• Frank Vespe
• May 14, 2021

It’s no secret that the Preakness Stakes is both an important race in and of itself and also a launching pad to bigger and better things. 

Preakness winners who go on to become Horse of the Year honorees and Hall of Famers are pretty commonplace, which isn’t surprising for a race that’s one of the very small number of true American classic races.

But what of some of the other graded stakes that take place at Pimlico over Preakness weekend? Who are some of the top runners to win those?

Let’s take a look at the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. Who are the top horses to come through this contest in the last 30 years?

5) Jostle

This daughter of Brocco won the 2000 Black-Eyed Susan by 2 ½ lengths as a somewhat overlooked 5-1 shot. The Elliott Walden trainee went on to win four times as a sophomore, including consecutive triumphs in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks, Grade 1 Alabama, and Grade 2 Cotillion. She won eight of 20 in her career while earning nearly $1.4 million.

4) Stopchargingmaria

Winner of the 2014 edition of the Black-Eyed Susan, this Todd Pletcher-trained daughter of Tale of the Cat went on to have quite a career, winning half of her 18 starts while earning just over $3 million. She won two Grade 1 races later in her three-year-old season and scored in the following year’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff. She won the ‘Susan by a neck as the 7-2 second choice.

3) Royal Delta

What a career this daughter of Empire Maker compiled. Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, she earned $4.8 million while winning 12 of 22 starts. She earned three Eclipse Awards, as champion three-year-old filly and twice as champion older mare, and she twice won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. She won the 2011 edition of the Black-Eyed Susan by a couple of lengths as the 9-5 favorite for the first stakes win of her career. She’s likely to be a Hall of Famer one day.

2) Silverbulletday

This daughter of Silver Deputy won the 1999 Kentucky Oaks for trainer Bob Baffert and two weeks later returned to score in the Black-Eyed Susan, winning by two lengths while ridden out by Gary Stevens as the overwhelming 1-9 favorite. Her time of 1:47.83 is the fastest recorded while the race has been contested at 1 1/8 miles. She’d been the two-year-old champion filly, would be the champion three-year-old filly, and ultimately earned a spot in the Hall of Fame after winning 15 of 23 starts and earning nearly $3.1 million.

1) Serena’s Song

This D. Wayne Lukas trainee bounced back from a 16^th-place finish as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby to win the 1995 Black-Eyed Susan by nine lengths as the 2-5 favorite in a fast 1:48.45. She’d earlier won the Grade 2 Jim Beam Stakes over the boys at Turfway Park and later beat the boys again in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational. She went on to win the Eclipse Award as champion sophomore filly and, just six years after her career ended, earn induction into the Hall of Fame. Overall, she won 18 of 38 starts and earned nearly $3.3 million.