Maram Last Minute Diana Entrant

Chad Brown, who entered Thursday’s card tied with Todd Pletcher for the lead among trainers with four victories, decided at the last minute to enter Maram, who is 2-for-2 over the turf at Saratoga, in Saturday’s Grade 1 Diana. The 4-year-old filly, who broke her maiden at the Spa in 2008 and won last year’s John Hettinger, will face six talented fillies with impressive resumes, including Forever Together, Phola, and Proviso.

“I’ve stopped being conservative,” said Brown of Maram, who in two starts this year finished second in the Eatontown Stakes and won the Ms. Liberty on July 4, both at Monmouth Park. “She’s going to run with good fillies – I’m not going to duck anyone.”

Brown, who grew up in nearby Mechanicville, N.Y., ticked off a litany of reasons why he elected to run her in the Diana and not await the Grade 2 Ballston Spa on August 28.

“She’s showing me she wants to run; it’s a chance to get a Grade 1; she’s 2-for-2 on the turf here; it’s her third race off a layoff, and while it’s a quality field, it’s not a large field in terms of numbers,” he said.