Oaks points: 50

Pedigree: Nyquist – Free Flying Soul, by Quiet American

Color: Bay

Running style: Pacesetter

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Flying Connection was unplaced and well-beaten in two starts sprinting in Southern California to kick off her career, but the Nyquist filly has flourished since moving to New Mexico and winning her first start there by 15 ¼ lengths last November. She has likewise improved recently when stretching out in distance. She won the one-mile Island Fashion Stakes by 9 ¼ lengths Feb. 28 and the $300,000, 1 1/16-mile Sunland Park Oaks by 2 ¼ lengths, leading from start to finish in both races while setting new career tops in terms of Equibase Speed Figures. Her 101 speed figure for the Sunland Park Oaks stamps her a contender in the Kentucky Oaks, but it’s fair to wonder about the quality of competition she was beating in New Mexico given her initial struggles on the more challenging Southern California circuit. If you are a backer of Flying Connection, the price could be right for a nice score and she picks up the services of jockey Florent Geroux, who won the Kentucky Oaks with Monomoy Girl (2018) and Shedaresthedevil (2020).

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11. Defining Purpose (12-1)

Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.

Trainer: Kenny McPeek

Owners: Magdalena Racing, Colette Marie Vanmatre and James Ball

Career record: 7 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $543,688

Earnings per start: $77,670

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100

Kentucky Oaks points: 107

Pedigree: Cross Traffic – Defining Hope, by Strong Hope

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Defining Purpose has been a bit of an all-or-nothing type in her career with three unplaced finishes, beaten by five lengths or more in each of them, countered by three wins in seven starts. She won two of four starts as a 2-year-old, including a 5 ¼-length romp going a mile in the Year’s End Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Defining Purpose was the even-money favorite in the Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn coming off that impressive stakes win but faded to third on a wet-fast main track and then was unplaced on another “off” track (sloppy) in the Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn in February. Shipped back to Kentucky for the $600,000 Central Bank Ashland Stakes, Defining Purpose flourished on a fast (dry) main track and posted a 20.34-1 upset win to earn a career-best 100 Equibase Speed Figure and a spot in the Kentucky Oaks. While you’d like to see a bit more consistency, this gray or roan Cross Traffic filly is capable of the type of big effort it would take to defeat a deep Kentucky Oaks field and give her jockey, trainer, and owners their first win in this race. Kenny McPeek-trained filly Swiss Skydiver finished second in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks, which was postponed until September due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She won the also-rescheduled Preakness Stakes in her next start racing against males.

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12. Dorth Vader (20-1)

Jockey: Luis Saez

Trainer: Mike Yates

Owner: John Ropes

Career record: 8 starts – 4 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $339,633

Earnings per start: $42,454

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 87

Kentucky Oaks points: 70

Pedigree: Girvin – Hardcore Candy, by Yonaguska

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: She wins the award for best name among the Kentucky Oaks contenders if you are a Star Wars fan, but she is another entrant that I’m not sure is fast enough on paper to win the race. Don’t get me wrong, Dorth Vader has compiled a nice résumé with three stakes wins, highlighted by a 4 ¾-length win at 46.70-1 odds in the Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes Presented by FanDuel TV on March 4. But in her final prep for the Kentucky Oaks, Dorth Vader faded to finish fourth, 2 ¼ lengths behind Affirmative Lady, in the $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks Presented by FanDuel TV April 1. That unplaced finish combined with an Equibase Speed Figure that has topped out at 87 and some possible stamina limitations have led me elsewhere when it comes to win candidates. However, Dorth Vader has tactical speed and should be prominent early, so with a step forward and a little racing fortune she could be in the hunt for a top three finish in deep stretch. Jockey Luis Saez won last year’s edition of the Kentucky Oaks aboard Secret Oath.

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13. Affirmative Lady (10-1)

Jockey: John Velazquez

Trainer: Graham Motion

Owner: AMO Racing USA

Career record: 6 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $270,568

Earnings per start: $45,095

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 87

Kentucky Oaks points: 110

Pedigree: Arrogate – Stiffed, by Stephen Got Even

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Affirmative Lady is an improving filly from the second crop of 2016 champion 3-year-old male Arrogate. She punched her ticket to the Kentucky Oaks with a breakout two-length victory in the $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks Presented by FanDuel TV that earned her a career-top Equibase Speed Figure. While she entered that race off a maiden win, Affirmative Lady had demonstrated class as a 2-year-old with a runner-up finish by a neck in the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes at the 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks distance. She very likely would need to take another significant step forward to be a win candidate in terms of Equibase Speed Figures for trainer Graham Motion, who is seeking his first Kentucky Oaks win. Affirmative Lady will be reunited with Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in the Kentucky Oaks. Velazquez rode her in all three of her races in 2022 and has won this race twice with Ashado (2004) and Malathaat (2021).

