The Longines Kentucky Oaks has evolved into the most important North American race restricted to 3-year-old fillies, and the 1 1/8-mile dirt race will be the marquee event on Friday, May 1, at Churchill Downs.

Like the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, the Oaks has been held annually since 1875 with standout winners in the past half-century such as Davona Dale, Bold ‘n Determined, Princess Rooney, Open Mind, Silverbulletday, Ashado, Rags to Riches, Rachel Alexandra, Blind Luck, Untapable, Monomoy Girl, Malathaat, and Thorpedo Anna.

The 152^nd Kentucky Oaks will be broadcast live by NBC Sports on NBC with a scheduled post time of 8:40 p.m. ET. The race also will be streamed live on Peacock and air on FanDuel TV.

Read on for more information on the contenders for this year’s Kentucky Oaks. 

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1. Explora (6-1 morning-line odds)

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owners: Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman

Career record: 7 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $1,053,000

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 95

Pedigree: Blame – Collections Choice, by Bernardini

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Consistency is the hallmark of Explora, who has three stakes wins on her résumé and has never finished outside the top two in seven races. The Blame filly has been favored in each of her seven races — although she probably will not be the top betting choice in the Kentucky Oaks — and owns the best career-top Equibase Speed Figure (100) in the field. She enters the off a three-quarter-length victory in the $750,000 Honeybee Stakes March 1 at Oaklawn Park and should be well-rested for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, a three-time Kentucky Oaks winner. Fellow Southern California-based invader Meaning beat Explora by 1 ½ lengths in the Las Virgenes Stakes in February, so she’ll need to turn the tables on her familiar foe, but she’s always in the hunt in deep stretch.

Bet Explora in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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2. Zany (4-1)

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owner: Repole Stable

Career record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $369,625

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 93

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 80

Pedigree: American Pharoah – Mo’ Green, by Uncle Mo

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker/press the pace

Analysis: Zany began her career with three straight dominant wins, including an 8 ½-length romp at the same 1 1/8-mile distance as the Kentucky Oaks in the $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes in December at Aqueduct and a season-debut win by 2 ¾ lengths in the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. The American Pharoah filly lost for the first time as the odds-on favorite April 3 in the Central Bank Ashland Stakes, in which she was outfinished by 2 ¾ lengths by winner Percy’s Bar. Zany earned a new career-best Equibase Speed Figure in the Ashland and owns a win at the Oaks distance. She’ll face an even better group of fillies in the Kentucky Oaks and must improve to have a shot at a victory for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, who has won the Kentucky Oaks four times, most recently with Malathaat in 2021.

Bet Zany in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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3. Search Party (30-1)

Jockey: Cristian Torres

Trainer: Mark Casse

Owner: Tracy Farmer

Career record: 8 starts – 2 wins – 2 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $516,711

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 96

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 67.5

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Devious Charm, by Into Mischief

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker/closer

Analysis: Search Party is the most experienced filly in the field with eight starts entering the Kentucky Oaks. She needed some time to figure things out, earning her first win by six lengths in her fifth race Dec. 27 at Oaklawn Park for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. Search Party next won her 3-year-old debut by a neck in the $300,000 Martha Washington Stakes at 1 1/16 miles while trying stakes competition for the first time. She earned a career-best 96 Equibase Speed Figure for the win but has regressed slightly since then with an unplaced finish in the Honeybee Stakes and a second in the $1 million Fantasy Stakes, 5 ½ lengths behind winner Counting Stars March 27 at Oaklawn. Based on her last two races, Search Party looks like a longshot to win the Kentucky Oaks, but with six top-three finishes she’s a strong candidate to fill out the trifecta or superfecta at an appealing price.

New to horse racing? Let us explain…

A trifecta or superfecta filler: We’re suggesting that you might want to add the horse to your bet if you’re playing an trifecta (picking the first three finishers) or a superfecta (first four finishers), and using this horse in the third and/or fourth slot but not to win.

