BC Fillies & Mares Turf – Grade I
DMR Race #11 1 3/8m Turf Graded Stake
Purse $2,000.000 For Fillies And Mares Three Years Old And Upwards

This race has always been one of my favorites and when you look at the list of winners you can easily see why. First run in 2003 it was won then by Lindsey from the infamous Cincinnati Racing Stable and whilst those days saw some strange form and even stranger races it just goes to show how far we have come when you look at recent races. I think the first race that I really noticed in my time at HRP was the 2009 running when Soliloguy took the win for Yahudi Stables and of course she continues her influence in the shape of her son Cherokee Sunset. This is one of the few races that wasn’t dominated by the three-year-olds over the years and although they have won ten with Perfect Class being the most recent, this is a race that has always been about great fillies and mares and not just about a few pounds’ weight allowance. Won by the greats La Terrifiant and Maggie Greene this year is a bit special as we see Painville trying to win her third BC Fillies and Mares and as the only horse to win more than once, that would be a huge achievement and secure her as the best of her kind that has ever raced in the BC.
This season sees the usual mix of potential superstars in the three-year-olds and old warriors in the older horses, and with the form of those older ones being so interchangeable, the result is one that is hard to predict. So, as we head to another year of BC races let’s take a look at the runners and wish every trainer the best of luck.

1 Secret Of A Lady Pennington F 124
Trained by Mb Stables, bred by Fractious
2025 form: 14314000
WR: 107
Lifetimes earnings: $1,466.520

Taken to a claimer by her breeder after 9 races she found a new owner but was then claimed again after just one start and ended up in the Mb Stables empire in the second part of 2024. The new owner quickly recognized a turf bias and within two races she had taken her first graded stakes when running on strongly to win the Valley View. That was the start of a real good run of form which saw her end the season with a win in the grade one American Oaks. Carrying that fitness into this year she then took the big early season prize of the Pegasus Fillies and mares and stamped herself an early contender for this premier race. She was good again in the CD Distaff Mile when beating a small field that included Poetic Panther but since then has just gone off the boil a little. Having said that, she has been in the highest class and hasn’t been more than two lengths behind from poor gates so it is pretty easy to see how she can turn that around today.
The ace gate should give her an easy trip and if the gaps come and she is on song she could be a strong factor.

2 Explorer Centeno D E 124
Trained by Avenue Z, bred by Smokey Stover
2025 form: 4313120
WR: 106
Lifetimes earnings: $695.010

Bred and raced by Smokey Stover through her first 14 races she was quickly identified as a turf horse and never saw the main track again after a debut run. As a four-year-old she never ran in stakes company after being wrapped up and not debuting until the December of her three-year-old season, it was clear the previous trainer saw she needed time, but it wasn’t until she found Avenue Z that she started to bloom.
In January of this year, we saw the great Smokey Stover giveaway when many of the best and most promising horses in the game were offered at $1.000 by the owner as a parting gesture, something that was much appreciated but by no-one more than Avenue Z who acquired this mare and now sits in the BC field. To be fair to the fortunate owner there was still a lot of work to do to bring her into this race and they must be given plenty of props for steering her career from overnights to a dual graded stakes winner after a pretty slow start this season. Her first notable win came in the Sheepshead Bay where she made all for an impressive win and she backed that up when taking the RGD a couple of months later. A strong second in the grade two Taylor continued her progress but her last start was a bit disappointing as she weakened off a strong pace in the Rodeo Drive.
She certainly has her chance here and draws perfectly, but she won’t be among the favorites so could offer some value.

3 Lady Hilltopper Velazquez J R 124
Trained by Black N Gold Stables, bred by Our Athletes
2025 form: 4121413
WR: 115
Lifetimes earnings: $3,561.580

I make no secret that I adore this mare and have done so since I used to race against her with one of my own horses. Her long and distinguished career started at lowly GRP where she won on debut in a $2.100 maiden. Beaten in both her starts after that she was picked up for the not-so-princely sum of $14.000 after placing third in a claimer and so started the long and lucrative stint in Black N Gold Stables. Three races after her claim the new owner had switched her to the turf and she won the grade three Honeymoon paying back the claim with interest, but she wasn’t stopping there. By the end of her three-year-old season she had picked up another couple of graded stakes races and was right near the top of her age group on the turf. She was left out of the BC as a three-year-old but went there as a four-year-old after three more graded stakes wins but got a little lost in the big field and could only finish ninth. She tried again in 2024 after another clutch of stakes wins and ran much better to be fourth but then came out to take her first grade one in the Matriarch at the end of the year making it her best season ever. This year she has just carried on where she left off and gets another go at the big race, one which she has been a factor in for the last two. She has certainly proven herself against pretty much all of her rivals in this race and if things go her way she could finally get the BC win she deserves especially from this perfect gate.

