Diana 2024: Odds and analysis for Saratoga stakes

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Trainer Chad Brown will try to win the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana Stakes for the ninth time Saturday at Saratoga. The field of 10 female turf runners for the 1 1/8-mile race includes five from Brown’s barn.

Brown has won seven of the last eight editions of the Diana, and all eight of his victories have come since 2011. Past winners include Lady Eli, Sistercharlie twice, Rushing Fall, In Italian and last year with Whitebeam.

Whitebeam will try to win the Diana again, joining past two-time winners Sistercharlie and Forever Together. A repeat victory would give her owner, Juddmonte, its fourth win in this prestigious Grade 1.

Here is a full-field analysis for the Diana with morning-line odds from the Horse Racing Nation staff. The race is carded as race 10 of 12 with post time scheduled for 5:43 p.m. EDT.

1. Moira, 8-1. Ghostzapper – Kevin Attard / Tyler Gaffalione – 13: 5-4-2 – $1,413,999. Moira will ship to Saratoga from Woodbine, where she made the majority of her starts. She will run for the first time this year after finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Before the Breeders’ Cup she was third in the E. P. Taylor (G1) and won the Canadian Stakes (G2). In 13 career starts Moira hit the board 13 times, making her one of five millionaires in the Diana field. Use underneath.

2. Coppice, 6-1. Kingman – Chad Brown / Frankie Dettori – 10: 4-1-0 – $271,800. Coppice was bred by Juddmonte Farms and made her first eight starts in England, where she won four times. She moved to the barn of Chad Brown and made two starts thus far as a heavy favorite. She was second by a neck in the Distaff Turf Mile (G2) at Churchill Downs in May and then was sixth in the Just A Game (G1) at the Belmont at Saratoga meeting. Toss.

3. Mission of Joy, 15-1. Kitten’s Joy – H. Graham Motion / John Velazquez – 12: 4-0-3 – $460,792. Mission of Joy raced six times since her last victory, which happened 13 months ago in the Regret (G3) at Churchill. Racing graded stakes, she finished third in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) at Keeneland last year and most recently was third just a length behind in the Just A Game. Trainer Graham Motion’s barn is red hot recently, winning races at tracks across the country. Use underneath.

4. Didia, 4-1. Orpen – Ignacio Correas IV / Jose Ortiz – 17: 11-2-1 – $1,533,484. Didia leads the Diana field with 11 wins and earnings of more than $1.5 million. This year as a 6-year-old she continued her winning ways in the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G2) at Gulfstream Park and the New York (G1) last month at Saratoga with the best speed figure of her career. She won both of her starts at the nine-furlong distance and her only race at Saratoga. Win contender.

5. Gina Romantica, 8-1. Into Mischief – Chad Brown / Manny Franco – 13: 5-2-0 – $1,236,103. Gina Romantica has made two starts in 2024, finishing fifth in the Just A Game and seventh in the Jenny Wiley (G1). She raced against the boys when she was a close fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, just a length behind the first-place finisher. She is a past Grade 1 winner in the 2023 First Lady and the year before in the QE II Cup. On her best the 5-year-old is a win contender, but her last two races were far from that. Toss.

6. Whitebeam, 6-1. Caravaggio – Chad Brown / Flavien Prat– 13: 5-4-1 – $580,589. Whitebeam won the Diana last year with odds of 7-1, and that was after a victory in the Gallorette (G3) at Pimlico in her prior start. This Brown runner did not find the winner’s circle since her Saratoga score but ran fourth twice and then second in her last two starts. Those two second-place finishes were in the Beaugay (G3) at Aqueduct and the Just A Game. Win contender.

7. Fluffy Socks, 6-1. Slumber – Chad Brown / Joel Rosario – 26: 6-9-4 – $1,263,580. Fluffy Socks won the Galorette on a soft turf course at Pimlico on Preakness weekend by almost eight lengths, which was her first victory in more than a year when she won the Distaff Turf Mile. The 6-year-old has four graded-stakes wins and a few top-three finishes in Grade 1 stakes. She was fifth in the Diana last year. Use underneath.

8. Neecie Marie, 10-1. Cross Traffic – Robert Reid Jr. / Luis Saez – 11: 5-3-0 – $511,950. Neecie Marie broke through to win the Beaugay in her first start of this year and then rallied from the back of a large field to finish second in the New York. She broke her maiden last year in a $25,000 maiden claimer before moving to the turf. Toss.

9. Evvie Jets, 20-1. Twirling Candy – Mertkan Kantarmaci / Dylan Davis – 25: 7-6-3 – $807,768. Evvie Jets set the pace in the Just A Game, got into a battle in the stretch but faded to finish a close fourth. In her other start this year she was eighth in the Distaff Turf Mile. Last year at Saratoga she won the Balston Spa (G2), the Perfect Sting at Belmont Park and defeated Whitebeam in the Plenty of Grace at Aqueduct. Toss.

10. Chili Flag, 7-2. Cityscape – Chad Brown / Irad Ortiz Jr. – 19: 7-6-1 – $1,003,377. Chili Flag comes to the Diana with three graded-stakes victories in a row at three tracks this year. She won the Just A Game by a half-length, defeating five fillies and mares who are in this field. In addition she won the Distaff Turf Mile, beating three members of the Diana field. Since coming to race in America last year her record is 10: 5-3-1. Her only finish outside of the top three was a sixth in the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Top choice.

11. (MTO) Venti Valentine, 7-2. Firing Line – Jorge Abreu / TBD – 21: 7-5-5 – $883,500. Venti Valentine is entered for the main track only.

Summary: With five runners in the field, it would be a stretch to think that Chad Brown will not win this race yet again in 2024.

The Diana field contains five of the top six finishers from the Just A Game, which was run at Saratoga in June, including winner Chili Flag.

Chili Flag is in the best form of Chad Brown’s five entrants, and she will be the top choice. But do not be surprised if one of the other Brown runners pulls an upset.