2025 Ballerina Stakes Preview at Saratoga Race Course

Key takeaways:

• Scylla (5-2) is the morning-line favorite, but she hasn’t won in over a year and often finds one better at this trip.
• Mystic Lake (10-1) brings sharp speed from the rail and strong seven-furlong credentials, making her a live price play.
• Claret Beret (6-1) has been revitalized since moving to Saffie Joseph, with back-to-back strong efforts including a close second in the Chicago (G2).
• Brightwork (15-1) is a proven Saratoga horse-for-course and could outrun long odds under John Velazquez.

Nine talented fillies and mares line up Saturday, August 23, at Saratoga Race Course for the Grade 1, $500,000 Ballerina Stakes. The seven-furlong dirt race not only offers one of the richest purses of the year in the division, but the winner earns an automatic berth to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

Scylla, second to Society in the Ballerina Handicap in 2024, returns to do one better this year. The path will not be easy, however. She will have to turn the tables on Halina’s Forte, who upset her in the local prep, the Honorable Miss (G2). Brightwork is a Grade 1 winner over the course and distance, Zeitlos won the Thoroughbred Club of America (G2) last year, and the likes of Hope Road, My Mane Squeeze, and Mystic Lake are in form and on the hunt for signature victories.

Originally run as the Ballerina Stakes starting in 1979, the race was run as the Ballerina Handicap between 1994 and 2004, and again from 2021 to 2024, but reverted to weight-for-age conditions in 2025. The race is always part of the Eclipse Award picture in the sprint division for fillies and mares. Some of its most important winners over the years include Davona Dale, Lady’s Secret, Dream Supreme, Shine Again, Maryfield, two-time champion female sprinter Goodnight Olive, and Echo Zulu.

Ballerina Information

• Race Date: Saturday, August 23
• Track: Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York
• Post Time: 4:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: seven furlongs on the dirt
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds and older, fillies and mares
• Where to Watch: FanDuel Racing and Fox
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2025 Ballerina Stakes Draw and Odds

This is the field for the 2025 Ballerina, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds for each horse.

Ballerina Stakes Prep Race Results

The nine horses in the Ballerina come out of seven different races. Halina’s Forte upset the Honorable Miss (G2), the local prep, at 24-1 odds on July 20. Coming home a belated third by two lengths in that race was Scylla, the morning-line favorite for the Ballerina.

A pair of horses also come straight out of the Chicago Stakes (G2) on June 21 at Churchill Downs. Though winner Vahva does not ship to the Spa, Claret Beret was battling on or near the front end the entire way and finished second, only three-quarters of a length behind the winner. Brightwork has freshened up since flattening out to a well-beaten eighth in the Chicago.

My Mane Squeeze also contested the Chicago, finishing a well-beaten fifth as the favorite. However, she returned July 30 at Saratoga for a confidence-builder against New York-breds in the Johnstone, leading gate to wire and winning by 6 ¼ lengths.

Hope Road has freshened up since a third-place finish on May 26 as the odds-on favorite in the Winning Colors (G3) at Churchill Downs, 4 ¼ lengths behind Two Sharp. Majestic Oops also comes out of graded company, though she is the only one cutting back from two turns—she was last seen chasing home for second in the Molly Pitcher, three lengths behind Randomized, at Monmouth on July 19.

Mystic Lake is a multiple graded-stakes winner, but comes into this race out of a frontrunning win in the Dashing Beauty at Delaware Park on July 17. She was the 1-20 betting choice, and won like it.

The only horse coming out of a turf race is Zeitlos. She rallied for second in the Caress (G3) on July 19 at Saratoga, missing by only half a length to Future Is Now, who has already come back to win another turf sprint stakes at the Spa.

