Eight Belles Stakes 2021 Entries & Post Positions

The Grade II Eight Belles Stakes is one of the top races for three-year-old filly sprinters and takes place on the Kentucky Oaks under card. The $300,000 purse has attracted a bumper field of 12 runners.

Check out all the Entries below and the Post Positions following the Post Position draw at Churchill Downs on Monday morning along with an overview from our editor.

Based on Past Performances and pedigree then Dayoutoftheoffice should be a clear favorite for the Grade II Eight Belles. The daughter of Into Mischief had a fine two-year-old season where she won the Grade III Schuylerville at Saratoga before coming up trumps beating the wonderful Vequist at the Grade I Frizette before seeing roles reversed at Keeneland in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

After that race however her trainer and connections gave her a lengthy spell off to freshen up so she hasn’t raced since November. That shouldn’t be too much of a concern and like in the Edgewood - the red hot favorite shouldn’t need to shake off the rust as she’s by far and away the class of this 12 filly field. A seven-furlong distance should be perfect and any horse that beats her is likely to emerge as the eventual winner. A wide draw with Post Position 10 shouldn't be overly concerning for the big favorite.

Steve Asmussen sends out Abrogate (not to be confused with the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Arrogate) as possibly the biggest rival to Dayoutoftheoffice. This three-year-old is best described as gutsy who has three wins from four on her resume. She broke her Maiden at Churchill Downs so has track familiarity and won last time out at Oaklawn in the Purple Martin Stakes. A contender but not of the class of the favorite.

Windmill finished third in that aforementioned Purple Martin Stakes and she is also entered in this one. This is the only horse who has a victory over Abrogate to her name - having bested her in the Dixie Belle but in all likelihood - these three horses are all vying to hit the board.

The wildcard may well be Grade III Beaumont runner-up Slumber Party. She was bested by Twenty Carat in that race but being the daughter of Malibu Moon always perks the ears up and makes you take notice. A lot of chatter about her potentially being an Oaks horse means that there is plenty to like. Going just seven furlongs may be the best distance for her so if you are looking to oppose the favorite - this is the way to go. A nice spot in Post Position 6 awaits her on Friday.

The addition of several horses late has opened up the potential betting pool somewhat although no-one has the class of Dayoutoftheoffice. Make Mischief has had a strong three-year-old campaign up at Aqueduct this year going three of four all at a mile or less. With a blood line our editor loves - could she be a bit of a wildcard pick to hit the board? She has the inside post.

Bob Baffert makes an appearance on the Kentucky Oaks under card as he sends out Santa Ynez winner Kalypso. With four straight top three finishes over on the west coast in Graded Stakes races - she can't be ignored. The talk is the Hall of Fame trainer wanted to cut her back in distance so the seven-furlong Eight Belles would be ideal. This is your best hope of the favorite going down in my opinion.

The three-four-five at the Fair Grounds Oaks are all involved. Souper Sensational, Obligatory and Li'l Tootsie are all entered. Caramel Swirl comes in fresh off breaking her Maiden over seven furlongs at Keeneland just a couple of weeks back.

Cantata and Euphoric round out the bigger than expected field of 12

We’ll have full coverage of the 2021 Eight Belles Stakes here on horseracing.net/us - our turf-man will publish his horse-by-horse analysis of the race on Tuesday and our full Eight Belles Stakes handicapping preview will go live from our in-house handicapper late on Thursday. So bookmark the site for full Eight Belles Stakes coverage throughout the week.

You can bet on the Eight Belles Stakes with our partners - AMWager, BetAmerica, TVG and TwinSpires. Just click on the Morning Line Odds of the horse you want to bet on via our Race Card below and choose which sign-up offer suits you best and click on that link. Then you'll be taken to their website to sign-up and Place your Eight Belles bet...