2026 Alabama Stakes Preview at Saratoga Race Course

Key Takeaways:

• The Alabama is a six-horse, 1 ¼-mile test where the lack of early speed could put a premium on tactical positioning and make it difficult for deep closers to make up significant ground.
• The biggest challenge for the field is stretching out to the demanding 1 ¼-mile distance, with proven route form and stamina especially important in a race that could favor horses able to stay close to the pace.
• Counting Stars (1-2) is the clear pick, with back-to-back Grade 1 wins at Saratoga, the best speed in the field, and a projected controlling pace position from the outside post.
• Ati Girl (10-1) is the value play, with prior experience at 1 ¼ miles and enough tactical speed to stay within striking distance of the favorite.
• My Gun’s Loaded (3-1) is the upside option, having won her last two starts at Saratoga, though she still needs to prove she can handle her first two-turn race and first stakes appearance at the Alabama distance.
• The Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama Stakes is one of the most important races of the summer season for three-year-old dirt route fillies. The race is a testing 1 ¼ miles on the main track, and it attracted a field of six.

The Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama Stakes is one of the most important races of the summer season for three-year-old dirt route fillies. The race is a testing 1 ¼ miles on the main track, and it attracted a field of six.

The leader of the pack is Counting Stars. Though she was defeated in the Kentucky Oaks, she has roared back at Saratoga with wins in both the Acorn (G1) and the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1), both at 1 ⅛ miles. She’ll face Measure, her stablemate, who will try to turn the tables after finishing third in the Coaching Club American Oaks. Also intriguing is My Gun’s Loaded, who has won two straight at Saratoga after moving to the Chad Brown barn and tries stakes company for the first time in the Alabama.

The Alabama is one of the oldest stakes races at the Spa, with a history dating back to 1872. The race was named in honor of William Cottrell, a prominent owner-breeder who won the 1884 Kentucky Derby with Buchanan. Saratoga wanted to name a race for him, but he did not want one in his own name – so the track named it the Alabama, after his birthplace of Mobile, Alabama. Some of its best winners include Miss Woodford (1883), Beldame (1904), Maskette (1909), Top Flight (1932), Gamely (1967), Shuvee (1969), Go For Wand (1990), Silverbulletday (1999), Royal Delta (2011), Songbird (2016), and Malathaat (2021). The reigning champion three-year-old filly, Nitrogen, also won the race in 2025.

2026 Alabama Stakes Information

• Race Date: Saturday, August 22
• Track: Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York
• Post Time: 6:42 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 ¼ miles
• Age/Sex: three-year-old fillies
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV and Fox
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Alabama Stakes Draw and Odds

This is the full field for the 2026 edition of the Alabama Stakes, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds. Tyler Gaffalione has been named to ride A. P.’s Girl but was later suspended for a crop violation; expect a race-day replacement to be announced.

Alabama Stakes Prep Race Results

Three of the six runners in the Alabama come out of the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) at the Spa on July 25. Counting Stars sparkled in victory, leading at every call, turning back Kentucky Oaks winner Always a Runner midstretch and clearing off to win by 4 ¼ lengths. Measure rallied from near the rear for third, 6 ¾ lengths behind her winning stablemate. Nycon always lagged near the rear and will have to bounce back from her sixth-place finish.

The only other runner who comes out of stakes company is A. P.’s Girl, who was third in the Monomoy Girl at Churchill Downs on June 13 and has freshened up for this.

Two others come out of non-stakes victories. My Gun’s Loaded won a one-mile first-level allowance at Saratoga on July 24 and steps up to stakes company and a full two-turn trip for the first time in this spot. Ati Girl broke her maiden July 16 in a maiden special at Saratoga in her ninth career start, and faces winners for the first time in this spot.

Alabama Stakes Contenders

These six runners, organized by post position, are contesting the 2026 Alabama Stakes.

