While the Louisiana Derby appears to be a wide-open affair Saturday, the Fair Grounds Oaks attracted just five entrants — and on paper, looks like a three-horse race.
Trainer Tom Amoss' Hoosier Philly will get most of the attention after her disappointing third-place finish in the Grade II Rachel Alexandra Stakes last month. She’ll face just four rivals, led by betting favorite Pretty Mischievous (8-5), who won the Rachel Alexandria.
The Rachel Alexandra was the first race after a three-month layoff for Hoosier Philly, who won the first three races of her career and went off as a the 2-5 favorite in the Rachel Alexandra.
Amoss, a New Orleans native, has called the 3-year-old filly the best horse he’s ever trained. Hoosier Philly will break from the No. 5 post position as the co-second favorite at 2-1 with Aly Look.
“I think we have a good post (in the Fair Grounds Oaks),” Amoss said. “Drawing outside the field of five in a race where there are quite a few horses who want to be forwardly placed. If something unusual were to happen at the start, as it did last time, the ability to recover and not be closed in by other horses is a benefit. ... I think she’s coming into the race enthusiastically, and I like that.”