Bet Search Party in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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4. Counting Stars (8-1)

Jockey: Francisco Arrieta

Trainer: Mark Casse

Owner: West Point Thoroughbreds

Career record: 7 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $972,606

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 99

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 100

Pedigree: Honor A.P. – Paynterbynumbers, by Paynter

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker/press the pace

Analysis: Progress with racehorses is rarely linear and Counting Stars is a prime example. After a dominant debut win, she ran a well-beaten fifth in her stakes debut last October at Keeneland. She closed out her 2-year-old season with back-to-back dominant stakes wins at Oaklawn Park but stopped and was distanced (beaten by more than 60 lengths) in her first start at age 3 in the Martha Washington Stakes. The bay Honor A. P. filly is back in top form, however, recording a runner-up finish in the $750,000 Honeybee Stakes March 1 and a 5 ½-length runaway victory March 27 in the $1 million Fantasy Stakes, both at Oaklawn. Counting Stars completed her final quarter-mile in :24.62 and earned a 99 Equibase Speed Figure for the Fantasy, just one point off the best figure in the Oaks field. She profiles as a viable contender to win the Oaks with a top effort.

Bet Counting Stars in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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5. Meaning (5-1)

Jockey: Juan Hernandez

Trainer: Michael McCarthy

Owners: Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners

Career record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $307,000

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 95

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 126

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Figure of Speech, by Into Mischief

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Her lone career defeat came when a troubled fourth in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in her second career start. In two races as a 3-year-old in 2026, Meaning pulled away to a 1 ½-length win in the Las Virgenes Stakes in February and proved much the best in the Santa Anita Oaks Presented by Surfside, winning by two lengths as the odds-on favorite. She has good tactical speed that should allow her to get good early position and is bred to handle 1 1/8 miles. Meaning is a top contender for the Kentucky Oaks and should be among the favorites.

New to horse racing? Let us explain…

Odds-on favorites are horses that are bet at odds less than even money by the time the wagering pools closed. This means that if you were to bet $2 on a horse that goes off at 2-5 odds, you would receive $2.80 back – two-fifths of each dollar wagered plus your $2 investment.

Bet Meaning in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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6. My Miss Mo (SCRATCHED)

Jockey: Micah Husbands

Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.

Owners: Averill Racing, Mathis Stable, and Tristan De Meric

Career record: 5 starts – 1 win – 3 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $148,030

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 90

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 75

Pedigree: Uncle Mo – In a Dream, by Quality Road

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Analysis: My Miss Mo was a dominant 12-length winner in a maiden special weight race Nov. 9, 2025 at Gulfstream Park, a runaway victory that gave trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. the confidence to test the Uncle Mo Filly against stakes competition. While she is winless in three stakes starts, her two most recent races have been encouraging. She ran second, beaten six lengths by winner She Be Smooth, in the $225,000 Davona Dale Stakes Presented by Inglis Digital USA Feb. 28 at Gulfstream Park before setting the pace March 28 in a runner-up finish to Prom Queen in the Gulfstream Park Oaks Presented by City National Bank. My Miss Mo was 2 ¾ lengths behind Prom Queen in that race and earned a new career-best 90 Equibase Speed Figure. A top-three finish is not out of the question if My Miss Mo can improve in her third start of the year. (NOTE: My Miss Mo was scratched from the Kentucky Oaks April 29.)

