2025 Fleur de Lis Stakes Preview

Key Takeaways:

• Thorpedo Anna, the reigning horse of the year, headlines the Fleur de Lis despite a disappointing seventh-place finish in the La Troienne—but her past form and strong workouts suggest a rebound is possible.
• Royal Spa and Gin Gin enter in sharp form from the Shawnee (G3), while Taxed comes off a solid runner-up finish in the La Troienne and brings proven class and consistency.
• Save Time is the wildcard, stepping up from allowance company, but needs a major leap to compete with this field.
• The winner earns an automatic berth to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, making this a key summer target for top older fillies and mares.

An automatic bid to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff is at stake Saturday at Churchill Downs in the Fleur de Lis (G2). The $500,000 race, run at 1 ⅛ miles on the dirt, is headlined by reigning horse of the year Thorpedo Anna. Though she is coming off of a surprising seventh-place finish in the La Troienne, her first off-the-board finish in her 13-race career, she has been working regularly and well toward the return.

Thorpedo Anna will face four foes in this feature. Three are graded-stakes winners: Grade 2 winner Taxed and Grade 3 winners Gin Gin and Royal Spa. One new face is jumping into the fray: Save Time, a last-out first-level allowance winner over the course and distance.

A feature of the late spring or early summer at Churchill Downs since 1975, the race was originally run at a mile. The distance was extended to 1 1/16 miles in 1977, and then to its current distance in 1983. Some of its greatest winners over the years include Hall of Famers Serena’s Song (1996) and Rachel Alexandra (2010), as well as Escena (1998), Royal Delta (2012), Forever Unbridled (2017), and Letruska (2021).

Fleur de Lis Stakes Information

• Race Date: Saturday, June 28
• Track: Churchill Downs
• Post Time: 3:52 Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 1/8 miles
• Age/Sex: fillies and mares, four-year-olds and upward
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2025 Fleur de Lis Stakes Draw and Odds

This is the official field for the Fleur de Lis, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds for each horse.

Fleur de Lis Stakes Prep Race Results

All five horses in the Fleur de Lis raced last out at Churchill Downs, in three different races.

Two runners come out of the 1 1/16-mile La Troienne on Kentucky Oaks day, May 2. Taxed, ignored at 31-1 on the tote board, rallied from near the rear to finish second by three-quarters of a length behind Raging Sea. Thorpedo Anna had a little trouble early, stalked the pace, but emptied out in the lane to finish seventh and last.

Two others come out of the Shawnee (G3) on May 31, and they filled out the exacta in the 1 1/16-mile race. Gin Gin tracked the pace and had a brief lead near the head of the stretch, but could not hold off a late run from Royal Spa, who won by 1 ¼ lengths over Gin Gin.

Save Time has freshened up after winning a first-level allowance May 11 at Churchill Downs, covering the same 1 ⅛-mile trip of the Fleur de Lis.

Fleur de Lis Stakes Contenders

These are the five entrants in the 2025 Fleur de Lis:

1. Royal Spa: Royal Spa had dabbled in graded-stakes company dating all the way back to her two-year-old season in 2022, but never quite proved herself at stakes level at all until late 2024 when she hit the board in the Poinsettia at Oaklawn. She has hit the best form of her career this spring at age five, winning the Heavenly Cause at Laurel in April and then breaking through in graded company in the Shawnee last out. She is versatile enough to win on the lead or from off the pace, and her two-back win at Laurel showed she can handle mud. If Thorpedo Anna doesn’t come back in her top form and Royal Spa keeps up what she has shown in her last couple starts, she has appeal.
2. Save Time: She has class to prove, comes out of a first-level allowance, and her only graded-stakes try was a well-beaten fifth in the Hurricane Bertie (G3) at Gulfstream three back. A maiden win four back at Gulfstream is enough to show that it wasn’t a question of hating the footing there. However, it was 6 ½ furlongs; longer races have suited her better, and she has run her best at 1 ⅛ miles. Even with that, her last-out effort was her best effort in about a year, and she needs yet another step up to fit in this spot.
3. Thorpedo Anna: If Thorpedo Anna comes back at her best, she’ll be hard to beat. She has the speed to make the running, especially in this short field, and 1 ⅛ miles at Churchill Downs suits her nicely. The slop isn’t a problem either—after all, she won the Kentucky Oaks last year in the slop. The question, for the first time in a very long time, is if. After all, she ran the first poor race of her career last out in the La Troienne. Though the start wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t as if she was roughed badly enough for it to feel like a major excuse. So, was it an off day, or is she losing her mojo? The works have been good since the race, but the price will still be short with such a question looming.
4. Gin Gin: A marginal Kentucky Oaks contender last year, she is a new horse at four years old, now in the barn of Brendan Walsh. She upset the Doubledogdare (G3) in her debut for the new barn on April 18, and then ran a good second to Royal Spa in the Shawnee after being near a fast pace. The short field should help her, given her tendency to be on or near the pace, though she is not one-way speed. The biggest question for her is the weather forecast—she has run some decent efforts on an off track, including a win in the Busanda last year, but hasn’t been the most consistent in wet conditions.
5. Taxed: She doesn’t win all the time, but she usually shows up: the 2023 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) winner is now five, has hit the board in 15 of 23 starts, and lifted her earnings over a million dollars last out with a second-place finish in the La Troienne last out. She cut back to sprinting over the winter at Oaklawn, and that looked like it was suiting her, but she also followed up with one of her best two-turn efforts last out in the La Troienne. She has hit the board in both efforts at 1 ⅛ miles, including that Black-Eyed Susan win, though her best chance probably comes if the pace gets a bit lively.

Fleur de Lis Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Fleur de Lis Stakes?

A: The Fleur de Lis happens Saturday, June 28, 2025, at 3:52 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Q: Where is the Fleur de Lis Stakes?

A: The Fleur de Lis Stakes is run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Fleur de Lis Stakes?

A: Bill Mott leads all trainers with five wins in the Fleur de Lis over the span of an amazing 40 years—his first came all the way back in 1984 with Heatherten, and his latest came in 2024 with Scylla. Mott is still at the top of his game this year, of course, with the likes of Sovereignty, but he does not have a Fleur de Lis entrant. All the trainers with a horse in the Fleur de Lis this year seek their first win in the race.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Fleur de Lis Stakes?

A: Thorpedo Anna has been named the 3-5 morning-line favorite and will likely hold as the choice of the public at post time. Even though she comes off an uncharacteristic defeat, she is the reigning horse of the year and has shown the most consistent class of anyone in the field.

Q: Who is the best Fleur de Lis Stakes jockey?

A: Four jockeys are tied with three victories in the Fleur de Lis. Shane Sellers does not actively ride anymore. Calvin Borel and Joel Rosario ride but do not have a call in 2025. Jose Ortiz, with three wins between 2018 and 2021, can take the record for himself if he wins with Gin Gin.

Q: Who won the Fleur de Lis Stakes in 2024?

A: Scylla won the 2024 Fleur de Lis for trainer Bill Mott and jockey Javier Castellano. Neither Mott nor Castellano returns to the Fleur de Lis in 2025.

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