Black-Eyed Susan Stakes 2024
The Second Jewel of the Filly Triple Crown is part of the Friday card at Pimlico Race Course. As the 100th Black-Eyed Susan Stakes takes place. It will obviously be a special race with plenty of fanfare for the 100th running, as post time comes at 5:54 p.m. ET in Race 13 on May 17.
Eight fillies are entered and post positions have been drawn for what should be an interesting race. Only one runner from the Kentucky Oaks is in the field and it is Lemon Muffin coming out of the No. 3 position.
Black-Eyed Susan 2024 Entries, Horses, Jockeys, and Trainers:
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Jeanne Marie | R. Reid | M. Sanchez | 20-1 |
| 2 | Ringy Dingy | D. Gargan | K. Davis | 10-1 |
| 3 | Lemon Muffin | D. Lukas | F. Prat | 4-1 |
| 4 | Call Another Play | M. Trombetta | J. Rodriguez | 8-1 |
| 5 | Gun Song | M. Hennig | J. Velazquez | 9-2 |
| 6 | Whocouldaskformo | C. McGaughey | L. Saez | 6-1 |
| 7 | Corposo | P. Eurton | T. Gaffalione | 5-2 |
| 8 | Recharge | S. Asmussen | J. Rosario | 7-2 |
Premier connections are limited here, as this race does lack a little bit of star power on the trainer front, but there are a lot of household names among the jockeys. Two names that are not going to be very familiar are Mychel Sanchez atop No. 1 Jeanne Marie and Katie Davis riding No. 2 Ringy Dingy.
Sanchez is the top rider this year at Parx in Philadelphia and Davis has earned over $10 million in her career, including nearly $2.4 million last year. Jaime Rodriguez is known to daily horseplayers, as he’s racked up over $46 million in earnings, including nearly $16 million in the last two years and he’s approaching $3 million this year. He draws the ride on Call Another Play, the lone Maryland-based horse in the field.
Here are some thoughts on each horse at the odds at time of publish:
1. Jeanne Marie (20-1): With four starts and no finishes worse than second, the daughter of Speightster and Bouquet of Gold has done well to this point. Her maiden came in a sprint, but she handled the distance well in a win in the Main Line Stakes at Parx and then followed that up with a second to fellow Black-Eyed Susan runner Call Another Play at Laurel Park last month in the Weber City Miss at 7-1 odds. That was only a five-horse race and she ran well, but this is a much tougher field.
2. Ringy Dingy (10-1): The BES will signal the end of a long layoff for Ringy Dingy, as Danny Gargan sends her out for the first time since a disappointing seventh-place finish in the Demoiselle at Aqueduct in December. That was on a muddy, cold, wet track and she didn’t take to it well, never threatening to end a two-race winning streak. She won her maiden in September and took down the one-mile White Clay Creek Stakes at Delaware Park about three weeks later. After some R&R in Florida, maybe she’s ready for a big run once again.
3. Lemon Muffin (4-1): The G3 Honeybee Stakes feels like a lifetime ago, but it has only been about three months since Lemon Muffin broke her maiden in her stakes debut at Oaklawn Park. She ran a disappointing seventh in the G3 Fantasy about a month later and was never a factor in the Kentucky Oaks with an eighth-place finish. The trend line has been going down for the daughter of Collected and Pelt, who gets a rider change with Flavien Prat. Youngster Keith Asmussen did get the win in the Honeybee, but Prat gets the call after the two underwhelming rides. Is a jockey change enough to change the fortunes of Lemon Muffin?
4. Call Another Play (8-1): The appropriately-named Call Another Play was sired by Audible and has really come on strong as a three-year-old. She’s won each of her last three races, including her stakes debut in the Weber City Miss. She ran extremely well there and comfortably came down the final stretch on a fast track. It was her third straight easy win as well. Audible was a three-time stakes winner and finished third in the Kentucky Derby behind Justify and Good Magic in 2018 and her grandfather is Into Mischief. I really like her chances here.
5. Gun Song (9-2): Two fillies by way of Gun Runner are in this race, with Gun Song in the No. 5 post. It looked like she was ready to take off as a three-year-old with two board finishes at Gulfstream Park in allowance races, but she finished fourth in the Gulfstream Park Oaks at 1 1/16 miles as the second choice at 5-1. She ran out of gas on the final turn and seemed to lose stride a little bit. John Velazquez draws the ride again in search of a little bit of retribution, but you have to wonder if the extra distance was too much for her. She’ll have to run 1 ⅛ this time.
6. Whocouldaskformo (6-1): The daughter of Uncle Mo finished a game fourth in the G3 Gazelle, with three Kentucky Oaks runners finishing above her. Her maiden win at Tampa Bay Downs feels like a long time ago and it arguably was back on December 31. She’s run three times since and hit the board once, but this is a weaker field than what she saw in the Gazelle and G2 Davona Dale at Gulfstream Park, where one of the Oaks short shots in Leslie’s Rose finished third. Luis Saez draws the ride as the sixth different rider for Whocouldaskformo. John Velazquez, Jose Ortiz Jr., Tyler Gaffalione, Samy Camacho, and Javier Castellano have all had a try.
7. Corposo (5-2): Peter Eurton’s lone entry in the field will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, as the daughter of Vino Rosso and Manki looks for a bounce back effort. She ran a disappointing third in the Santa Anita Oaks when it looked like she was building towards a giant run. Corposo improved upon a solid speed number in her debut sprint at Santa Anita to win her maiden at a mile. She was not remotely a threat finishing third in her stakes debut in the SA Oaks. It didn’t even seem to be about the distance. She just didn’t have it against a better field and she may not here either, but she’s the favorite.
8. Recharge (7-2): The other Gun Runner runner here is Recharge for Steve Asmussen and Joel Rosario. In three sprints/single-turn races, Recharge went 3-for-3. Making a second turn in the Fantasy Stakes, she lost the lead and finished fifth in a race won by Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna. It wasn’t a strong closing run and she did get bumped a little bit along the rail, which possibly threw her off-stride a bit. Taxed ran second to Wet Paint in last year’s Fantasy and then went on to win the Black-Eyed Susan, so maybe Recharge can turn that into a trend.
Black-Eyed Susan Stakes Predictions
I honestly really like 4 Call Another Play here. She’s one of the longer shots on the board due to the lesser connections, but Michael Trombetta has a strong horse here and Jaime Rodriguez is a very accomplished rider. Call Another Play has only raced at Laurel Park, but unlike the other hopefuls here, she’s got the same rider that she had for each of her last three wins.
I also like 6 Whocouldaskformo and then 5 Gun Song underneath. I like the Saez change in a race that doesn’t have a ton of pace and Whocouldaskformo should get out early. She’s also finished behind some excellent horses and this field is lacking that characteristic.
For a $50 bankroll, I’m going with:
$20 Win
4 Call Another Play
$15 Win
6 Whocouldaskformo
$5 Trifecta Key ($10)
4, 5/6
$2.50 Trifecta Key ($5)
6, 4/5
