2024 Cotillion Stakes Preview

Saturday, September 21, is the flagship race day at Parx Racing. Top three-year-old males have the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby, but leading fillies have a seven-figure race of their own, the $1 million Cotillion Stakes.

The 1 1/16-mile dirt race drew a field of eight. The leader and morning-line favorite is Thorpedo Anna, who won the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs and comes off a narrow loss to Fierceness in a thrilling edition of the Travers on August 24. However, this is no soft field: Thorpedo Anna faces Grade 1 winner Power Squeeze, as well as Grade 2 winners Tarifa, Gun Song, and Mystic Lake.

The Cotillion is actually a longer-standing tradition than the Pennsylvania Derby. The history dates all the way back to 1969, when Hall of Fame inductee Shuvee won it at Liberty Bell Park. The race moved to Keystone Racetrack (the place later known as Philadelphia Park, and now called Parx Racing) in 1974, and has been run there since. The race was known as the Cotillion Handicap between 1985 and 2007, but returned to regular stakes conditions in 2008.

Like its males’ counterpart, the importance of the Cotillion has risen in recent years, as taking a final Breeders’ Cup Distaff prep against straight sophomores has become more common. Some of its most important winners in the last two decades include Ashado, Havre de Grace, Plum Pretty, Close Hatches, Untapable, Songbird, and Clairiere.

Cotillion Stakes Information

• Race Date: Saturday, September 21
• Track: Parx Racing in Bensalem, PA
• Post Time: 5:20 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 1/16 miles on the main track
• Age/Sex: 3-year-old fillies
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2024 Cotillion Stakes Draw and Odds

This is the field of eight three-year-old fillies entered in the 2024 Cotillion Stakes, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Cotillion Stakes Prep Race Results

The eight horses in the Cotillion come out of eight different races, seven of which are stakes races, with five of them being graded stakes. Power Squeeze comes out of a just-in-time victory in the 1 ¼-mile Alabama (G1) against fillies at Saratoga on August 17, while Thorpedo Anna missed by only a head last out against males in the Travers, over that same course and distance on August 24.

Mystic Lake won the Charles Town Oaks (G2) by 5 ¾ lengths in her last start on August 23, while Scalable won the Monmouth Oaks (G3) by ¾ length over Gun Song on July 24. Sidamara was last seen missing by a nose in the Delaware Oaks (G3) to Power Squeeze on July 8, and has freshened up since.

The aforementioned Gun Song came back after her narrow second in the Monmouth Oaks to win the Cathryn Sophia, the local Cotillion prep, on August 24. Tarifa last raced on August 11 in the Audubon Oaks at Ellis Park, in which she battled on the pace but finished second by 2 ¼ lengths to Fibber.

The only Cotillion runner who does not come out of a stakes race is Everland, who most recently crossed the wire third beaten a neck in a second-level dirt-mile allowance at Ellis on August 25, though she was moved up to second due to some late-race interference that affected her.

Cotillion Stakes Contenders

These are the eight contenders in the 2024 Cotillion Stakes, sorted by their post positions.

