In a week of three-year-old preps that already took us to Aqueduct, Gulfstream, and Santa Anita on Saturday, we return to Santa Anita on Sunday for the day’s lone sophomore points race, the Grade 2 Las Virgenes Stakes.  The dirt mile drew a field of six fillies to contend for their share of a $200,000 purse, as well as the typical early-season complement of Road to the Kentucky Oaks points (10-4-2-1) for the top four finishers.

The Las Virgenes has been run at a mile on the main track at Santa Anita since its inception in 1983.  It was first graded in 1985, upgraded to a Grade 2 in 1987, a Grade 1 from 1988 through 2015, then has since been run as a Grade 2.  Its winners have gone on to the heights of success over the years — even since the race’s recent downgrade.

Head over to Picks and Ponderings, read my preview of the Las Virgenes Stakes, and let me know your thoughts in the comments!