2/27/26 Stakes Advance - Honeybee (G3)
Compiled by Robert Yates
OP Stakes Race Preview - $750,000 Honeybee (G3) – Sunday, March 1
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s 100th scheduled Oaklawn starter comes with a twist. Explora will be his first in the Honeybee Stakes (G3), a $750,000 race Sunday for 3-year-old fillies.
The 1 1/16-mile Honeybee is Oaklawn’s second of three qualifying races for the Kentucky Oaks. Baffert is no stranger to 3-year-old preps at Oaklawn, but he’s laser focused on the Kentucky Derby. The Southern California-based Baffert has a record 20 victories in Oaklawn’s four-race series (Smarty Jones Stakes, G3 Southwest Stakes, G2 Rebel Stakes and G1 Arkansas Derby) and 41 career victories overall in Hot Springs.
Conversely, Baffert has only had three starters in Oaklawn’s three-race Kentucky Oaks prep series. All three starters have been in the Fantasy Stakes, Oaklawn’s signature two-turn race for 3-year-old fillies. Baffert won the Fantasy in 1999 with Excellent Meeting and 2012 with Mamma Kimbo. Baffert’s third Fantasy starter, Jemima’s Pearl, finished third in 2012.
Baffert said a little arm twisting by Oaklawn racing secretary Pat Pope sparked his interest in the Honeybee. The trip was booked after Explora, a Grade 2 winner at 2, recorded a five-furlong bullet workout (:59) Feb. 21 at Santa Anita.
“Pat Pope, who I think is one of the best racing secretaries in the country, is constantly calling me,” Baffert said. “We stay in touch with what races are coming up. He asked about this race (Honeybee). I said: ‘Let me work this filly and see.’ She worked well and I said I would come.”
The Honeybee is part of a 12-race card that begins at noon CST. Probable post time for the Honeybee, the ninth race, is 4:15 p.m. The program also features the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles and the inaugural $135,000 Pig Trail Overnight Stakes for older horses at 1 ½ miles.
The 10-horse Honeybee field from the rail out: Take Charge Macy, Ramon Vazquez to ride, 119 pounds, 20-1 on the morning line; Sneaky Good, Irad Ortiz Jr., 119, 8-1; Grace Is Free, Kelsi Harr, 119, 30-1; Newtown Pike, Abel Cedillo, 119, 10-1; Knickleandime, Rafael Bejarano, 119, 12-1; Search Party, Cristian Torres, 124, 9-2; Counting Stars, Francisco Arrieta, 121, 15-1; Classic Glide, Jaime Torres, 119, 30-1; Explora, Flavien Prat, 119, 7-5; and Taken by the Wind, Brian Hernandez Jr., 124, 5-2.
The Honeybee will offer 105 total points (50-25-15-10-5, respectively) to the top five finishers toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Oaks, the country’s biggest race for 3-year-old fillies.
Program favorite Explora’s stout resume includes victories in the Oak Leaf Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles Oct. 4 at Santa Anita and the Santa Ynez Stakes at seven furlongs Jan. 10 at Santa Anita. Explora also finished second, beaten only three-quarters of a length, in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at 1 1/16 miles Oct. 31 at Del Mar. A daughter of champion Blame, Explora was a finalist for an Eclipse Award as North America’s champion 2-year-old filly.
Explora, who has never raced outside California, exits a runner-up finish in the one-mile Las Virgenes Stakes Feb. 8 at Santa Anita. She will be ridden for the first time by Prat, a two-time Eclipse Award winner.
“Explora’s really fast,” Baffert said. “She’s really quick. She got into a really grueling speed duel (in the Las Virgenes), which cost her a win. But that’s her style. Prat, he’s a good rider. I’ll leave it up to him. He’ll play the break. In Prat we trust.”
Unbeaten Taken by the Wind is seeking her fourth consecutive victory for trainer Kenny McPeek and co-owner and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw.
Taken by the Wind is already a two-time stakes winner, claiming the one-mile Pocahontas (G3) Sept. 13 at Churchill Downs and the Silverbulletday at 1 mile and 70 yards Jan. 17 at Fair Grounds. The Silverbulletday was Taken by the Wind’s first start around two turns.
“We are locked and loaded,” McPeek said. “She is about as good as you can get her. Next step to get her to the Kentucky Oaks.”
Dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse has two Honeybee entrants in Oaklawn stakes winners Counting Stars and Search Party.
Counting Stars is looking to rebound from an eighth-place finish in the $300,000 Martha Washington Stakes Feb. 6. Search Party, in her stakes debut, won the Martha Washington by a neck over Newtown Pike, with Knickleandime another half-length farther back in third. The 1 1/16-mile Martha Washington was Oaklawn’s first Kentucky Oaks qualifying race.
Casse said Wednesday afternoon that he was “50-50” on whether Search Party would run in the Honeybee or await the $1 million Fantasy Stakes (G2) March 27. The 1 1/16-mile Fantasy is Oaklawn’s final Kentucky Oaks qualifying race.
Counting Stars, as the 3-5 Martha Washington favorite, was in striking distance on the backstretch, but she stopped on the second turn and was beaten 60 ¼ lengths. Casse said Counting Stars exited the Martha Washington in good shape physically and is drawing a line through the race.
“I think if she runs her race, they have to beat her,” Casse said. “Everything I’ve seen out of her, when she shows up, tells me she’s a good horse.”
The Honeybee has a record purse in 2026 after previously being worth $500,000.
