Acorn Stakes 2024
The Friday main event at Saratoga Race Course is the Acorn Stakes, as eight fillies hit the starting gate in hopes of taking down this Grade 1 victory and a piece of the $500,000 purse.
This year’s race will be very different from years past. Not only will it be held away from Belmont Park for the first time since 1975, but it will be the first installment to be 1 ⅛ miles in length. The Acorn was a one-mile race from 1931 until 2022 before it was lengthened to 1 1-16 miles last year. We’ll add an extra eighth of a mile for this year’s event.
Here are the Acorn Stakes entries, odds, jockeys, and trainers:
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds |
| SCR | Becky’s Joker | G. Contessa | P. Lopez | |
| 2 | Power Squeeze | J. Delgado | J. Castellano | 12-1 |
| 3 | Leslie’s Rose | T. Pletcher | I. Ortiz Jr. | 5-1 |
| 4 | Just F Y I | W. Mott | J. Alvarado | 5-2 |
| 5 | My Mane Squeeze | M. Maker | L. Saez | 12-1 |
| 6 | Where’s My Ring | V. Brinkerhoff | T. Gaffalione | 8-1 |
| 7 | Regulatory Risk | C. Brown | J. Ortiz | 12-1 |
| 8 | Gun Song | M. Hennig | J. Velazquez | 12/1 |
| 9 | Thorpedo Anna | K. McPeek | B. Hernandez Jr. | 8-5 |
This is a very strong field of fillies, including Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes winner Gun Song. Just F Y I ran second in the Oaks and Regulatory Risk ran third, with Power Squeeze sixth and Leslie’s Rose 13th. My Mane Squeeze is a long shot, but comes in off a win in the G2 Eight Belles.
Post time for the Acorn Stakes is Friday June 7 at 6:40 p.m. ET on FS1.
Here are some notes on the contenders:
SCR. Becky’s Joker (30-1; Contessa/Lopez): Becky’s Joker was entered in this race, but opted for the Jersey Girl Stakes on Thursday instead.
2. Power Squeeze (12-1; Delgado/Castellano): With the scratch of Becky’s Joker, everybody slides in a spot and that puts Power Squeeze on the rail for the Acorn. The daughter of Union Rags and Callmethesqueeze won four straight races, including the Gulfstream Park Oaks, before finishing a distant sixth in the Kentucky Oaks. It is entirely possible that Jorge Delgado’s filly can rebound on what should be a faster track, but even her best historical performance wouldn’t be enough here.
3. Leslie’s Rose (5-1; Pletcher/I. Ortiz): After a Grade 1 triumph in the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland, Leslie’s Rose was one of the shorter shots in the Kentucky Oaks, but she finished a disappointing 13th and failed to hit the board for the first time in her career. She actually won her maiden at Aqueduct, so she’ll be back in the Empire State for the first time since that November 19 gallop.
The daughter of Into Mischief and Wildwood Rose came out of the gate awkwardly in the Oaks, but ran up towards the front on the muddy track. She fell to the back of the pack by the final turn. Irad Ortiz Jr. pulled her back and we’ll see if that was a smart decision to save something for her next big race, which comes here on Friday.
4. Just F Y I (5-2; Mott/Alvarado): The Oaks favorite simply didn’t have enough to catch Thorpedo Anna. It was a pretty effortless run for Junior Alvarado, who maybe hit the gas a second or two early, but nobody was beating Thorpedo Anna on that day. The 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner ran a comfortable race in the mud and muck. Maybe a smoother, faster track, if we get one, is just the ticket to reach her potential.
That being said, she wasn’t good enough against Leslie’s Rose in the Ashland and wasn’t good enough against Thorpedo Anna. This is the same distance as the Oaks. The Ashland was 1 1/16 and Alvarado took a longer trip by having to go to the center of the track in both. If she can better stalk the pace or even set it, it could be a different story, but she hasn’t done that yet.
