2026 Frizette Stakes Preview at Belmont Park

Key Takeaways:

• The Frizette returns to Belmont Park after four years at Aqueduct, with a field of seven juvenile fillies competing at a mile for a $500,000 purse and 10-5-3-2-1 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points.
• This is an unusually inexperienced field: none has graded-stakes experience, Velora is the only two-time winner and stakes winner, and the lone maiden, Revenge of the Sis, is the only horse with open stakes and one-mile experience.
• Rum Twist is the top pick, bringing the strongest combination of recent form, seven-furlong experience and a stalk-and-pounce style that should suit the race; her pedigree also points toward handling the one-turn mile.
• Velora is the second pick as the only two-time winner in the field, with tactical speed, an outside post and high-percentage connections; the main questions are whether her New York-bred form translates and whether she can stretch her speed to a mile.
• Dotsy rounds out the picks after an impressive debut win, with the ability to pass horses and already having handled 6½ furlongs; her tactical style and longer-distance pedigree could make her a better fit than the more obvious debut winner, Libby Lloyd.

The Grade 1 Frizette Stakes, the top race for juvenile dirt fillies on the New York circuit, happens Saturday, October 3 at Belmont Park. The one-mile dirt race drew a field of seven to compete for a $500,000 purse. A traditional fall feature at Belmont Park, the race was run at Aqueduct Racetrack for the last four years but returns home this year.

The Frizette drew a field of seven – none of whom have any graded-stakes experience. The only stakes winner in the field, and the only two-time winner, is Velora: she beat New York-breds on debut in a maiden special weight August 1, and then won the New York-bred Seeking the Ante on September 4 at the Spa. The only horse with open stakes experience – and the only one with a one-mile race under her – is the only maiden in the field: Revenge of the Sis finished third on debut in the Sorority at Monmouth on October 29.

In addition to the purse, the race offers 10-5-3-2-1 qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs in May to its top five finishers. Although the race is not an automatic qualifier to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland, it does offer travel and registration incentives to the winner through the Dirt Dozen program.

The Frizette is traditionally still a live prep for the Breeders’ Cup, especially in recent years. Just F Y I (2023), Echo Zulu (2021), Jaywalk (2018), My Miss Aurelia (2011), Indian Blessing (2007), and Storm Flag Flying (2002) have all swept the pair in the 21st century. Though 2024 winner Scottish Lassie was only fourth behind Immersive in the 2024 edition, she came back to win the Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga Race Course the next year.

Frizette Information

• Race Date: Saturday, October 3
• Track: Belmont Park in Elmont, NY
• Post Time: 4:31 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 mile on the dirt
• Age/Sex: two-year-old fillies
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV, Fox Sports 1
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2026 Frizette Stakes Draw and Odds

These are the entrants in the Frizette, along with post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Frizette Prep Race Results

Two horses are coming out of stakes races. Velora comes out of a stalk-and-pounce victory in the Seeking the Ante, a six-furlong New York-bred sprint September 4 at Saratoga. Revenge of the Sis, the lone maiden in the field, started slowly and chased on for third in the one-mile Sorority at Monmouth on August 29.

Four runners come out of open maiden special weight races, with two coming out of debuts and two with a few more starts under them.

Libby Lloyd set the pace and kept on going, winning her debut by 10 lengths in a six-furlong sprint August 15 at Saratoga. Dotsy also comes out of a debut maiden win; after a slow start, she rallied to win by four lengths in a 6 ½ furlongs race August 26 at Saratoga.

Girls Wear Pearls needed three starts to graduate, but got her diploma August 22 at Del Mar when she battled on the pace and held to win by a length. Rum Twist also needed three starts to figure it out; she stalked and pounced in a seven-furlong race September 5 at Saratoga, drawing off by 5 ¾ lengths in the end.

