2024 Diana Stakes Preview

Opening weekend of Saratoga Race Course is something the entire world of horse racing looks forward to all year long. And, the first Grade 1 race of the meet happens on Saturday, July 13 with the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana Stakes! The 1 ⅛-mile turf race drew a competitive field of 10 plus one main-track-only entrant, whose connections hope the rain early in the week continues through the weekend.

Top stars in the Diana include defending champion Whitebeam, Just a Game (G1) winner Chili Flag, New York (G1) winner Didia, and First Lady (G1) winner Gina Romantica. Moira, the 2022 Queen’s Plate winner who was last seen finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) last fall, makes her five-year-old debut in this spot as well.

The Diana is one of three stakes on the Saturday card at Saratoga Race Course. Saturday’s racing at the Spa also features the Kelso (G3), a turf mile for older males, as well as the Sanford (G3), a dirt sprint for up-and-coming juveniles.

2024 Diana Stakes Information

• Race Date: Saturday, July 13
• Track: Saratoga Race Course
• Post Time: 5:43 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 ⅛ miles
• Age/Sex: 4-year-olds and up, fillies and mares
• Where to Watch: TVG.com, Fox Sports 2
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Diana Stakes Draw and Odds

These are the entrants for the 2024 Diana Stakes, including post positions, trainers, and jockeys for the race. This also includes morning-line odds for each horse as published by Saratoga.

Diana Stakes Prep Race Results

It is atypical for any of the runners in the Diana to have made their last start at Saratoga Race Course, since the meet typically happens only over the summer. However, with Belmont Park under construction, they ran the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at the Spa this year. Between the Just a Game (G1) and the New York (G1), it means eight of the 11 entrants were last seen running at the Spa.

It was just two lengths between the winner and the sixth-place finisher in the Just a Game at Saratoga on June 7, and all of those top six finishers stretch out an extra furlong for the Diana. Chili Flag won that day by ½ length over Whitebeam, with Mission of Joy and Evvie Jets also in the tight place photo. Gina Romantica and beaten favorite Coppice were not far behind that day, either.

Two more runners cut back from the other filly and mare turf feature during the Belmont festival at Saratoga Race Course, the 1 3/16-mile New York Stakes. The top two from the New York, winner Didia and late-running long shot Neecie Marie, return to the top level for this.

The other two horses entered for the grass come out of other graded stakes races on the lawn. Fluffy Socks was last seen Preakness weekend, when she got a confidence-builder in the form of a blowout victory in the Gallorette (G3). Moira, the only one making her seasonal debut in the Diana, most recently finished a close third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf last November.

Venti Valentine, the only main-track only entry, comes out of a romping score against New York-breds in a muddy edition of the Critical Eye at Saratoga on June 9, the final day of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

Diana Stakes Contenders

These are the runners in the 2024 Diana Stakes, in order of their post draws.

