Kentucky Oaks 2021 Entries & Post Positions

The Grade I Kentucky Oaks is the feature race on the card at Churchill Downs on Friday. The $1.250,000 purse for three-year-old fillies has attracted a full field of 14.

Check out the full list of Entries and all their Post Positions following the draw along with the Morning Line odds at Churchill Downs this afternoon below along with an overview of the top contenders from our editor...

Coming into the Kentucky Oaks this year is a completely different feeling to how it was last fall. First of all just having the race back in its usual slot in the calendar is a blessing but I’m thinking more about the fact there is no big favorite. Last time out it was a question of whether you loved Gamine’s raw speed or Swiss Skydiver’s stamina. The fact neither actually won the Oaks is still a little bit stunning the best part of nine months on.

Search Results heads into the race with the most points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. An undefeated filly out of Flatter has been highly impressive up on the NYRA circuit and the way she scored the victory in the Grade II Gazelle was worth noting. The big question as always with NYRA horses is what is the standard of competition? We’ll find out on Friday whether he’s a pretender or contender. She will be among the favorites when they call the horses to Post and she’s been allocated Post Position 12 so will be wide at the break and is the co-second favorite on the Morning Line at 3-1.

The Brad Cox trained Travel Column might be the best horse in the field and she breaks from Post Position 6. Being beaten by a neck at the Grade II Rachel Alexander is nothing to sniff at - certainly when you throw in wins at Churchill Downs in the Grade II Golden Rod plus the Fair Ground Oaks. A lot to like about this one and I’m sure she’ll have plenty of support among handicappers and in the betting pools. She sits at 3-1.

Kenny McPeek had Swiss Skydiver a year ago but Crazy Beautiful is quite simply not in her class. Yet her 2021 campaign hasn’t been too shabby at all. Playing second fiddle to Wholebodemeister in the Grade II Davona Dale before winning a decent Gulfstream Park Oaks gives pause to those writing her off despite being one of the perceived front-runners. She has the xx Post. Kenny McPeek on the Oaks draw broadcast said that jockey Jose Ortiz suits her running style well and that his training style is always to get the best out of his horses in their third race of the season. This will be Crazy Beautiful's third race as a three-year-old. She break from PP 4 and is a 15-1 shot.

It is no surprise that Steve Asmussen trains one of the top choices in the Oaks and this year he has Fantasy Stakes winner Pauline’s Pearl. A relative late-comer who didn’t break her Maiden until February 12, she followed that up with a second-place in the Grade III Honeybee at Oaklawn before getting that big win in the Fantasy. She has the inside post so will have to get out early or she'll be caught up in the wash. An interesting one here and possibly a bit of a wildcard. Could be really good or…

The best horse in the race however is probably Malathaat who will break from the 10 Post. The undefeated daughter of Curlin looked great up at Aqueduct and came down to Keeneland to win the Grade I Ashland. Joel Rosario rode her that day but he’s been switched out with John Velasquez getting the ride back having had to pass on the Ashland as he was jockeying Medina Spirit at Santa Anita on the same day. Wonderful horse this and she's been installed as the Morning Line favorite at 5-2.

Away from the top five in the points table - the most likely filly to play spoiler to the big names is the Bill Mott trained Millefeuille (20-1) who has drawn the outside post, which isn't ideal for her. Joel Rosario may have lost the ride aboard Malathaat but he has landed on a pretty decent backup. This is another daughter of Curlin who chased home Malathaat back up at Aqueduct in the Grade II Demoiselle. A lackluster run at the Davona Dale may have taken some shine off of her but another good run in finishing second in the Gulfstream Park Oaks shows she’s capable of getting and around the big names.

We’ll have full coverage of the 2021 Kentucky Oaks here on horseracing.net/us - our turf-man and in-house handicapper will provide their thoughts on each horse later in the week and on Thursday afternoon - our full Kentucky Oaks handicapping preview will go live from our in-house handicapper. So bookmark the site for full Kentucky Oaks coverage throughout the week.

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