Bet My Miss Mo in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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7. Dazzling Dame (30-1)

Jockey: Luis Saez

Trainer: Brittany Russell

Owners: Respect the Valleys, Medallion Racing, and Madaket Stables

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

Career earnings: $290,525

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 88

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 40.75

Pedigree: Girvin – Awesome Dama, by Corinthian

Color: Bay

Running style: Pacesetter

Analysis: Dazzling Dame squeaked into the 14-horse field for the Kentucky Oaks after multiple late defections. She does not appear fast enough to win on paper, but there is no denying this is a very talented filly. She won four of her first five races, including three stakes wins at three different tracks headlined by an 11-length romp Jan. 3 in the Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct. Dazzling Dame enters the race off a second-place finish by 4 ¼ lengths to Bottle of Rouge in the $250,000 Virginia Oaks Presented by New Kent County March 14 at Colonial Downs. The bay Girvin filly is a strong candidate to set the pace in the Kentucky Oaks field or at least be one of several fillies challenging for the early lead, but it would qualify as a surprise to see her still in the hunt at the finish line. Jockey Luis Saez will be seeking his third win in the Kentucky Oaks and second in a row after guiding Good Cheer to victory in 2025.

Bet Dazzling Dame in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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8. Bottle of Rouge (SCRATCHED)

Jockey: Mike Smith

Trainer: Bob Baffert 

Owner: Jill Baffert

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

Career earnings: $577,000

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 94

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 57.5

Pedigree: Vino Rosso – Blues Corner, by Bluegrass Cat

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Bottle of Rouge has won four times in her last five races with the lone blemish in that stretch a sixth-place finish last fall in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. She’s 2-for-2 this year for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who trains the Vino Rosso filly for his wife, Jill. Bottle of Rouge opened her 3-year-old season with a 1 ½-length victory in the $250,000 Sunland Park Oaks, earning a career-top 94 Equibase Speed Figure, and next dominated the $250,000 Virginia Oaks Presented by New Kent County by 4 ¼ lengths March 14 at Colonial Downs. She looks like a strong candidate to improve in her third start of the year with seven weeks of rest, and Bottle of Rogue has the tactical speed to secure good early positioning tucked in just behind the pace. Bob Baffert has won three previous editions of the Kentucky Oaks with Silverbulletday (1999), Plum Pretty (2011), and Abel Tasman (2017); Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith partnered with Baffert to win the Oaks with Abel Tasman and also won the race in 2013 aboard Princess of Sylmar. NOTE: Bottle of Rouge was scratched from the Kentucky Oaks April 26 because of a minor illness.

Bet Bottle of Rouge in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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9. Always a Runner (10-1)

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

Trainer: Chad Brown

Owners: Douglas Scharbauer and Three Chimneys Farm

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

Career earnings: $129,200

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 94

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 100

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Always Carina, by Malibu Moon

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: A well-bred Gun Runner filly who was a seven-figure purchase at auction as a yearling, Always a Runner enters the Kentucky Oaks unbeaten in two starts after acing her first class test in the $200,000 Gazelle Stakes April 4 at Aqueduct. Always a Runner delivered a professional win from off the pace and completed the final furlong in an encouraging :12.56 to prevail by 1 ¼ lengths at the same 1 1/8-mile distance as the Kentucky Oaks. She has the least experience of any of the Kentucky Oaks contenders but also perhaps the highest upside. Even a small step forward would make Always a Runner a serious player in the Oaks. She picks up the services of jockey Jose Ortiz, who won the Kentucky Oaks in 2019 on Serengeti Empress.

Bet Always a Runner in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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10. Prom Queen (8-1)

Jockey: Javier Castellano

Trainer: Brad Cox

Owners: Gary and Mary West

Career record: 3 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $206,980

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 94

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 100

Pedigree: Quality Road – Miss Bling Bling, by Tapit

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Lightly raced Prom Queen made a memorable stakes debut in her third career start March 28 in the Gulfstream Park Oaks Presented by City National Bank. The bay Quality Road filly shook free in the stretch to win by 2 ¾ lengths under Javier Castellano, improving her top Equibase Speed Figure 11 points to a 94. Unraced at age 2, Prom Queen was second in her debut Jan. 23 going one mile before winning a 1 1/16-mile maiden race by eight lengths on Feb. 21, both at Gulfstream Park. Prom Queen will make her first start away from Gulfstream in the Kentucky Oaks against the best competition she has faced in her career. She has room to improve in her fourth start for three-time Kentucky Oaks-winning trainer Brad Cox and very likely must do just that to have a shot at a victory. Jockey Javier Castellano won this race in 2016 aboard Cathryn Sophia.

