Saturdays feature event at Saratoga is the 139th running of the Alabama Stakes.

The prestigious stakes race for 3-year-old fillies is one of the oldest races for females in the United States, with its first edition taking place in 1872 in a race Won by WOODBINE, a horse owned by August Belmont.

The race itself was not precisely named in honor of the great state of Alabama; rather, it was named after William Cottrell of Mobile, Alabama, who was too modest to have a race named for him personally and requested it be named after his home state.

Cottrell, who came to the United States from England during the 1840’s, was an owner and breeder whose ASCENSION finished 10th in the inaugural Kentucky Derby in 1875, but he also owned BUCHANAN who Won the Run for the Roses in 1884.

The Grade 1 Alabama is open to three-year old fillies, is run at the classic distance of a mile & 1/4 on the dirt and offers a purse of $600,000 dollars.

On Friday the Daily Racing Blog will take a detailed look at the field for this years contest, and see if we can find another horse to beat the favorite(s) like we did last week in the Fourstardave when we picked GOT STORMY as our Value play.  So be sure to stop back.