1. Power Squeeze: The belle of the Florida spur of the Kentucky Oaks, she was no match for Thorpedo Anna when vying for the lilies, but has diverged from the divisional leader in her last two starts and racked up wins in both the Delaware Oaks and the Alabama. She can bring her best game anywhere and she is tactically versatile enough to stalk the pace or come rallying from well off of it. Thorpedo Anna would have to have an off day to make her a win contender, but she is consistent and versatile enough to work out a share underneath.
2. Scalable: She was well enough regarded to try the Chandelier (G2) and even the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) as a maiden last year, but has finally come into her own at this 1 1/16-mile distance over the summer. She has tactical speed that should play well against this field, and she keeps Paco Lopez in the irons after her win in the Monmouth Oaks last out. If she can pick up where she left off, she should be competitive at a square price.
3. Tarifa: The darling of the Fair Grounds spur of the Kentucky Oaks trail faltered in the run for the lilies. She freshened up for three months and made her first start since the Oaks in the Audubon Oaks at Churchill Downs. There, she was bet to favoritism but outfinished in the end, losing by 2 ¼ lengths to up-and-coming Fibber. That is a bit of a concern since she tends to fire well fresh, though that was only seven furlongs and she stretches out to her best distance for this race. In short, signals are mixed, so demand a price.
4. Everland: Running at Parx is a concern for Everland: horses with early speed tend to do better over this track, though Everland is a midpack-to-closing type who is hoping for a hot pace and less speed-friendliness than usual. The good news is that she’s running on dirt; her last-out allowance race suggests that dirt may be her second-best surface behind the Tapeta at Turfway. However, she has not shown the speed or class to suggest she can win this, and it may be better to wait until Turfway to play this one.
5. Sidamara: This lightly-raced Bill Mott trainee has never run a bad race, and missed by just a nose to the more proven Power Squeeze last out in the Delaware Oaks, her graded-stakes debut. She has never shown a lot of early speed, which is a concern at Parx, though she at least sat closer up last out in the Delaware Oaks compared to her last two outings. She is going the right way for connections that don’t rush their runners along, giving her room to show more improvement here.
6. Thorpedo Anna: She is the runaway leader of the sophomore division, and the horse to beat in the Cotillion Stakes. She has never run a bad race, and last out, she missed by only a head in the Travers to Fierceness, an in-form, Eclipse-winning male. She has the tactical speed and consistency to make her appealing even at a short price, since it would require someone else to take a solid step up in order to threaten her regular day at the office.
7. Gun Song: The Black-Eyed Susan winner is a front-running pace horse who used that skill to good effect last out when she wired the local prep. The big question for her is class: though she won the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) in stalk-and-pounce style, she always seems to find a horse (or two, or more) too good when she steps up to this level of company.
8. Mystic Lake: She is a forward type, but not wedded to the lead—she won the Charles Town Oaks in a stalk-and-pounce fashion last out. With the outside draw, she could work out that kind of trip in this race as well. The distance is the question, since that impressive score last out came at just seven furlongs and she weakened late in her only try at this trip. Though, the fact that her last-out win came over a two-turn trip and that she hasn’t tried 1 1/16 miles since her juvenile year makes her interesting, at least from a piece, from this good draw.

Cotillion Stakes FAQ

Q: When and where is the Cotillion Stakes?

A: The race happens on Saturday, September 21, at Parx Racing in Bensalem, PA. Scheduled as the 12th of 14 on the card, the race is set to go at 5:20 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It is the co-featured race along with the Pennsylvania Derby.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Cotillion Stakes?

A: Steve Asmussen leads all trainers with five wins in the Cotillion between 2012 and 2022. However, he does not run a horse in the 2024 edition. Among trainers who start a horse in this year’s race, Todd Pletcher leads with three winners: Smok’n Frolic (2002), Ashado (2004), and India (2006). He can make it four if Scalable springs the upset in 2024.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Cotillion Stakes?

A: Thorpedo Anna, the Kentucky Oaks winner, is the 4-5 morning-line favorite in the Cotillion for trainer Kenny McPeek and jockey Brian Hernandez. She should be an odds-on favorite come post time, given that she is a well-defined leader in the sophomore fillies’ division.

Q: Who is the best Cotillion Stakes jockey?

A: Mike Smith leads all jockeys with four wins in the Cotillion. He has won the race with Jostle (2000), Close Hatches (2013), Songbird (2016), and Midnight Bisou (2018). Smith can extend that record to five if he guides Mystic Lake to victory in 2024.

Q: Who won the Cotillion Stakes in 2023?

A: Ceiling Crusher won the 2023 Cotillion for trainer Doug O’Neill, jockey Edwin Maldonado, and owners Wonderland Racing Stables, Todd Cady, Tim Kasparoff, and Ty Leatherman. She did so in upset fashion, holding off the Kentucky Oaks winner, Godolphin’s Pretty Mischievous. Neither O’Neill nor Maldonado return to the fray for the 2024 edition.

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