The Darley Alcibiades Stakes is so much more than a Grade 1 stakes on opening day of the fall meet at Keeneland – it's a major prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and an early prep race for the Kentucky Oaks (G1).
This year, it could mean a lot more since the winner earns an automatic berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, to be held over the same track in four weeks.
A field of eight 2-year-old fillies is entered for the 75th edition of the 1 1/16-mile Alcibiades, with a clear-cut favorite in unbeaten Summer Starlet (4-5 on the morning line), who comes into the race off an impressive 4 ¾-length victory in the Spinaway Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on Sept. 5.
Some top-flight fillies have not only won the Alcibiades, but went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, including Immersive in 2024, Wonder Wheel in 2022, and British Idiom in 2019.
Summer Starlet is trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen and will be ridden out of post 5 by Flavien Prat. A daughter of City of Light purchased for $335,000, Summer Starlet won easily in her career debut, circling rivals heading into the stretch and pulling off by 6 ½ lengths at Saratoga on Aug. 8. She won in similar fashion in the Spinaway, seizing control at the top of the stretch and rolling to victory.
“Obviously, her debut race showed a tremendous amount of ability. She's done extremely well since,’’ Asmussen said after the Spinaway. “She was away from there great, and she was in hand in a very comfortable position for him [jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr.], and it went perfectly.”
Emphatic (4-1) also brings in a 2-for-2 record for trainer Brendan Walsh. The Nyquist filly looks to be a stalker, winning in her debut by 6 ¾ lengths at Colonial Downs on July 25 and then taking the Sorority Stakes 5 ¼ lengths at Monmouth Park on Aug. 29. Tyler Gaffalione has the call leaving from post 1.
“She couldn’t have been more impressive,” Walsh said after the Sorority Stakes. “I thought she had a great trip even though she got hung a little wide early on. But she had a nice smooth trip after that. I liked the way she cruised around there and then picked it up again in the stretch. It looks like she could be a pretty nice filly.”
Walsh also sends out Ever Forward (20-1), who broke her maiden at second asking with a gutsy one-length win at Ellis Park on Aug. 23. In the 1-mile race, Ever Forward lost the lead at the top of the stretch but fought back and regained the advantage in the final sixteenth.
The only filly in the field with more than two starts is Elewene (15-1) for trainer Dale Romans. Purchased for $45,000, Elewene is 2-for-3, beaten a neck in her debut at Ellis Park on July 25 and then winning a pair of 6-furlong races, one at Ellis Park on Aug. 22, the other at Churchill Downs on Sept. 10. Luis Saez will ride out of post 9.
The rest of the field: For the Money (30-1), a seven-length winner at Colonial Downs on Aug. 20; Oh She Said Yes (10-1), a 5 ¼-length debut winner at Churchill Downs on Sept. 20; Forever Carina (9-2), a debut winner by two lengths at Saratoga on Aug. 22; and High Speed Reed (8-1), a second-out winner by 3 ¾ lengths at Churchill Downs on Sept. 13.
Forever Carina, a filly by top sire Gun Runner, should be considered a serious contender for trainer Chad Brown. Jose Ortiz rides. At 9-2, this filly is worth a wager.
Post time for the Alcibiades, race 9, is 5:16 p.m. ET.
This will be the first time most of these 2-year-olds race more than a mile, so the step up could be telling. Who can get the distance and come through in a prestigious Grade 1? Summer Starlet has already done it ...
| # | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emphatic | Tyler Gaffalione | Brendan Walsh | 4-1 |
| 2 | For the Money | Rafael Bejarano | Rohan Crichton | 30-1 |
| 3 | Ever Forward | Brian Hernandez, Jr. | Brendan Walsh | 20-1 |
| 4 | Oh She Said Yes | Jareth Loveberry | Kenny McPeek | 10-1 |
| 5 | Summer Starlet | Flavien Prat | Steve Asmussen | 4-5 |
| 6 | Forever Carina | Jose Ortiz | Chad Brown | 9-2 |
| 7 | High Speed Reed | John Velazquez | Mark Casse | 8-1 |
| 8 | Elewene | Luis Saez | Dale Romans | 15-1 |
Last Updated on 09/29/2026
Richard Rosenblatt is an award-winning journalist and former Associated Press Horse Racing Editor. Currently, he serves as the news editor at US Racing, overseeing exclusive content from contributors worldwide.
