Bet on Silverbulletday: Kentucky Oaks Betting Strategies

During the stellar career of Silverbulletday, the filly made her 3-year-old debut at the Fair Grounds in 1999, winning the Davona Dale Stakes and the Fair Grounds Oaks enroute to a second straight championship season.

Silverbulletday went on to win the Kentucky Oaks (G1) as the 1-10 betting favorite and build a resume of 15 victories from 23 starts with more than $3 million in earnings. Although racing just twice at the Fair Grounds, track officials in 2011 renamed a race for Silverbulletday.

Silverbulletday Odds: Atropa the 2-1 favorite in a Field of Six

On Saturday, the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes is part of a 13-race card at the Fair Grounds, a 1-mile, 70-yard test offering Oaks qualifying points of 20-10-6-4-2 to the top five finishers.

The field of six 3-year-old fillies is led by 2-1 morning-line favorite Atropa, one of two entries for trainer Cherie DeVaux.

The Into Mischief filly makes her 3-year-old debut after going 1-for-2 in 2025, a maiden win by 10 lengths in her second start, followed by a close second to Bella Ballerina in the Golden Rod Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 29.

Her closing run in the 1/16^th-mile in the Golden Rod may give her an edge against rivals in the Silverbulletday, race 12, with a post time of 5:30 p.m. ET.

Trainer Kenny McPeek has an unbeaten filly in this one with Taken by the Wind, last seen winning the Pocahontas Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs on Sept. 25. The Rock Your World filly, partly owned by NFL Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, is 5-2 leaving from gate 4 under Brian Hernandez, Jr.

White Smoke (x-2) gives DeVaux a second entry. The Essential Quality filly made her debut a winning one on Dec. 20, scoring by a length after a driving rally in a 6-furlong sprint at the Fair Grounds.

Luv Your Neighbor, trained by Michael Stidham, is the most experienced of the bunch with five starts in 2025 – a maiden win at first asking and a pair of seconds, most recently in the 1-mile, 70-yard Untapable Stakes at the Fair Grounds on Dec. 20.

Rounding out the field are Pashmina, who ran third in the Untapable, and Dancin in Old Town, 0-for-2 for trainer Keith Desormeaux

The Picks: 1 Taken by the Wind, 2 Atropa, 3 White Smoke

The field for the $150,0000 Silverbulletday Stakes, from the out, with jockey, trainer, odds:

1. Atropa (José Ortiz, Cherie DeVaux), 2-1
2. Dancin in Old Town (James Graham, Keith Desormeaux), 10-1
3. White Smoke (Flavien Prat, Cherie DeVaux), 9-2
4. Taken by the Wind (Brian Hernandez, Jr., Kenny McPeek), 5-2
5. Luv Your Neighbor (Axel Concepcion, Mike Stidham), 4-1
6. Pashmina (Ben Curtis, Rob Atras), 5-1

Richard Rosenblatt

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.