2024 Belmont Oaks Preview

The Grade 1, $500,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational is one of the most important races for three-year-old turf fillies, and the beginning of the fillies’ version of the New York Turf Triple. Though it cannot be run at its usual Belmont Park home due to construction, the race is still happening at Aqueduct racetrack. Like its males’ complement, the Belmont Derby, the race covers a slightly shorter distance: it will be conducted at 1 3/16 miles this year, not the usual 1 ¼ miles. However, the race still attracted a competitive field of nine horses from the United States and abroad.

The New York Turf Triple for fillies continues at Saratoga Race Course on Friday, August 2, with the Saratoga Oaks (G1). The series concludes in September at Aqueduct with the Jockey Club Oaks. No filly has swept all three races, though Concrete Rose won the first two legs in 2019, and McKulick won the first and third in 2022.

2024 Belmont Oaks Horse Race Information

• Race Date: Saturday, July 6
• Track: Aqueduct Racetrack
• Post Time: 4:42 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 3/16 miles
• Age/Sex: three-year-old fillies
• Where to Watch: FanDuel Racing, Fox Sports 2
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Belmont Oaks Draw and Odds

These are the entrants for the 2024 Belmont Oaks, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Belmont Oaks Prep Race Results

There are seven different last-out races among the nine runners in the Belmont Oaks. Two runners come out of the local prep, the Wonder Again (G2), on May 27 at Aqueduct. Segesta won that race by ½ length over late-running Sy B, and they will rematch in the Belmont Oaks. Two runners also come out of the Regret (G3) on June 1 at Churchill Downs. The winner Pin Up Betty steps up in class, as does second-place Buchu.

Everyone else in the field comes out of stakes company as well, with all but one runner coming out of a graded or group-level race. One other comes out of a graded-stakes race in the United States: Dynamic Pricing, who rallied to win the Edgewood (G2) at Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Oaks undercard.

Three horses come out of group stakes in Europe; all were defeated in those most recent starts. Fun With Flags was most recently second beaten 2 ½ lengths in the Prix Cleopatre (G3) on April 19 at Saint Cloud, her first career defeat. The other two come out of English classics for fillies. Secret Satire was a well-beaten tenth in the Oaks (G1) at Epsom on May 31, and Cinderella’s Dream was most recently seventh in the 1000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket on May 5.

The only horse who does not come out of a graded or group race is, perhaps ironically, morning-line favorite She Feels Pretty. She won the Hilltop at Pimlico in blowout fashion in her seasonal debut. However, she has shown class, as she won at the Grade 1 level as a juvenile.

Belmont Oaks Contenders

These are the nine runners in the 2024 Belmont Oaks, in order of their post position.