Bet Prom Queen in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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11. Percy’s Bar (6-1)

Jockey: Luan Machado

Trainer: Ben Colebrook

Owner: Hat Creek Racing

Career record: 6 starts – 3 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $1,015,121

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 96

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 114

Pedigree: Upstart – Honestly Deb, by Super Saver

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Named after beloved longtime Churchill Downs and Keeneland bartender Percy Pool, who passed away in February 2024, Percy’s Bar surely will be a popular sentimental pick among Churchill patrons. But the Upstart filly is much more than a heart-warming story, she’s all racehorse. Percy’s Bar was unlucky not to be a Grade 1 winner in 2025 when disqualified after finishing first in the Darley Alcibiades Stakes in October at Keeneland before a troubled third-place finish in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. In her 3-year-old debut off a five-month layoff, Percy Bar nailed down the elusive Grade 1 in dominating fashion with a 2 ¼-length victory in the Central Bank Ashland Stakes April 3 at Keeneland. Percy’s Bar is versatile enough to press, stalk, or close from off the pace in races, and the grit she’s displayed in her races makes her a top win candidate.

Bet Percy's Bar in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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12. Bella Ballerina (SCRATCHED)

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione

Trainer: Brendan Walsh

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $561,525

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 91

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 110

Pedigree: Street Sense – Pretty City Dancer, by Tapit

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Analysis: A Godolphin homebred half-sister (same dam [mother], different sire [father]) to 2023 Kentucky Oaks winner Pretty Mischievous, Bella Ballerina began her career with three straight wins, including a stakes win at Churchill Downs at age 2 and a season-opening victory in the Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra Stakes Feb. 14 at Fair Grounds. She enters off a distant second to Life of Joy as the even-money favorite in the Fasig-Tipton Fair Grounds Oaks and must improve on that effort to win the Kentucky Oaks. Bella Ballerina is bred to be a star, but she has not yet run as fast as several top Oaks entrants. Owner-breeder Godolphin, trainer Brendan Walsh, and jockey Tyler Gaffalione teamed to win the Oaks in 2023 with Pretty Mischievous. Godolphin also won the race last year with Good Cheer. (NOTE: Bella Ballerina was scratched from the Kentucky Oaks April 30.)

Bet Bella Ballerina in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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13. Pashmina (30-1)

Jockey: Ramon Vasquez

Trainer: Rob Atras

Owner: Red White and Blue Racing

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

Career earnings: $116,911

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 92

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 63

Pedigree: Constitution – Panthera Onca, by Super Saver

Color: Bay

Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace

Analysis: Since a 10 ¾-length maiden win Nov. 28, 2025, at Fair Grounds, Pashmina has competed exclusively in stakes races and held her own against quality opposition without securing another victory. Pashmina ran third in her stakes debut in the Untapable Stakes Dec. 20 at Fair Grounds before finishing 1 ¾ lengths behind winner Taken by the Wind while fourth in the Fasig-Tipton Silverbulletday Stakes Jan. 17 at Fair Grounds. After the Constitution filly was third in the Sunland Park Oaks, trainer Rob Atras shipped her to Aqueduct for the $200,000 Gazelle Stakes April 4. Pashmina set the pace in the 1 1/8-mile Gazelle and held on to finish second while earning a career-top 92 Equibase Speed Figure. Pashmina faces a daunting challenge seeking her first stakes win in the Kentucky Oaks, but her price should be appealing, she gives an honest effort every time, and she enters off the best race of her career.

