The $300,000, Grade 3 Delaware Oaks headlines Saturday’s card at Delaware Park, and this year’s renewal has drawn one of the deepest and most competitive fields in recent memory. Highlighting the 1 1/16-mile event for 3-year-old fillies is the return of the top three finishers from last month’s Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico, joined by undefeated stakes winner Complexity Jane and a pair of promising upstarts looking to make their mark.

Leading the nine-horse field is Margie’s Intention, who finished strongly to capture the Black-Eyed Susan by three-quarters of a length for trainer Brad Cox. The Louisiana-bred daughter of Honor A. P. has won three of six starts and enters as the 5-2 morning-line favorite. Luan Machado retains the mount for the partnership of Baron Stable and WinStar Farm LLC.

Finishing just behind her that day was Paris Lily (9-2), a homebred for Godolphin trained by Brendan Walsh. The City of Light filly set demanding fractions on the lead and fought gamely to the wire in her graded stakes debut. Joel Rosario will again be aboard as she tries to turn the tables and secure her first stakes victory.

Kinzie Queen (6-1) was third in the Black-Eyed Susan, rallying from well back after swinging six wide into the stretch. Trained by Greg Compton for Compton Racing and John Holleman, the daughter of McKinzie earned her first stakes placing that day and has shown improving form in recent starts. Junior Alvarado rides again from the rail.

“She is doing really good,” said trainer Greg Compton.  “She came out of the Black-Eyed Susan in great shape and she has been training really well.  Last week, she had just a nice easy maintenance work and it went like clockwork.  She looks great and I even think she put on a little weight since the Black-Eyed Susan.  I expect her to run well in the Oaks.  Hopefully, we can get a contested pace scenario for her late run.  She will finish strong the last quarter of a mile.  She will be tough with the right early pace, so I am hoping for and expecting good things.”

Another key player is Complexity Jane (8-1), who earned a guaranteed spot in the Black-Eyed Susan with her win in Laurel Park’s Weber City Miss Stakes but did not participate. Instead, she was entered in the grassy Hilltop Stakes on the Susan undercard but was scratched from that race after acting up prior. She returns here for trainer Brittany Russell and brings a perfect 3-for-3 record into the Oaks. The daughter of Complexity, owned by Golden Lion Racing, will be ridden by Jevian Toledo and figures to be a major pace factor.

Looking to bounce back from a rough outing in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks is Fondly (7-2), who faded to eleventh in Louisville after racing inside. Prior to that, she captured the $251,000 Virginia Oaks with a determined stretch run. Trained by Graham Motion and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., the Upstart filly gets class relief and has the class to contend.

Also in the field is Cassiar (6-1), who ships in for trainer Shug McGaughey off a confident allowance score at Aqueduct. She was a distant third third in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks in March and is well-bred for two turns. Jose Lezcano has the call for owner W.S. Farish.

Late Nite Call (12-1) enters off a victory in an allowance at Pimlico after fading late in the Weber City Miss. She’s cross-entered in the Delaware Derby and would need a step forward to threaten this group.

Dyna Soar (15-1), a two-time winner from the Mike Dini barn, was second last out at Monmouth in an optional claimer but has yet to compete in stakes company. Daniel Centeno will ride.

Rounding out the field is Whatintheliteral (20-1), a stakes winner at Saratoga last summer who has yet to return to that form as a 3-year-old. She was sixth in the Grade 2 Eight Belles last out and makes her third start of the season for trainer Jena Antonucci.

Since the race was inaugurated in 1938, 16 of the 73 Delaware Oaks winners have also won the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. That includes last year’s winner, Power Squeeze, who prevailed in a thriller in this event and then again in the Alabama.