Rachel Tops Fleur de Lis

Rachel Alexandra will be a huge favorite when she faces just four other fillies and mares Saturday at Churchill Downs in the Grade 2, $200,000 Fleur de Lis Handicap, a race in which the 2009 Horse of the Year will be seeking her first victory as a 4-year-old.

Calvin Borel will be aboard Rachel Alexandra for the 12th straight time when the superstar filly breaks from post 4. Rachel Alexandra will spot her opponents seven to eleven pounds when carrying high weight of 124 pounds in the Fleur de Lis, a 1 1/8-mile race that figures to garner at least as much national attention as the richer Stephen Foster Handicap, a Grade 1, $600,000 race that is also part of Saturday's card.