4 Techfluence High Husbands P 124
Trained by The Sidley Stud, bred by Winning Link Stables
2025 form: 311000431
WR: 104
Lifetime earnings: $2,011.500

Just snuck into this race thanks to her win in the Dowager a couple of weeks ago it would certainly be a surprise if she could win this. Having said that the trainer has been performing miracles this year and a win from her would be right up there with the best training performances ever.
Always well thought of she was sold by the breeder pre-race for just $35.000 so her current owner has raced her her entire career. She ran in the BC Juvenile Turf as a two-year-old and scored a memorable victory that started a long and illustrious career racing against the best although that win has been her only grade one so far.
She looked pretty good early season with two grade three wins but her closing style got in the way a little after that and she struggled to get the timing right until her last start when taking the Dowager by a nose.
This is an honest mare who has raced consistently for three years in stakes company and whilst her peak was a long time ago, she still retains the ability to be an each way chance from this nice draw.

5 Categorical Destiny Franco M 124
Trained by Mb Stables, bred by the owner
2025 form: 1213110
WR: 110
Lifetimes earnings: $853.190

She has spent her career in and out of stakes class but just recently she has made a concerted effort at this level and has managed to force her way into the biggest race of them all for Fillies and mares. It was a surprise to see her drop back to overnights after a close fourth in the SA Oaks as a three-year-old, but she switched back to black type before the end of the year on the turf when running a nice second in the JC Oaks and then taking the Tropical Park Oaks at the end of the season. She again dipped back to overnights for a curtailed four-year-old season, but it could be that the champion trainer recognized a flattening out in form that can sometimes happen to four-year-olds and gave her time to find her improvement curve again. That pattern followed into this season where she contested little allowances at the mid and low tracks until the trainer once again unleashed her in stakes company and boy did they get the timing right. She flew home to take the Ballston and then followed that up with a qualifying win in the Flower Bowl netting triple-digit speed figures in both races. Her last start was a little flat but that could’ve been the shorter trip and wide draw, so I am inclined to forgive her that effort especially from this great gate. A winning chance for our premier trainer.

6 Beach Towel Corrales G 124
Trained by Winning Link Stables, bred by the owner
2025 form: 0011341
WR: 111
Lifetimes earnings: $1,323.000

Yes, this one’s win at over 100/1 in the First Lady last time would be considered a shock win, especially as she beat Poetic Panther but in truth, I feel that was just one of those Odds Monkey moments and there was no way those odds should have blown out that far. She had been the favorite for the KD Ladies Turf in the race before where she was within a length of the winner in fourth which further ridicules the betting system but let’s not get into that for now.
This four-year-old’s history is interesting as she spent her first 15 races on the dirt, aligning with her conformation and winning the GP Oaks along the way. As 2025 rolled in her form went off the boil to the alarming point where she trailed in last in the Azeri, so the trainer decided to have a go at the grass with her. Well, as an experiment it quickly became a success as she won her first turf start and then went to the grade two Nassau and won that too at odds of nearly 40/1. For some reason she seemed to love the green stuff and ran four great races on the surface before her famous win in the First Lady last time out. This is her first time over this far, but she has always seen her races out well, and I don’t think it will be a problem, what is more interesting is that in her last four starts where she has performed so well on the new surface, she has drawn the ace gate in every race. She draws well enough here and maybe the odds monkeys will give the punters another treat.

7 Voltaire Lopez P 124
Trained by Threshold, bred by Mo Mentum Farm
2025 form: 1331221
WR: 110
Lifetimes earnings: $888.590

A fairly lightly raced five-year-old she changed hands a lot in her early career being claimed three times in her first five races. She was eventually claimed from Mb Stables for just $12.500 in 2023 and it was under the current trainer that she began to prove her worth. Her first graded stakes win didn’t come until the end of last year when she won the Red Carpet at grade three, but she has carried on improving this year taking her first grade one in the Just A Game in June. She has been consistent this year and always runs her heart out, so I expect a solid effort from her today.

8 Mami Zayas E J 121
Trained by Alydar Stables, bred by the owner
2025 form: 221441211
WR: 111
Lifetime earnings: $1,050.060

Well, you won’t find a more improved filly in the best form of her life in this race. Still a maiden at the start of the year, she never saw another overnight after her maiden win, competing in 7 stakes races in a row and winning 4 of them. The last of her wins came in the QE II when she went close on the speed and never really looked like getting beaten, winning by just under a length. From a stable that had a lot of very good fillies in the early part of the year this one has built her form to peak at the right time and there is no reason why she can’t be a chance, even in this stellar field. This is her first start against older horses, so there are a few unknowns.