5. My Mane Squeeze (12-1; Maker/Saez): This is a big step up in class and distance for My Mane Squeeze, the daughter of Audible and In Spite of Mama. She’s only run over a mile once and finished eighth in the G3 Fantasy at Oaklawn back in March. She won the 7F sprint at Churchill in the Eight Belles with a big speed number and she’s now done that three times, with the others coming in the Maddie May and Franklin Square, both at Aqueduct.
She also won her maiden at Saratoga way back in September. If she is able to handle the distance, she has the chance to hit the board. We don’t really know, outside of the Oaklawn run in the Fantasy, but she went off at 2-1 as the favorite in that race, only to burn her supporters. She got badly squeezed off with the rail post and started at the back of the field, where rider Flavien Prat never pushed her. She gets a new rider here in Luis Saez and also gets off the rail.
6. Where’s My Ring (8-1; Brinkerhoff/Gaffalione): A strong win in the G3 Gazelle at Aqueduct felt like the mountaintop for Where’s My Ring after finishing second in both races as a 3-year-old prior to that maiden victory in the Gazelle. Unfortunately, she just never made a push and never felt engaged between the muck and the traffic in the Kentucky Oaks. We know the distance is fine based on the Gazelle. This will be a smaller field and maybe a cleaner track.
But, she’s also shown up just twice in nine races. She ran a really good speed number at a mile in February, but even her second in the G3 Santa Ysabel came at distance. It is hard to buy in with the inconsistencies.
7. Regulatory Risk (12-1; Brown/J. Ortiz): Her show finish in the Kentucky Oaks came as a result of passing a lot of tired horses who knew Thorpedo Anna couldn’t be caught. It was still a strong finish and her only win came in the mud at Aqueduct on December 30, so she’s fine with that if we get it again here. But, she wasn’t good enough against Where My Ring in the Gazelle nor anywhere near the top two finishers in the Oaks.
If there’s mud, she has a good chance to hit the board somewhere for exotics, but I don’t consider her a real threat to win.
8. Gun Song (12-1; Hennig/Velazquez): After winning her maiden at a mile back in February, the extra-added distance in the Gulfstream Park Oaks seemed to be too much for Gun Song, as she faded and finished fourth. Adding more distance wasn’t a problem in the Black-Eyed Susan and she’ll get another crack at 1 ⅛ miles here. She went off as the 2-1 favorite in something of a weaker field for a G1 race on a Triple Crown weekend, but it was a strong ride for John Velazquez.
Not only was the distance not a problem, she wasn’t even tested in the final stretch. But, the 12-1 price is telling here, no? It speaks to her inconsistency and just how much deeper this field is than what she saw at Pimlico.
9. Thorpedo Anna (8-5; McPeek/Hernandez): Kenny McPeek told reporters that he didn’t want to run Thorpedo Anna against Mystik Dan in the Belmont, but “any other year”, he would have. He also gave serious thought to running her in the Preakness, but, once again, didn’t want to go against his Kentucky Derby winner. This may very well just be one of the best fillies we’ve seen in quite some time, as the daughter Fast Anna and Sataves won easily in the G3 Fantasy as well.
I can’t leave her out here. In two runs as a 3-year-old, she’s been dominant. The distance upgrade was not remotely an issue at Churchill Downs and I don’t see it being a problem here either. Brian Hernandez Jr. seems to have a great feel for this horse and has been the rider in all four wins and her lone second across five starts.
Acorn Stakes Picks
After surveying the field, it seems like Thorpedo Anna is just a lot better than the rest of the entries. Somebody else has to hit the board, but I think it’s her race to lose. McPeek has talked about her with the same fanfare and appreciation that he has talked about Mystik Dan, if not more given that she’s a filly.
The price on Gun Song intrigues me after a huge run in the Black-Eyed Susan. I also like NY-based My Mane Squeeze for Michael Maker as a long shot as well. I still think Thorpedo Anna wins, but the prices are nice on these two contenders.
Using a hypothetical $100 bankroll:
$20 Win ($20)
9
$10 Win ($20)
5, 8
$5 Key Trifecta ($60)
9 / 3, 4, 5, 8 / 3, 4, 5, 8
