Horses with Maryland ties to watch at Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week

For anyone involved in horse racing, the Kentucky Derby is the biggest stage.

It’s the only race that’s practically a national holiday, giving thousands around the country a reason to hold a party, wear their best big hats and seersucker, and suck down mint juleps. Just to land a spot in the starting gate, trainers plot elaborate plans over many months to give their colts enough opportunities to accrue points in designated prep races.

Much of that could be said of the Kentucky Oaks, the marquee race for 3-year-old fillies held at Churchill Downs the Friday before the Derby.

While just about every horse in the program will have a “KY” next to its name, denoting the state where it was born, Maryland has a chance to steal the spotlight in the Oaks with the locally bred Dazzling Dame. And one of the top trainers in the state, Brittany Russell, is hoping to get the filly conditioned for a trip to the winner’s circle in the $1.5 million Grade 1 race.

Here’s a look at some of the horses with Maryland ties to watch at Churchill Downs this weekend.

Luv Your Neighbor

Race details: Friday, 4:30 p.m. post time, Race 8, Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes, 7 furlongs on dirt, for 3-year-old fillies, $700,000

Morning line odds: 6-1

Bio: Purchased for $350,000 as a yearling by Lael Stables, the racing operation of Pennsylvania’s Roy and Gretchen Jackson, Luv Your Neighbor won a 2025 maiden race at Colonial Downs in Virginia her first time out. The Ontario-bred daughter of Constitution out of Disobedient hasn’t won since, but she’s been awfully close, stringing together four consecutive runner-up finishes in 2025 and 2026.

She’s trained by Michael Stidham, who keeps a string of horses at the Fair Hill Training Center in Cecil County, where the Jacksons maintain a stable.

In 2026: Luv Your Neighbor has run in three stakes races this year, all at Fair Grounds in Louisiana and all at a mile or longer. She finished second by a neck in the Silverbulletday Stakes in January, second by half a length in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra in February, and third in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks in March.

There’s no shame in losing to quality competition. In both the Rachel Alexandra and the Fair Grounds Oaks, she finished behind Bella Ballerina, a 12-1 shot in the Kentucky Oaks.

With the longer layoff and a shorter distance, Luv Your Neighbor should be primed for a nice run.

(Stidham and another Fair Hill trainer, Arnaud Delacour, have entries in the second race Friday, a $134,000 allowance optional claiming race.)

Dazzling Dame

Race details: Friday, 8:40 p.m. post time, Race 13, Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, 1 1/8 miles on dirt, for 3-year-old fillies, $1.5 million

Morning line odds: 30-1

Bio: Bred by Maria M. Haire, this filly had a stellar campaign as a 2-year-old for Russell, Maryland’s leading trainer for three years running. Dazzling Dame won three of her four races in 2025, including two in stakes company. She put in a competitive bid in the Grade 3 Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill last September, briefly grabbing the lead before fading down the stretch and settling for fourth.

In 2026: Dazzling Dame started 2026 in dominant fashion, taking the Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct by 11 1/2 lengths in January. With Kentucky Oaks points on the line, she took the lead in the Virginia Oaks at Colonial Downs in March but was passed coming down the stretch by the surging favorite Bottle of Rouge and came in second.

Of note for Friday: Dazzling Dame will get a jockey change in Kentucky. Luis Saez, one of the top riders in the country, will get the mount in place of Jevian Toledo.

Italian Soiree

Race details: Saturday, 2:38 p.m. post time, Race 7, Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile Stakes, 1 mile on turf, for fillies and mares 4 years old and upward, $1 million

Morning line odds: 10-1

Bio: This well-traveled filly started her career as a dirt horse before switching primarily to turf under trainer John Terranova II. Her record is a bit of a mixed bag. After winning a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race and finishing runner-up in the Grade 3 Adirondack Stakes on dirt as a 2-year-old, Italian Soiree finished out of the money in her next five races, all stakes contests, most of them on grass.

There was a breakthrough in her 3-year-old campaign with a win in the Grade 3 Coronation Cup Stakes, a summer turf sprint at Saratoga. That was followed by an 11th-place finish in the Grade 2 Music City Stakes at Kentucky Downs and a fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Glen Cove Stakes at Aqueduct.

In 2026: Owners Hit The Bid Racing Stable and CMNWLTH sent Italian Soiree to Maryland to work with H. Graham Motion, a top turf trainer with stables at Fair Hill. Motion got her back to the winner’s circle in a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint in allowance company at Laurel Park this month.

Jumping back into stakes company and stretching out to a mile is a tall order, and the Distaff presents a deep, competitive field. Maybe the 1-for-1 start to 2026 is a sign Italian Soiree is poised to take the next step.

Test Score

Race details: Saturday, 5:39 p.m. post time, Race 11, Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic Stakes, 1 1/8 miles on turf, for 4-year-olds and upward, $1.5 million.

Morning line odds: 7-2

Bio: Another Motion trainee, Test Score always puts forth a strong effort, finishing in the money in 11 of 13 career starts. He’s notched impressive victories, too, in the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes at Keeneland, Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes at Saratoga and Grade 2 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita.

In 2026: Test Score started the year by winning the $1 million Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes at Gulfstream Park, besting stablemate One Stripe by a neck. Although he’s never put back-to-back wins together, Test Score is certain to be in the mix Saturday.