9 Poetic Panther Rodriguez Jam 124
Trained by Maletto, bred by Two Hearts One Love
2025 form: 321321312
WR: 114
Lifetimes earnings: $3,916.520

This one tops the qualifying points and must be among the strong favorites to do better than her fifth place finish last year.
She changed hands three times before and after her first start, which she won in April of 2022, showing that those early-season juveniles can last a few seasons if properly looked after. She was let go by two of our best trainers for just $55.000 and $19.050 making her one of the best buys of 2022 as Maletto saw that purchase price multiplied by many, many times in the coming years. As a three-year-old she won the Sweet Life but also ran well to be third in the FL Oaks and was close up in another couple of graded stakes, but it wasn’t until she turned four that she became one of the top fillies and mares, leading to her place as a leading hope for today’s ultimate prize. This isn’t her first go at the BC as she qualified last year after a win in the grade one Diana but after leading them for a long way gave way at the end to place fifth just behind the money getters. This season she has been as good if not better running nine times at the highest levels and never finishing outside the top three securing the grade one Wiley and Diana before a great win in the KD Ladies Turf. Surprisingly beaten by Beach Towel in the First Lady last time she is the type of mare that you have to have in your top three and may be one of the safer bets if looking for a winner.

10 Ponzi Scheme Gaffalione T 124
Trained by TwinTowersRacing, bred by the owner
2025 form: 0101010
WR: 108
Lifetimes earnings: $2,185.160

The seven-year-old has an interesting record leading into this race, and if you are one that looks for patterns, a look at this year’s form figures suggests that today will be a first-place finish. Patterns aside, this mare has been a great horse for the stable and on her day is as good as anything in this race. Going back forty odd races, she was far from the successful horse she is today, finishing a long way back in her first two races, in fact, it took her 22 races to win a black type race. She first looked like a class horse at the end of 2023 and then had a huge season as a six-year-old and became the epitome of a late bloomer winning the grade one Taylor. She was big in this race last year too, finishing third a length off the winner and that really put her among the best after looking far from that in her early career. This season she has been incredibly inconsistent but then much of the form has been flip-flopping all year so it may not be about consistency today but more about how good is the best on the day. She won the grade one Taylor very easily two back but was then a distant last in the Ladies Marathon last time and whilst that may have been down to the wet track it was still a very poor effort. On her day, she could win, and her form figures say she will, but she is a gamble for sure.

11 Charleston Girl Castillo I 124
Trained by Nakamura Stables, bred by Broken Spoke Stables
2025 form: 130311211
WR: 109
Lifetimes earnings: $742.780

Sold by the breeder in 2022 for $50.000 she had proved to be pretty good at that point but had yet to look serious a stakes level. The new owner kept her on the dirt where she landed the Groupie Doll in 2023, but she never really exploded into this division until we saw her as a six-year-old this year. She followed the trend of seasons past by going in good level overnights and was running well on the turf winning a few but also contesting as low a track level as LAD. Until September the 5th just a few months ago no-one would’ve bet on this mare making the BC but in just two races everything changed. First there was a battling win in the Mabee Stakes and then the big one when she took the Rodeo Drive again with a never say die effort to qualify for this race,
It is not often we see a six-year-old that only really comes into this race on her last two starts but she has shown so much heart to win those two races that it is hard not to put her right in the thick of things today.

12 Rain Rattle Bejarano R 121
Trained by Bears Stable, bred by T Boy Racing
2025 form: 131100111
WR: 114
Lifetimes earnings: $836.600

Looks the main three-year-old chance in this race as she has proven herself on both surfaces but just recently has looked like she is going to be a top turf filly for a while to come. It didn’t start like that for her, though as the breeder rewarded her consistency with a run in a $4.000 Maiden Claimer where the sharp-eyed Bears Stables snapped her up after she cruised home four lengths clear. Stretched out over a mile in her first start for the new trainer, she really showed her ability crushing an allowance field by five lengths, but she still had something to prove as that was at lowly BTP. She stepped up a bit to win her next at TUP and then passed the big test when taking an ungraded stakes on the same track. Now the trainer knew he had something, they didn’t rush her but built her form slowly until eventually she peaked by winning the grade two SA Oaks and looked a big chance for the KY Oaks. The luck didn’t go her way in the big one, but she still impressed with a solid finish in traffic to be fifth but then she went to the Summertime Oaks where she was a bit flat in finishing sixth. That run had the trainer scratching their head, so they decided to give her a go on turf and three races later she remains unbeaten on the surface and a huge chance in the biggest turf race of them all.
Her last start really impressed me as she cruised home in the Winter Memories carrying a hefty penalty and there aren’t too many reasons to dislike her chances here apart from maybe the fact that she hasn’t faced anything beyond her own age group yet. The wide gate may give her the push to lead, and she has been more of a leading type on the turf, so the draw could play into her hands.