1. Moira: Moira makes her first start of the year in the Diana. It’s a tough spot, tougher than her first start back last year, but the Kevin Attard trainee also took a long break before her 2023 campaign: she was unraced from the Breeders’ Cup until the Belle Mahone (G3) in June. Moira won the Canadian (G2) last year at 1 ⅛ miles, suggesting the distance should suit her. She is also a tractable horse, versatile enough to carve out a trip whether the front end gets hot or not. If she can return at her best form first off the lay she fits, and this distance is excellent for her, but don’t take too short a price since she is facing horses who have already gotten their campaigns going at the highest level.
2. Coppice: She has been bet heavily in both starts since moving from Europe to the United States. She has yet to win stateside, though neither of her outings have been bad and both of her races in the United States have featured less-than-perfect starts. The post near the inside in a bigger field doesn’t necessarily bode well for her to suddenly get a good start this time. However, she does have a good rapport with jockey Frankie Dettori that stretches back to her time in Europe, and given her pedigree it could help her along that she is stretching out past a mile for the first time.
3. Mission of Joy: A nice Grade 3 horse last year, this Graham Motion trainee has started to show up in Grade 1 company, between a close third in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) at Keeneland last year and an even closer third in that frenetic finish in the Just a Game a month ago. A stalking to midpack type, she should be able to work out a trip, and she is a graded winner at 1 ⅛ miles. The question is whether she is good enough, as her speed figures suggest she needs to take a step up to topple the top echelon.
4. Didia: A two-time winner at the top level in her native Argentina, she had come close at the top level in the United States a few times before, and finally broke through in the New York, winning 1 ½ lengths clear of Neecie Marie. She should have no trouble on the turn back to 1 ⅛ miles, as she has won both tries at the trip. Didia’s consistency may be her best aspect: she is a 11-time winner in 17 starts, and even her defeats tend to be strong efforts, making her a solid choice for exotics, and possibly even the top spot if bettors ignore this Ignacio Correas charge in favor of the Chad Brown brigade.
5. Gina Romantica: One of the stars of Chad Brown’s shedrow, she won the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at age three and the First Lady last year. She followed that up with a close fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) against males, though she has been off the board in both starts this year. To her credit, she was still only beaten 1 ¾ lengths in the Just a Game, and that QEII win as a sophomore came at this 1 ⅛-mile distance. But, her outings this year have tended slower than last year and she needs a step forward to not find a handful of these too good again.
6. Whitebeam: She was on the rise at this time last year, breaking through at the graded level for the first time in the Gallorette and then toppling stablemate In Italian in this race last year. However, she has not won in four starts since. She has been close in both starts this year, missing by a neck to Neecie Marie in the Beaugay (G3) two back and then by ½ length to Chili Flag in the Just a Game last year. So, her form is good. And, she hasn’t run 1 ⅛ miles since that Diana win last year, meaning this tactical speed type has some upside, though she will need to find her fastest form against a field of this quality.
7. Fluffy Socks: Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a dismissed Chad Brown runner comes out of a confidence-builder in the Gallorette into the Diana … yes, this happened with Whitebeam last year but that could be Fluffy Socks this time around. She had looked an up-and-comer after a win in the Distaff Turf Mile (G2) in 2023, but could not get over the mark to win any of the rest of her starts last year, and was looking like a consummate underneath type. She handled the soft ground in the Gallorette beautifully, though, and thrashed inferior foes in the Gallorette by 7 ¾ lengths last out. Now she goes back to top-level company and stretches out … which has typically been a recipe for an underneath finish, though especially if things get hot between Evvie Jets and Whitebeam up front she has a shot.
8. Neecie Marie: She started her career for a tag sprinting on the dirt at Parx, but has rounded into a good one going long on grass. In four graded tries on turf, she has never been worse than second, including a win in the Beaugay (G3) over Whitebeam two back and then a second behind Didia last out in the New York, her Grade 1 debut. Her typical running style against class horses is a late-running type, but with some closer-up form earlier in her career plus the switch to Luis Saez, she may be a little more forward. Her consistency and under-the-radar barn, however, mean she is a solid price chance for exotics.
9. Evvie Jets: Long a fixture in listed and Grade 3 events, she toppled Fluffy Socks to win the Ballston Spa (G2) last year at 29-1 and followed that up with a third in the First Lady last fall. Though she disappointed in the Distaff Turf Mile this year, her seasonal debut, she bounced back to be beaten by just ¾ length in the Just a Game next out. She is versatile enough to run a good race on the pace or off of it; expect a more forward style this time out, both because that is how Dylan Davis rode her last out and because there is not a huge amount of speed in this spot.
10. Chili Flag: The “now” horse in the Chad Brown barn, she has won three straight graded races including the Just a Game last out over five foes she will face again in this. She has won with the pace being either honest or hot, though if things get too slow early that may spell trouble for her. The extra furlong is also a question at a short price, since all three of her graded wins have come at a mile and she was nosed out in allowance company the only time she tried this trip.
11. Venti Valentine: Venti Valentine is entered for main track only, and the forecast suggests that the rain will clear out in time for the turf to be usable come Saturday. Should the forecast change sharply, however, the rest of the field has only 12 starts on the dirt combined compared to Venti Valentine’s 21, with Gina Romantica and Neecie Marie being the only other winners on a dirt footing. She won over the course and distance at Saratoga last out, and has tactical speed from the outside, though the question would be whether the class of any of these turf horses would translate to dirt. In short, if this is washed off, don’t take too short a price.

Diana Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the 2024 Diana Stakes?

A: The 2024 Diana Stakes happens on Saturday, July 13, 2024. Post time is scheduled for 5:43 p.m. EDT, and it is the tenth on the twelve-race card.

Q: Where is the Diana Stakes?

A: The Diana Stakes takes place at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.

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

A: Chad Brown has won the Diana Stakes eight times, more than any other trainer. He has entered five in this year’s Diana including 2023 victress Whitebeam.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Diana Stakes?

A: Didia, last-out winner of the New York, was named the 7-2 morning-line favorite for trainer Ignacio Correas, IV and jockey Jose Ortiz. However, given Chad Brown’s tendency to get bet in New York, don’t be surprised if Whitebeam (4-1) or Chili Flag (9-2) goes off the chalk instead.

Q: Who is the best Diana Stakes jockey?

A: John Velazquez has won the Diana Stakes six times, most recently with Sistercharlie in 2019. Velazquez takes the call on Mission of Joy in 2024 for trainer Graham Motion.

Q: Who won the Diana Stakes in 2023?

A: Whitebeam won the 2023 Diana for trainer Chad Brown and jockey Flavien Prat. The pair reunites behind Whitebeam this year. Brown also sends out Chili Flag, Coppice, Fluffy Socks, and Gina Romantica.

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