Experts’ Black-Eyed Susan day picks
The Biz- May 16, 2025
Friday brings us Black-Eyed Susan day at Pimlico — the second-biggest day of the year in Maryland racing.
The card features a bevy of stakes, including the Grade 3 Pimlico Special and the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. Those two events are among several that are extremely wide open on the card, so we enlisted our experts to see what they think.
Here are their picks:
RACE 10: GRADE 3 MISS PREAKNESS STAKES
- Grade 3, $150,000
- 6 furlongs, 3yo fillies
- #9 Long Neck Paula and #12 Vodka with a Twist are scratched
- After scratches #6 Stunner is the 4-1 morning line favorite for the same connections that brought Covfefe here to shatter the long-standing track record during her championship season in 2019…
| Derby Bill Watson | Nick Hahn | Ted Black | John Piassek | Joseph Aiello | Eric Rubin | Gary Quill | Mackenzie Pfeiffer | |
| Win | 12. Vodka With a Twist | 8. Echo Sound | 4. G W’s Girl | 10. Mila Rose | 8. Echo Sound | 11. You’ll Be Back | 12. Vodka With a Twist | 4. G W’s Girl |
| Place | 3. High Paf | 5. Family | 5. Family | 7. Delray | 4. G W’s Girl | 2. Volleyballprincess | 8. Echo Sound | 6. Stunner |
| Show | 7. Delray | 6. Stunner | 6. Stunner | 6. Stunner | 6. Stunner | 6. Stunner | 6. Stunner | 8. Echo Sound |
RACE 11: THE VERY ONE STAKES
- $100,000 purse
- 5 furlongs on the turf, fillies and mares three and up
- #3 Pleasant Embrace (7-5) is scratched
- #9 Loon Cry (9-5) is favored for Christophe Clement and won two stakes last year… Confronting her are #14 Accomplished Girl (3-1), a three-time stakes winner for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, and the speedy #2 Bosserati (9-2), who took ‘em all the way versus the boys in the Maryland Million Turf Sprint for local trainer Brittany Russell…
| Derby Bill Watson | Nick Hahn | Ted Black | John Piassek | Joseph Aiello | Eric Rubin | Gary Quill | Mackenzie Pfeiffer | |
| Win | 9. Loon Cry | 12. Simply Stated | 8. Moonlit Kiss | 9. Loon Cry | 2. Bosserati | 12. Simply Stated | 12. Simply Stated | 6. Gift of Gab |
| Place | 14. Accomplished Girl | 9. Loon Cry | 5. Mendys Honey | 12. Simply Stated | 9. Loon Cry | 9. Loon Cry | 9. Loon Cry | 12. Simply Stated |
| Show | 13. Maggie’s Girl | 14. Accomplished Girl | 2. Bosserati | 2. Bosserati | 12. Simply Stated | 2. Bosserati | 1. Anaita | 2. Bosserati |
RACE 12: GRADE 3 PIMLICO SPECIAL
- Grade 3, $250,000 purse
- 1 3/16 miles, 3yo and up
- #7 Pyrenees, the morning line favorite, is scratched
- #8 Star of Wonder (7-2) inherits morning line favoritism after Pyrenees’ scratch
- Other contenders include dominant Excelsior winner #1 Phileas Fogg (5-1); $2 million earner #9 Red Route One (8-1), fourth in this event a year ago; and local hopeful #2 Cataleya Strike (20-1), who won the Native Dancer last time out for trainer Rudy Sanchez-Salomon…
| Derby Bill Watson | Nick Hahn | Ted Black | John Piassek | Joseph Aiello | Eric Rubin | Gary Quill | Mackenzie Pfeiffer | |
| Win | 3. Encino | 8. Star of Wonder | 9. Red Route One | 8. Star of Wonder | 1. Phileas Fogg | 8. Star of Wonder | 10. San Siro | 1. Phileas Fogg |
| Place | 8. Star of Wonder | 7. Pyrenees | 4. Awesome Aaron | 1. Phileas Fogg | 7. Pyrenees | 2. Cataleya Strike | 8. Star of Wonder | 8. Star of Wonder |
| Show | 6. Just Steel | 3. Encino | 2. Cataleya Strike | 4. Awesome Aaron | 8. Star of Wonder | 7. Pyrenees | 1. Phileas Fogg | 7. Pyrenees |
RACE 13: GRADE 2 BLACK-EYED SUSAN
- Grade 2, $300,000 purse
- 1 1/8 miles, 3yo fillies
- You can go any number of ways in this contest. The morning line favorite is #4 Runnin N Gunnin (5-2).
- A pair of locals spice things up for the hometown fans in #7 Reply (8-1) for Brittany Russell and #9 Moon Cache (20-1) for Michael Gorham; they ran second and third, respectively, in the Weber City Miss at Laurel last out… #5 Kinzie Queen (10-1) looks to give trainer Greg Compton his first graded win…
| Derby Bill Watson | Nick Hahn | Ted Black | John Piassek | Joseph Aiello | Eric Rubin | Gary Quill | Mackenzie Pfeiffer | |
| Win | 7. Reply | 7. Reply | 4. Runnin N Gunnin | 7. Reply | 3. Margie’s Intention | 8. Amarth | 6. Paris Lily | 8. Amarth |
| Place | 8. Amarth | 8. Amarth | 5. Kinzie Queen | 5. Kinzie Queen | 5. Kinzie Queen | 6. Paris Lily | 7. Reply | 7. Reply |
| Show | 3. Margie’s Intention | 4. Runnin N Gunnin | 7. Reply | 9. Moon Cache | 6. Paris Lily | 4. Runnin N Gunnin | 8. Amarth | 3. Margie’s Intention |
OUR HANDICAPPERS ARE:
- Nick Hahn, author of the eponymous Nick’s Picks for Colonial Downs.
- Eric Rubin, host of Better Betting podcast
- Gary Quill, co-host of Better Betting and former The Racing Biz Maryland handicapper
- Derby Bill Watson, legendary former Colonial Downs on-air analylyst
- Joseph Aiello handicaps Saratoga for The Racing Biz.
- Ted Black is the Charles Town correspondent for The Racing Biz.
- Mackenzie Pfeiffer is an on-air analyst for the Maryland Jockey Club
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