First Look: 7 stakes light up Memorial Day weekend

The Preakness hangover sets in fast. Memorial Day weekend leaves no time to nurse it. The holiday has long been one of the strongest betting weekends outside the classics, a deep run of stakes that pays off the handicappers willing to dig.

Santa Anita does most of the carrying, with three on its Memorial Day card. Formidable Man returns in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile for the first time since his runner-up finish in the Breeders' Cup Mile. The Gamely (G1) sends Take A Breath after a third straight win, though her last two scores came against Grade 3 fields and this race asks how far her spring form carries. British Isles tries to shake off a flat Keeneland trip in the Hollywood Gold Cup (G2).

Seven stakes across four tracks give handicappers plenty to chase this holiday weekend, with two on Saturday and five more on Memorial Day.

Saturday

Paradise Creek, Aqueduct, 6 furlongs, 3-year-olds

A graded-stakes winner at 2, Intricate Spirit captured the Futurity (G3) at Belmont at the Big A on Oct. 3, edging Longshoreman by 1 3/4 lengths after a debut score at Saratoga. Trainer Miguel Clement's colt then faded to ninth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. He returned at 3 with a third in the Texas Glitter on March 21 and a ninth in the Palisades on April 19 at Keeneland.

Keertana, Churchill Downs, 1 1/2 miles, turf, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

Winner of three in a row and 2-for-2 on turf, Sultana captured the Orchid Stakes (G3) on March 28 at Gulfstream Park, rallying three wide to edge Ayra Stark for a career-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form. Trainer Kevin Attard's 5-year-old mare also won the Maple Leaf (G3) and owns a 6: 4-1-1 record.

Next Monday

Winning Colors (G3), Churchill Downs, 6 furlongs, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

A four-time stakes winner, Majestic Oops upset Nitrogen in the Azeri (G2) on March 7 at Oaklawn, drawing off by three-quarters of a length over a sloppy track. The 6-year-old mare most recently finished third behind Claret Beret in the April 11 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1).

Steve Sexton Mile (G3), Lone Star Park, 1 mile, 3-year-olds and up

Defending Steve Sexton Mile champion Komorebino Omoide overcame a poor start over a sloppy track to rally up the rail and capture the 2025 renewal by 2 1/4 lengths. The 6-year-old returned to the winner's circle on Feb. 28, setting the pace and digging in gamely to take the Stymie at Aqueduct.

Shoemaker Mile (G1), Santa Anita, 1 mile, turf, 3-year-olds and up

Formidable Man last appeared in last year's Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar, finishing second to Notable Speech. Trainer Mike McCarthy's multiple Grade 1 winner took back-to-back graded stakes during the summer in the Del Mar Mile (G2) and Eddie Read (G2), and he captured the Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G1) in March 2025.

Gamely (G1), Santa Anita, 1 1/8 miles, turf, fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

Back-to-back graded-stakes victories defined Take A Breath's spring. Trainer Mark Glatt's 4-year-old filly captured the Santa Ana (G3) by a nose March 15, then narrowly prevailed in the Royal Heroine (G3) on April 25, both at Santa Anita. The daughter of Bated Breath dropped her first five U.S. starts before the Santa Ana provided her first North American win.

Hollywood Gold Cup (G2), Santa Anita, 1 1/4 miles, 3-year-olds and up

A Grade 1 victory anchored British Isles's record, with the Justify gelding drawing clear by 2 1/4 lengths in the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) on March 7. Richard Baltas's 5-year-old returned to dirt last fall after a long turf campaign, ran second in the Native Diver (G3) and fifth in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) ahead of that win. He last finished sixth in Keeneland's Ben Ali (G3) on April 18.