Laurel Hosts Four Stakes Saturday

Four Saturday stakes races  - including one restricted to Maryland-breds – highlight the weekend of racing at Laurel Park. For wagering purposes, the best value is likely to be had in the day’s seventh race, the $100,000 Safely Kept Stakes for three-year-old fillies sprinting seven furlongs on the dirt. While the Kentucky-bred Crazy About Me has been installed as the 2-1 morning line choice, she’s also been assigned the outside post in the 13-horse field, and will have to overcome any speed breaking inside of her.

Favorite tries stakes for the first time

Recent results have shown that she can get to the front early, and she’s been more than impressive in winning her last five starts, several of those by open lengths. At the same time, several of those wins have come against relatively small fields, and in lower claiming company. This will be her first try at any stakes level. In the meantime, 3-1 second choice Fully Living was most recently sixth in the Grade II Lexus Raven Run Stakes at Keeneland, and prior to that finished second in the Miss Woodford Stakes at Monmouth.

Maddy's Dance could be primed for upset 

At longer odds of 15-1 is Maddy’s Dance, who is coming off a 14-1 score in the Maryland Million Distaff, run at the same seven-furlong distance, and a race in which she defeated multiple-stakes winner Ju Ju Eyeballs. In 12 starts this year, the Pennsylvania-bred Maddy’s Dance has hit the board eight times, including four wins, and she was fifth this summer in the Grade II Delaware Oaks. Another long shot that could get on the ticket is Sunlit City, who has gone wire-to-wire to win three allowance events in a row and who will be stretching out here.