Ballerina Stakes Contenders

These are the nine entrants in the 2025 Ballerina, in order of their post positions:

1. Mystic Lake: She is a multiple Grade 2 winner, but has yet to beat the real top horses of the filly and mare sprint division. However, after a couple of confidence builders at Lone Star and Delaware, she is trying against the best again. The rail draw is tough, but she has been able to get the lead from the inside and win before, and she is tough enough to battle and keep on running if one of her foes (more likely Hope Road than anyone) really hits the gas. She will need her best race ever, but something good enough isn’t out of the question, and she does shape as the fastest of the speed.
2. Brightwork: Her form has been hit-or-miss, but she always seems to find her best at the Spa. In fact, she is perfect over the course in three starts, all in graded-stakes company, and all in extended one-turn races. With her tactical versatility, she should be able to work a trip, and her rider, John Velazquez, has won more editions of the Ballerina than anyone. She needs to find her best to be a factor … but the fact that she always seems to find her best at the Spa makes her chances bright indeed at a huge price.
3. Majestic Oops: She has spent most of her career running against more modest company, but has found some of the best form of her career this year at age five. She has won three of her last four starts, with her only defeat in that time being in a Grade 3 at Monmouth behind the well-proven Randomized. However, sprinting is a serious question—she is winless in two starts at seven furlongs, and in her last one-turn start, she was defeated in a $12,500 starter allowance. This seems like a tricky spot for her to find the career best she needs.
4. Halina’s Forte: She won an off-turf sprint at Saratoga last year, but only been nibbling underneath at bigger dirt sprint prizes against actual dirt horses until last out in the Honorable Miss, when she rallied to a longshot victory in the six-furlong Honorable Miss, the local prep for this race. That was the day to have her: she kind of has a pattern of interspersing better races and less good ones, making her hard to trust in the next start after a career best, especially since she has struggled against better horses in seven-furlong races.
5. Claret Beret: She has been a new horse since being moved to the Saffie Joseph barn for her last two starts. She won a one-turn mile handicap at Gulfstream by 19 ¾ lengths in her first start in the barn, earned a ticket to graded-stakes company, and battled on to finish a close second to top-class Vahva in the Chicago Stakes over this distance at Churchill last out. It was a good enough race to show she doesn’t need to be at Gulfstream to run a quality effort, and her tactical speed should help give jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. options to work out her trip.
6. Zeitlos: The only horse coming out of a turf race, she ran well there, but most of her races have been on the dirt. The big question for her is distance. She shines going shorter than this, and even won a Grade 2 at Keeneland last year going six furlongs. However, she has yet to finish better than third in a seven-furlong race, and she leveled out late when third behind Vahva and Claret Beret in the Chicago two back. She’ll get betting interest because her trainer, Steve Asmussen, has won this race the last two years, but Zeitlos has yet to prove she’s a seven-furlong type.
7. Scylla: Scylla will probably be the favorite, given that she is trained by Bill Mott and that she has been keeping top-quality company over and over again. However, she hasn’t won in over a year, and that win came in the 1 ⅛-mile Fleur de Lis (G2) last June. She has run six- or seven-furlong sprints in her last five starts, and has some decent results to show for it, including a second to Society in this race last year. However, she is winless going seven furlongs and always seems to find someone too good. Especially at the short price—don’t be surprised if she chases on for a piece, but she will be underlaid on the win end.
8. My Mane Squeeze: An honest-to-goodness seven-furlong specialist, My Mane Squeeze is a multiple graded-stakes winner at the trip. She ran the rare disappointing effort in the Chicago two back, finishing a no-threat fifth as the favorite, but rebounded next out by setting a soft pace and winning in hand over New York-breds. Now the waters get deeper again. She won’t set the pace in this one, but she doesn’t have to, and usually comes on from a stalking or midpack spot anyway. Without an overwhelming amount of speed in this race, Luis Saez will probably at least have her stalking, and if she runs one of her better races, she could find the frame.
9. Hope Road: She was an up-and-comer last fall for trainer Bob Baffert, but she hasn’t gotten over the hump to win yet at four. She has been solid enough, hitting the board in all three starts this year, including a second to Kopion in the Derby City Distaff (G1). But, the problem is, she has always found someone too good when leaving the friendly confines of Santa Anita and Del Mar, and may need the lead to win. The problem is, she will probably have trouble getting that lead, especially with Mystic Lake almost certain to hit the gas pedal from the fence. She’ll be heavily bet because of the Baffert factor, but stands to be underlaid.