13 Painville Geroux F 124
Trained by Mo Mentum Farm, bred by Childs Play
2025 form: 22403223
WR: 105
Lifetimes earnings: $4,750.930

This one was sold un-raced to Mb Stables back in 2020 and although she managed to contest the BC Juvenile Turf that year, she never really took hold and was eventually auctioned for just $17.610 in September 2022. The lucky recipient was Maletto but after a stakes win and two from three starts the profit tempted them and they let the filly go for $150.000 in December of the same year. The rest as they say is history as Mo Mentum Farm took the filly home and saw her become one of the female superstars of the game.
It didn’t take long, in fact, a month later she started a run of three wins, including a grade two and grade three and by Summer she had become a leading older mare. A win in the grade one Just A Game saw her first BC appearance in this very race and she was dominant in winning by a length. That put her right at the top of the pile and made her a target last year but a similar season of close-up finishes and grade one wins saw her return to the BC as the defending champ and she did what few have done and defended her title with a second win.
In both her wins she has drawn the ace gate, which really suits her running style.
This season she has strangely slipped to a 105 WR, which is very strange if you note that although she hasn’t won, she has been within a length of every mare in this field and in most cases beaten those that have beaten her. Does the algorithm know something we don’t? Well as a seven-year-old old she may have lost a little of her winning form, but we must remember this mare is unbeaten in this race and she is trying for a history-making third win and with the way form has been flip-flopping all season I see no reason why that can’t happen.
I love a great story and a third win for her today would be just about as good as it gets but like Jakarta in the mile the draw monster has handicapped her with a wide draw in her attempt at history and that will make this her biggest test yet.

14 Spanish Empire Curtis B 121
Trained by Arindel , bred by Smokey Stover
2025 form: 10114102
WR: 108
Lifetimes earnings: $629.320

Another one that was a gift $1.000 purchase when Smokey Stover left the game, she was picked up by another stable who had left the game, but in their case, they came back again and haven’t really missed a beat in being one of our top players. Still a maiden when Arindel picked her up there was a lot of work still to do to get her here today but there are few better than this stable when it comes to stakes racing. Three wins and four starts after her purchase she was winning the grade three Honeymoon and two after that she was winning the SAR Oaks putting her right near the top of the turf three-year-old fillies. A puzzling effort in the DG Oaks when a weak looking seventh she came back to her best to run second behind Mami in the QE II and whilst she has run a couple of clunkers this year the balance of her form is good enough to be right in this. I am not sure she is the best three-year-old in the field today so she may be up against it to win but at her best she could find a top four finish if she can handle this car park draw.

15 Ruths House – Also Eligible – 121
A big disappointment last time she has some decent form but her last two races suggest she may be looking for some time in the paddock.

16 Superface Party – Also Eligible – 124
Only failed by a head in the Rodeo Drive to make this field and if she did find a way to run would actually be better than a good few in this race.

17 Be Exceptional – Also Eligible – 124
Her best days may have come and gone but she is still a tough mare and would run well enough if she got a start.

18 Nijinsky – Also Eligible – 124
Failed by a nose in the Dowager and sits a long way outside getting a start. Consistent and tough though if a miracle happened and she got in she would do well.

SUMMARY

It is a privilege to write about this race because many of these fillies and mares have become household names. We have the great Painville going for a historic third win in a race where she always puts in just that little bit extra. We have Lady Hilltopper, once the best mare to not win a grade one and now maybe the best not to win a BC. There’s Poetic Panther a regular in all the top fillies and mares’ races in what seems like forever and then we have the champion three-year-olds in Rain Rattle and Mami. What makes this race great is that even without those 5 I have named, this would be a great race with the likes of Beach Towel, Categorical Destiny, Voltaire and Secret Of A Lady, all proven at this level.
So who will win? Well, I would love to see history made in the shape of Painville, but I think that the way the draw has come out that this may be Lady Hilltopper’s day. Rain Rattle looks special and if she doesn’t win this year she may win next year.

Categories: BC 2025, Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES, THE BREEDERS CUP