One other runner comes out of a New Jersey-bred maiden special weight win. She’s a Twelve had a rough start but nonetheless set a pressured pace and went clear to win her third career start by 9 ½ lengths in a 5 ½-furlong sprint August 22 at Monmouth.

Frizette Stakes Contenders

These runners, in order of post position, are entered for the 2026 Frizette.

1. Revenge of the Sis: The good news is, she is the only horse with open stakes experience. She is also the only horse with a one-mile race behind her, though that was a two-turn mile and not the one-turn trip of the Frizette. She has some clear room to improve as well, as she had a slow and rough start in that debut. Basically, Revenge of the Sis is a wild card: she needs to improve a lot, which is possible for a George Weaver trainee second-out, and it’s a good thing she can pass horses. But, it’s a concern that her new rider, Edgard Zayas, has had such a slow start to the Belmont meet.
2. She’s a Twelve: In all three of her races, she has shown speed; last out, her third career race, she finally kept on well enough to get her diploma. It was a nice step forward from her previous form, but she’ll also have to deal with other speed in this spot, and will have to take a step up speed-wise to contend with what the rest in this field has already shown. In short, it’s a lot to ask for someone facing horses bred outside New Jersey for the first time.
3. Girls Wear Pearls: She made her first two starts sprinting on turf and never quite put it together. A switch to dirt – and to a more frontrunning style – did the job. Now she gets more distance, something that should play well with her pedigree, and something that suggests she should be part of the front ranks once again. She showed last out that she can battle, but this will be a tougher fight than her last time out and she’ll need to take a significant step forward.
4. Libby Lloyd: She has raced just once, but it was an impressive beginning: a ten-length frontrunning score at Saratoga that came back fast. That was only a six-furlong race, but everything suggests she’ll want more ground: not only does Chad Brown excel with first-time routers, but her pedigree (an Into Mischief half to Publisher) suggests she will stretch out, at the very least to middle distances. The biggest question with her, especially given the short price, is how she will handle having company up front early, because she inevitably will have it.
5. Dotsy: Dotsy comes off a debut maiden win as well. There’s a lot to like about her beginning: she overcame a bit of a slow start and proved she could pass horses. And, given the one-turn mile configuration of the Frizette, the fact that she is one of two horses in the field who has won over an extended sprint distance (in her case, 6 ½ furlongs) is a point in her favor, too. She keeps jockey Kendrick Carmouche in the irons, and the fact that she is trained by John Grabowski, a high-percentage Finger Lakes trainer who rarely steps onto the NYRA circuit, should keep the price square.
6. Rum Twist: This Mark Henning charge needed three starts to put it together; that’s no concern, as Henning isn’t a “win early with juveniles” kind of trainer in general. She had some trip trouble in her first two starts, as well; she finally got to run her race third out, and it was a dominant win going seven furlongs, the longest distance at which any horse in this field has won a race. She did it from a stalk-and-pounce shape, something that should play well given the composition of the Frizette. He also keeps Paco Lopez, who rode her in that maiden win, in the irons.
7. Velora: This filly is the only two-time winner in the field, and she has shown good tactical speed in both of her starts for trainer Linda Rice. And, though she loses jockey Jose Ortiz (who is riding the likes of Zulu Kingdom and Coach Pope at Keeneland on Saturday), he gets an excellent replacement in Manuel Franco, who has never been riding better than he has this year. She has a clean outside gate and high-percentage connections … if she can keep her form against New York-breds going against open company, she has a shot.

Frizette Stakes: 3 Best Bets

These are the three best bets in the 2026 Frizette Stakes:

1. Rum Twist (3-1)

In a field full of more up-and-coming types than anyone proven – every single horse in the field is making their graded-stakes debut – a horse who has had some time to come up through open maiden special weights at the Spa really does qualify as seasoned, comparably speaking. She chased on for second after some early trouble on debut, and then just came up flat second out after being put in eight early in her second race. But, she bounced back nicely last out, tracking the pace and taking command.