1. Pin Up Betty: It took her eight tries to break her maiden, but she was repeatedly competitive and then finally broke through on May 9 at Churchill Downs. It was her first try at 1 ⅛ miles, suggesting that the extra distance helped this daughter of Constitution. And, after that five-length maiden win, she won right back in the Regret, also at Churchill and also at the 1 ⅛-mile distance. The rail can be tricky, but she won from the rail in a big field two back, and the distance and rain in the forecast should both play to her favor.
2. Dynamic Pricing: Trainer Chad Brown dominates the fillies’ turf division, and he has another promising prospect with Dynamic Pricing. Though she came up short in a pair of races in Florida during the spring, she found her best in the Edgewood on Kentucky Derby week, rallying from midfield to win by half a length. The extra distance is a question, as she has yet to race at any distance other than 1 1/16 miles, though her pedigree doesn’t rule it out. And, the rain in the forecast is a point in her favor since that last-out win came over yielding ground.
3. Fun With Flags: In four races, all in France, she has never run a bad race. Though she was defeated in the Prix Cleopatre last out, her Group-level debut, she still finished a good second. That race also covered 1 5/16 miles, making her one of only two who turns back in distance for this race. She did win a handicap at 1 ¼ miles over heavy ground two back, meaning she has class to prove but has the consistency and stamina to figure in the Belmont Oaks.
4. Buchu: With nine starts she is one of the more experienced runners, and her last five outings have come in graded-stakes company. The biggest question for her looks like pace: she can be hit or miss, but her best efforts tend to be when the pace in front of her gets snappy. Unfortunately for her, despite the solid field size, the pace does not look like it will shape up to be extremely sharp, meaning she could be up against it unless she reprises her more tactical style from her maiden win. If she does, though, she has the stamina pedigree to thrive at this trip.
5. Secret Satire: She was well beaten last out, but that outing came in the Oaks at Epsom over 1 ½ miles—a race much longer and much tougher than this one. This shorter distance should help her along, and the footing should be fine, as she has won over good grass and ran a good third three back over soft going. It also helps that she should be forward; though her European speed may not outgun real American speed, there is little enough pace in this race that she should still have a good spot.
6. Segesta: The second-string entry from the Chad Brown barn, she graduated third-out and then came back to win her graded-stakes debut in the Wonder Again, the local prep race for the Belmont Oaks. She keeps proven big-race jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the irons. And, in a race without a ton of pace, her running style looks well-suited. She broke her maiden in stalk-and-pounce fashion, and then was even more forward with the modest pace in the Wonder Again. If she can stay the extra half-furlong, she shapes as a serious contender.
7. She Feels Pretty: Though she is the only person to come out of an ungraded stakes, she won the Hilltop by 5 ¾ decisive lengths in her seasonal debut. It suggested she picked up right where she left off in her juvenile year, when she graduated on debut, won the Natalma (G1), and then only missed by half a length in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1). Her tactical speed should help, as should the fact that trainer Cherie DeVaux has been red-hot this year. The biggest question is distance, as she has yet to go past a mile. However, it would be nothing new for a Karakontie foal to get this trip, and she has some turf stamina in her female family.
8. Cinderella’s Dream: This Charlie Appleby trainee started her career four-for-four, though ran into defeat in the 1000 Guineas in May. Even though she was seventh, she was beaten only 4 ½ lengths behind winner Elmalka. This means she very much fits the profile of a horse who ran credibly but just under the top standard in a major race overseas, boding well for her to be a major contender at the top level in the United States. She also has upside on the step up in trip; she has never gone past a mile, but her pedigree reads all distance.
9. Sy B: The second-string runner for Cherie DeVaux, she needed three starts to get off the mark, but a switch to turf and a stretch out to 1 3/16 miles at Keeneland got her off the mark. She stepped up from that to the Wonder Again, rallying but missing by ½ length to Segesta. She needs to step up in terms of speed figures, but she could do so second off the freshening, and it’s a positive that she handled at least a little cut in the ground at Keeneland. It’s also a positive that she was able to stalk and pounce that day behind a sluggish pace. At a price, she could finish in the money for a barn as hot as any in the country.

Belmont Oaks FAQ

Q: When is the 2024 Belmont Oaks?

A: The 2024 Belmont Oaks happens on Saturday, July 6, 2024, at 4:42 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. It is the ninth race of 11 on the Aqueduct card.

Q: Where is the Belmont Oaks?

A: With ongoing construction at Belmont Park, the Belmont Oaks will be run at Aqueduct Racetrack this year.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Belmont Oaks?

A: Since the race was morphed from the Garden City Stakes in September to the Belmont Oaks in July, Chad Brown leads all trainers with four winners: Minorette (2014), Lady Eli (2015), New Money Honey (2017), and McKulick (2022). He can make it five if either Dynamic Pricing or Segesta wins in 2024.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Belmont Oaks?

A: Off an open-lengths triumph in the Hilltop, and thanks to her Grade 1-quality form as a juvenile, She Feels Pretty is the 2-1 morning-line favorite for trainer Cherie DeVaux and jockey John Velazquez.

Q: Who is the best Belmont Oaks jockey?

A: Since this race became the Belmont Oaks, Irad Ortiz, Javier Castellano, and Ryan Moore are tied for the most wins with two each. Ortiz has the opportunity to extend that record, as he has the call on Segesta in 2024.

Q: Who won the Belmont Oaks in 2023?

A: Aspen Grove won the 2023 Belmont Oaks for trainer James Stack and jockey Oisin Murphy. Neither returns with a contender in 2024.

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