Six Stakes, Three Graded, Complement Main Event Friday, May 17
Multiple Graded Winners Abound in $300,000 Pimlico Special (G3)

BALTIMORE – A total of 205 horses were nominated to six stakes, three graded, that help comprise the undercard of the $250,000 Xpressbet Black-Eyed Susan (G2) Day program Friday, May 17 at Pimlico Race Course.

In all, seven stakes, four graded, worth $1.15 million purses will be featured on the 14-race program, which serves as a fitting prelude to the 144th Preakness Stakes (G1), the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, Saturday, May 18.

Most popular among horsemen with 44 nominations, the historic $300,000 Pimlico Special (G3) was extended from 1 3/16 miles to 1 ¼ miles for 2019. Among the graded-stakes winning nominees are two from the 2018 Preakness – Tenfold, third by less than a length to Triple Crown winner Justify, and Quip, who returned this year to beat Tenfold in the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) April 13.

Life’s a Parlay is coming off a one-length victory in the Excelsior (G3) April 6 at Aqueduct and is one of five Todd Pletcher-trained nominees, along with 2017 Maryland Million Classic winner Bonus Points, 2017 Woodward (G1) runner-up Rally Cry, 2018 Wood Memorial (G2) winner Vino Rosso and 2018 Greenwood Cup (G3) winner You’re to Blame.

Also prominent among nominees are West Virginia-bred Runnin’toluvya, a winner of nine consecutive races capped by the Charles Town Classic (G2) April 20; multiple graded-stakes winners Something Awesome, eighth as the favorite in last year’s Special, and Flameaway; graded winners King Zachary, Rocketry and Silver Dust; and multiple stakes winners Cordmaker, Mr. Buff and Noble Commander.

The Special’s roster of winners includes Triple Crown champions War Admiral, Whirlaway, Citation and Assault and modern-day Horses of the Year Criminal Type, Cigar, Skip Away, Mineshaft and Invasor. Seabiscuit upset War Admiral in the 1937 Special, in what was termed the ‘Race of the Century’ by Sports Illustrated.

Eight Belles (G2) winner Break Even, 4-0 in her career, tops 43 3-year-old fillies nominated to the $150,000 Adena Springs Miss Preakness (G3) at six furlongs. They are joined by 2018 Schuylerville (G3) winner Catherinethegreat; 2018 Adirondack (G2) winner Sue’s Fortune; 2019 stakes winners Brunette Princess, Bye Bye J, Midnight Fantasy and Moonlight Romance; and Fighting Mad, Never Enough Time, Newly Minted and Royal Charlotte, all undefeated in two starts.

The $150,000 Caplan Brothers Glass Allaire duPont Distaff (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and up at 1 1/8 miles drew 20 nominations led by La Force, second two 2018 champion older female Unique Bella in the Beholder Mile (G1) and Clement Hirsch (G1) last summer; 2018 Gazelle (G2) winner My Miss Lilly; Grade 1-placed Gio Game and stakes winners Another Broad, Forever Liesl, Isotope and Timeless Curls.

Morgan’s Ford Farm’s Crabcakes is nominated to make her 5-year-old debut in the $100,000 Fidelity First & Blackwell Real Estate Skipat for females 3 and up sprinting six furlongs on the main track. Other nominees include 2017 Starlet (G1) winner Dream Tree; 2018 Barbara Fritchie (G2) winner Ms Locust Point; Chalon, unraced since finishing second by a head in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1); multiple graded-stakes winner Come Dancing; and multiple stakes winners Anna’s Bandit, Holiday Disguise and Shimmering Aspen.
   
Rounding out the undercard stakes are a pair of grass events, the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint for 3-year-olds and up going five furlongs and $100,000 Maker’s Mark Hilltop for sophomore fillies at one mile. The McKay’s 29 nominees are led by 8-year-old millionaire gelding Pure Sensation, a six-time graded-stakes winner; and Dirty, record-setting winner of the inaugural 5 ½-furlong King T. Leatherbury Stakes April 20 at Laurel.

The Hilltop attracted 36 nominations, among them The Mackem Bullet, winner of the Appalachian (G2) April 7 at Keeneland; Entirely, third by a half-length in the Matron (G3) last out Oct. 8; 2018 P.G. Johnson Stakes winner Dogtag; and Souper Escape, whose trainer, Mike Trombetta, won last year’s Hilltop with Souper Striking.