Bet Pashmina in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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14. Brooklyn Blonde (30-1)

Jockey: Kazushi Kimura

Trainer: Michael McCarthy

Owners: Sun-Kissed Stable and Bobby Flay

Career record: 4 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $96,500

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 93

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 50

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Shenandoah Queen, by Henny Hughes

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker/press the pace

Analysis: The chestnut Gun Runner filly improved significantly when stretching out in distance to a mile in her third start, pressing the pace from second March 1 at Santa Anita Park and pulling away to win by 1 ¼ lengths for her first victory. She next held her own in her first stakes test, finishing second to stablemate Meaning in the $200,000 Santa Anita Oaks Presented by Surfside. Brooklyn Blonde was beaten by two lengths by one of the leading Kentucky Oaks contenders while facing the best competition she has competed against to date, but she could improve coming out of that race in her third start around two turns. Brooklyn Blonde looks like a viable live longshot after securing a spot in the field after multiple defections.

Bet Brooklyn Blonde in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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15. Lovely Grey (30-1)

Jockey: Dylan Davis

Trainer: Kelsey Danner

Owner: Go Go Greys Stable

Career record: 7 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $148,668

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 91

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 35

Pedigree: Vekoma – Knightwithputnam, by Unbridled's Song

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Closer

Analysis: Lovely Grey is owned by Barstool Sports founder and noted pizza guru Dave Portnoy’s Go Go Greys Stable, and she drew into the main body of the Kentucky Oaks field off the also-eligible list following the scratch April 26 of Bottle of Rouge. The Vekoma filly earned her first victory on the turf in her second start and has performed best on the all-weather surface at Turfway Park, where she finished second in both the $175,000 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes and $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks. Surface is the key question for Lovely Grey, whose lone previous try on a dirt track came in her career debut when a well-beaten fourth on a sloppy track in July 2025 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. A career debut, especially on a wet surface, is often simply a learning experience, so Lovely Grey is a bit of a mystery against what would be the toughest competition of her career.

Bet Lovely Grey in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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16. Nycon (SCRATCHED)

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione

Trainer: Whit Beckman

Owner: Icon Racing Stable

Career record: 5 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $156,018

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 85

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 33.75

Pedigree: Nyquist – Raise the Flag, by Awesome Again

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker/closer

Analysis: Nycon was a $375,000 purchase at the 2024 Keeneland September yearling sale by Icon Racing, the partnership founded by World Series champion Jayson Werth and Ken Kuykendall. She hails from the great Phipps Stable family that produced unbeaten Hall of Famer Personal Ensign, Nycon’s third dam (maternal great-grandmother). Nycon’s dam (mother), Raise the Flag, is a half-sister (same dam, different sire) to champion Storm Flag Flying. Nycon needed a second defection to draw into the Kentucky Oaks field (Bottle of Rouge on April 26 was the first defection) after running fourth in the Gazelle Stakes April 4 at Aqueduct in her final Kentucky Oaks prep race, and she got her opportunity to compete in the Oaks when My Miss Mo was scratched April 29. The Nyquist filly finished second earlier this year in both the Cash Run Stakes at Gulfstream Park and the Busher Stakes at Aqueduct but has yet to run fast enough to be a real threat against this level of competition. (NOTE: Nycon was scratched from the Kentucky Oaks May 1.)

Bet Nycon in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.

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17. Resist (30-1)

Jockey: Brian J. Hernandez Jr.

Trainer: Tom Drury Jr.

Owner: Military Pike Racing Stables

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

Career earnings: $165,066

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 89

Kentucky Oaks qualifying points: 21

Pedigree: Maclean's Music – Bahama Babe, by Point of Entry

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker/closer

Analysis: Resist has raced exclusively on the all-weather surface at Turfway Park in four starts to date, winning her first two races in December and January before running third in both the $175,000 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes and $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks. Resist needed three scratches to get into the race and drew into the field with the third scratch of the week (Bella Ballerina on April 30). She figures to be a longshot on the tote board in her first try on dirt while facing significantly better competition than she has faced in two stakes tries at Turfway. Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. won the Kentucky Oaks in 2024 with budding star Thorpedo Anna.

Bet Resist in the Kentucky Oaks with 1/ST BET.