Her maiden win came in a seven-furlong sprint as well, boding well for her ability to stretch out to the one-turn mile trip of the Frizette. Her pedigree also suggests the extra distance should work: she is by Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun out of a Congrats mare with both sprint and route class in the family. A one-turn mile should be right within her abilities.

2. Velora (7-2)

In a field of up-and-comers, it stands out that Velora already has two winds underneath her. To be fair, they’re both against New York-breds – but the winds, especially the last-out score in the Seeking the Ante, are fast enough to make her a major competitor in this spot. Her running style is appealing as well: in both of her wins she prevailed in stalk-and-pounce fashion. With several speeds drawn inside her, and with the outside gate in a seven-horse field, Velora should be in a prime position to get a good tactical trip.

The step up in distance is a question, given that both of her starts have come in six-furlong races. She is sired by the accomplished sprinter Yaupon, but Yaupon is an Uncle Mo son, and he has gotten some classy milers and middle-distance horses as well as sprinters, and she is out of a Scat Daddy mare who, though she was a sprinter, has some form going longer than that through her family. This is enough to take a shot, especially with high-percentage connections including a trainer Linda Rice, who does so well with horses trying a mile or more for the first time.

3. Dotsy (6-1)

And now we get to the debut winners. Libby Lloyd will get attention off her blowout maiden win, but she still has to prove that she can battle on the pace or stalk it, and she’ll be a short price. On the other hand, there’s Dotsy: she graduated going an extended one-turn trip and did so from a tracking spot. She may be a little more forward than she was on debut since she didn’t start all that fast in that race, but she has already proven she can rate and rally, and has proven she can handle something longer than the conventional six-furlong sprint.

She’ll probably want even longer than this, when all is said and done: she’s by Tacitus out of a Fusaichi Pegasus mare. But, at this point, the mile is a logical next step. And, she’ll probably fly under the radar despite the smart debut win, given that trainer John Grabowski is a Finger Lakes trainer who doesn’t frequently turn up in bigger races downstate. But, Dotsy proved well spotted in her Saratoga debut … and compared to the rest of the Frizette field, she fits right in.

Frizette Stakes FAQ

Q: When and where is the Frizette Stakes?

A: The Frizette Stakes will be run on Saturday, October 4, at Aqueduct. Post time is scheduled for 4:31 p.m. EDT, and the race is the ninth of 11 on the Saturday card.

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

A: The late D. Wayne Lukas leads all trainers with seven wins in the Frizette between 1983 and 1999. Among the trainers with 2026 entrants, two have won it once before. Mark Hennig won with Raging Fever; he entered Rum Twist. Chad Brown, who won with Separationofpowers in 2017, runs Libby Lloyd this year.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Frizette Stakes?

A: Libby Lloyd, a frontrunning debut winner for Chad Brown, is the 8-5 morning-line favorite for the Frizette. She should be well bet after that victory, especially given how hard Chad Brown and Flavien Prat tend to get bet. Though, watch for action on either New York-bred stakes winner Velora (7-2) for Linda Rice, or last-out maiden winner Rum Twist (3-1) for Mark Hennig.

Q: Who is the best Frizette Stakes jockey?

A: Jerry Bailey, Laffit Pincay, Jr., and John Velazquez have all won the Frizette four times, most of any rider. Velazquez is still active, but not riding in the race this year. Among jockeys with calls in the Frizette, Manuel Franco is the only one who has won it before; he took the 2016 edition with Yellow Agate. He has the call on Velora this year.

Q: Who won the Frizette Stakes in 2025?

A: Iron Orchard won the 2025 Frizette for trainer Danny Gargan and jockey Joel Rosario. Neither Gargan nor Rosario has an entrant in the 2026 edition.

New to FanDuel Racing? Place your first bet of $10 on any race at any track & get $50 back in Racing Bonus. See here for full terms and conditions. Learn about today’s other offers at FanDuel Racing Promos.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.