Ballerina Stakes: 3 Best Bets

These are the three best bets in the Ballerina Stakes:

1. Mystic Lake (10-1)

Sharp speed from the rail is a good thing to have in seven-furlong races at the Spa, and Mystic Lake has exactly that. The Saffie Joseph, Jr. trainee may have to fight for it, especially with Hope Road outside, but not only may Mystic Lake prove faster, but she has proven over and over again that she can battle up front early and keep finding more throughout the race.

Though she comes out of a couple of much easier races than this,she has proven graded-stakes class last year and earlier this year. She is also four-for-seven at the Ballerina distance—seven-furlong horses win seven-furlong races, and she is a horse who can shorten up to the more traditional six but leaves no doubt that she can stretch out to seven, too. As one of the likely longer-priced runners in the field, there’s a lot to like about this speedy, game filly.

2. Claret Beret (6-1)

Mystic Lake’s stablemate in the Joseph barn, Claret Beret, is an up-and-comer in the sprint division. She was a perfectly solid allowance-level, even high-priced claiming level runner before, but she has been a new horse since moving to Joseph’s barn for her last two starts. She gave proven Grade 1 horse Vahva everything she could handle in the Chicago Stakes last out, and a run back to her last two outings puts her in the running for Grade 1 glory.

In terms of pace, she has a solid running style for this race: she’s versatile, but able to run a winning race without having to drop too far back. And, though this is another case of musical chairs for her jockey assignment, she gets a high-percentage Saratoga regular in Irad Ortiz, Jr., who knows the track (and the biggest stages in racing) well enough to give her the best chance.

3. Brightwork (15-1)

In a race where the short-priced horses all have serious questions, this is a spread race in multi-race wagers and a race where straight-wager players are justified in going price shopping. And, that includes taking a long look at the joint longest shot on the board, Brightwork.

In short, there are two Brightworks. There’s the one who runs at Saratoga, and there’s the one who runs everywhere else. She has tables to turn on Claret Beret and Zeitlos after firing a clunker in the Chicago last out, and was fourth behind a group that included Hope Road in the Winning Colors two back, but both of those races happened at Churchill Downs. The only races she has ever run that show she is fast enough to win the Ballerina have been sprint races at Saratoga. With tactical speed and the riding services of Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, there is plenty of reason to take a flyer on Brightwork in the Ballerina.

Ballerina Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Ballerina?
A: The Ballerina Stakes happens Saturday, August 23, at 4:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Q: Where is the Ballerina?
A: The Ballerina will be run at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is the 11th on Saratoga’s 14-race Travers Stakes day card.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Ballerina?
A: Shug McGaughey leads all trainers with five wins in the Ballerina, most recently in 1999 with Furlough. McGaughey is still active, but does not have a runner in the 2025 edition of the Ballerina. Among those who do have horses this year, Steve Asmussen leads with three wins, including the last two editions of the race. He can go for three straight, and four lifetime, with Zeitlos.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Ballerina?
A: Scylla is the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Ballerina Stakes. She may not be as hot in the market as she would be had she won her last start, but she is regularly well bet. Between being trained by Bill Mott and having come in second in this race last year, she is likely to hold as the favorite.

Q: Who is the best Ballerina jockey?
A: John Velazquez leads all riders with five wins in the Ballerina, most recently with Gamine in 2021. Velazquez can carry his record to six if he springs the upset with Brightwork.

Q: Who won the Ballerina in 2024?
A: Trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Tyler Gaffalione won the 2024 Ballerina with Society. Gaffalione does not have a call in 2025, but Asmussen returns to the fray with Zeitlos, ridden by Junior Alvarado.

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