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14. Pretty Mischievous (10-1)

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione

Trainer: Brendan Walsh

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 6 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $501,310

Earnings per start: $83,552

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 97

Kentucky Oaks points: 103

Pedigree: Into Mischief – Pretty City Dancer, by Tapit

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Pretty Mischievous won her first two career races on this main track at Churchill before suffering her first loss when third under the Twin Spires in the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes. She then won a pair of points races on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, taking the Untapable Stakes in December and the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes Presented by Fasig-Tipton in February, both at Fair Grounds. The bay Into Mischief filly perhaps lost some luster when she was caught in the stretch of the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks Presented by Fasig-Tipton March 25, but she is fast enough to win this race, has consistently run well against top competition for trainer Brendan Walsh, and should get a good trip thanks to her tactical speed. Pretty Mischievous is a serious player for top prize for owner-breeder Godolphin, which has won almost every major race in the world except the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks. 

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(Also-Eligible) 15. Taxed (20-1)

Jockey: Rafael Bejarano

Trainer: Randy Morse

Owner: Richard Bahde

Career record: 7 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $199,644

Earnings per start: $28,521

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 93

Kentucky Oaks points: 48

Pedigree: Collected – Yankee Union, by Yankee Gentleman

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Taxed comes into the Kentucky Oaks off a career-best effort when second to Wet Paint April 1 in the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes. She’ll need one defection to get into the Oaks, which is restricted to 14 starters. The Collected filly overcame significant adversity in the Fantasy and showed resilience late while earning a career-best 93 Equibase Speed Figure. With an incremental step forward, she would be a player for a top-three finish on May 5 at Churchill Downs, but first she will need lady luck to smile upon her to find her way into the starting gate. Her current connections astutely claimed her for $50,000 out of a victory in a one-mile maiden claiming race on the main track at Churchill last November and she has earned more than $159,000 for them in four subsequent starts. Jockey Rafael Bejarano won the Kentucky Oaks in 2010 aboard Blind Luck.

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(Also-Eligible) 16. Julia Shining (15-1)

Jockey: Luis Saez

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owner: Stonestreet Stables

Career record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $262,575

Earnings per start: $65,644

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 99

Kentucky Oaks points: 46

Pedigree: Curlin – Dreaming of Julia, by A.P. Indy

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Stonestreet Stables’ homebred filly by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin has been one of the most highly regarded members of her crop since before she stepped foot on a racetrack. She is out of Grade 1 winner Dreaming of Julia, by breed-shaping sire A.P. Indy, which makes her a full-sister (same sire [father], same dam [mother]) to two-time champion Malathaat, winner of the 2021 Kentucky Oaks. Julia Shining lived up to the immense hype as a 2-year-old with two wins in as many starts, highlighted by a game win in the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes in December at Aqueduct. She has not, however, been as effective as a 3-year-old. Julia Shining finished third in the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in her 2023 debut and then needed a big race in the Central Bank Ashland Stakes to qualify for the Kentucky Oaks. She finished third by three-quarters of a length in a quality effort that left her needing two defections to get into the starting gate May 5 at Churchill Downs. It was a disappointing outcome to say the least because if she does get into the race, Julia Shining is a win candidate for trainer Todd Pletcher, who has won the Oaks four times with Ashado (2004), Rags to Riches (2007), Princess of Sylmar (2013), and the aforementioned Malathaat (2021). Jockey Luis Saez won last year’s edition of the Kentucky Oaks aboard Secret Oath.

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(Also-Eligible) 17. Hoosier Philly (30-1)

Jockey: Edgar Morales

Trainer: Tom Amoss

Owner: Gold Standard Racing Stable

Career record: 5 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $478,610

Earnings per start: $95,722

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 95

Kentucky Oaks points: 45

Pedigree: Into Mischief – Tapella, by Tapit

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: There were Kentucky Derby dreams for this filly after she ripped off three straight wins by open lengths in a dominant 2-year-old season, which was highlighted by a five-length romp in the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes in November on the main track at Churchill Downs. Fellow Oaks contender Pretty Mischievous finished third in that race, but she turned the tables on Hoosier Philly in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes Presented by Fasig-Tipton in February in February at Fair Grounds. Hoosier Philly finished third and 8 ¾ lengths behind winner Pretty Mischievous in the race as the ambitions of taking on males later in the season vanished in just a couple of minutes. Hoosier Philly was favored at 6-5 odds to bounce back in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks Presented by Fasig-Tipton March 25, but she came home 15 ¼ lengths behind winner Southlawn and will now need three defections to make it into the main body of the 14-horse Kentucky Oaks field for trainer Tom Amoss, who won this race in 2019 with Serengeti Empress.