Black-Eyed Susan Stakes 2019: Post Positions, Field and Race Preview

Friday's Black-Eyed Susan Stakes has a chance to be the most competitive race of the weekend at Pimlico Race Course. 

The race for three-year-old fillies features nine horses, all of whom have the quality to end up in the winner's circle in what is viewed as a wide-open event. 

Point of Honor and Always Shopping are among the top entrants for the race, which takes place at 4:48 p.m. ET Friday afternoon. 

Black-Eyed Susan Stakes Field and Post Positions

1. Sweet Diane

2. Off Topic

3. Ulele

4. Cookie Dough 

5. Our Super Freak

6. Always Shopping

7. Brill

8. Point of Honor

9. Las Setas   

Preview

Always Shopping comes into Friday as one of the favorites in great form with a strong support group behind her.

The Todd Pletcher-trained filly picked up consecutive victories at Aqueduct Racetrack in the Busanda Stakes and Gazelle Stakes. 

Pletcher has trained four previous winners of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, with the latest being Stopchargingmaria in 2014.

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Point of Honor is one of the other strong contenders to watch, but she enters the race off a fourth-place finish at the Gulfstream Park Oaks. 

Before the disappointing finish at Gulfstream Park, she had two straight wins to her name, including one from February's Suncoast Stakes. 

If you are looking for a horse with a winning pedigree to wager on Friday, Las Setas is one of the best options.

Las Setas has not won many high-profile races, but she has three victories in a row, with the last coming on April 20 at the Weber City Miss. 

If you want to take a horse solely based on the name alone, then Cookie Dough has to be your choice. 

She enters with plenty of experience and placed third at the Gulfstream Park Oaks on March 30 behind Kentucky Oaks horses Champagne Anyone and Dunbar Road.

Off Topic is the second of the two horses trained by Pletcher in the field, while Brill has faced plenty of tough competition despite not winning in her last four races. 

The key to victory Friday could be something as simple as getting out fast in order to avoid any congestion during the 1 ⅛-mile race. 

Cookie Dough and Always Shopping have the ideal starting positions in the middle of the field and could shoot out of the gates right into first place. 

Point of Honor and Las Setas could make runs at the lead from the two outside posts to get into clean air at the front of the pack. 

Regardless of which horse takes first place, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes should be an intriguing watch, with plenty of high-caliber fillies jockeying for position throughout the race. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from HorseRacingNation.com.