1. Nycon: She looked promising earlier this year but has come up flat in her last two, the Gazelle (G3) back in April and the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) last month. Trainer Whit Beckman’s runners tend to underperform second off the layoff, and based on her previous form, she may be better set to improve either cutting back to a one-turn mile or when she catches a wet track. The chance of rain is low Saturday, meaning she won’t likely get that possible comparative advantage here.
2. Ati Girl: This Bill Mott trainee is a late bloomer: it took her nine tries to graduate. But, switching back to dirt and going long this spring moved her forward, and she finally got over the hump in July going 1 ⅛ miles. She is the only horse in the field who has tried 1 ¼ miles so far – she did well, finishing second after a stalking trip. She is also the only horse in the field to have faced older. Her last three starts came against horses aged three and up. She’ll need a serious step up to beat Counting Stars, of course – but her tactical pace and stamina foundation could get her in the frame.
3. Measure: The second-stringer from the Mark Casse barn, she was a well-beaten third in the Coaching Club American Oaks behind two true Grade 1 types – Counting Stars and Always a Runner. It was a credible enough first stakes try, and the switch to graded-stakes dynamo Flavien Prat in the irons is not a bad sign, either. However, pace could be an issue: there is very little pace in this field, and she’ll be one of the runners toward the back. So, clunking on for third or fourth looks like the most likely result.
4. My Gun’s Loaded: The lightest-raced horse in the field, she was well beaten in her sprint debut at Oaklawn, but a spring freshening and a move to the Chad Brown barn seems to have done the job – she graduated going seven furlongs on June 6, and then stretched out to the mile with aplomb to win an N1X on July 24. She has a world of upside, but quite a bit to prove no matter what – it’ll be her first two-turn try, her first stakes try, and she has to prove she can get the job done without Lasix. But, she’s going the right way, and with only one world-beater in the field, this is the perfect place to step her up and try all this.
5. A. P.’s Girl: She won two straight back in the winter at Fair Grounds, and has been knocking at the door in stakes company since but hasn’t been able to get over the hump. She was a narrow second in the Weber City Miss at Laurel in April, and then third in the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) and the Monomoy Girl in her next two. The one race that makes her a little interesting is her allowance win since it came first off a similar freshening and she showed enough speed to press the pace. But, that pace she pressed was downright sluggish, and even in this short field without a lot of speed, she probably is not going to outjump the runner outside her.
6. Counting Stars: She has won two straight Grade 1 races this summer at Saratoga, and she looks well spotted to win a third. Being the best horse is always a good thing, and when the best horse is also the only speed on paper in a six-horse race? That makes Counting Stars look downright imposing. 1 ¼ miles will be a new challenge, of course, as she hasn’t gone longer than 1 ⅛ before. However, she handled that distance well, and being by Honor A. P. out of a Paynter mare with some distance in the female line, it would be no surprise to see her handle this stretch out.

Alabama Stakes: 3 Best Bets

These are the three best bets in the 2026 Alabama Stakes:

1. Counting Stars (1-2)

Often, there are great reasons to oppose the favorite. It’s not sexy, but sometimes the favorite just looks like the goods, and this is one of those times to lean confidently on the favorite in multi-race wagers and look for prices in other spots. Counting Stars is the fastest horse in the field and by far the most class-proven.

If she were going to run into a pace disadvantage against a promising up-and-comer, that may be a different story. Even though there are a couple of promising new faces in this field, Counting Stars also shapes as the controlling speed in a six-horse field with little else in the way of pace. She also won the post draw – she got the clean outside gate. And, if one of her foes does decide to reverse style and just quarter-horse it inside of Counting Stars? No big deal, she can win from a pressing or stalking spot, too. Sometimes the best horse just wins, and that looks like the most likely scenario by far.

2. Ati Girl (10-1)

Ati Girl has class to prove, as she is facing winners for the first time. However, the Bill Mott trainee has gained a lot of experience, as she has run nine times. Her last three starts have come against older company, and a race in April at Churchill Downs makes her the only runner to have tried 1 ¼ miles before.

Ati Girl has improved in her last three starts with age and with longer distances. She has shown tactical speed in all three of those recent starts, making her the horse most likely to be forward, at least up close to Counting Stars from the jump. Though Irad Ortiz, Jr. doesn’t stay in the irons – he can hardly be faulted for sticking with the aforementioned Counting Stars, and he gets an experienced replacement in John Velazquez. If he can take advantage of Ati Girl’s speed in this short field, he should at least be able to keep the favorite in range throughout and could round out the exacta at an appealing price.

3. My Gun’s Loaded (3-1)

This Chad Brown trainee is the most lightly-raced runner in the field with just three starts, but she has really put it together in her last two starts, a pair of open-length victories at the Spa. So, the footing is no concern. This is a clear case of striking while the iron is hot.

The biggest question for her is the distance, since she has yet to tackle two turns, much less the Classic distance. However, she is by Gun Runner, a Breeders’ Cup Classic winner who has become a top-class stamina merchant at stud, and her second dam won a Grade 3 at 1 ⅛ miles. Especially coming from the barn of Chad Brown, a trainer who has built his career on long-distance horses on both turf and more recently dirt? There’s enough to trust his judgment here and think she can take another step forward.

Alabama Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Alabama Stakes?

A: The Alabama Stakes happens on Saturday, August 22, 2026, at 6:42 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The race is carded as the 11th of 12 on the card.

Q: Where is the Alabama Stakes?

A: The race happens at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Alabama Stakes?

A: “Sunny” Jim Fitzsimmons won a record eight editions of the Alabama in his career between 1924 and 1959, including with all-time stars like Vagrancy and Busanda. Among trainers in the 2026 edition, Bill Mott leads with three wins, most recently in 2017 with Elate. He can win his fourth if Ati Girl steps up.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Alabama Stakes?

A: Coming off of wins in the Acorn (G1) and the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1), the Mark Casse-trained Counting Stars is the 1-2 morning-line favorite for the Alabama. She loves Saratoga and has won two straight Grade 1 races over the course, and both trainer Mark Casse and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. have been excellent this summer at the Spa. Thus, she should hold as a well-defined favorite.

Q: Who is the best Alabama Stakes jockey?

A: Three jockeys are tied with five wins in the Alabama: Jorge Velasquez, Jerry Bailey, and Mile Smith. Though Smith is still active, he is riding the Pacific Classic card at Del Mar on Saturday. Among jockeys entered in the 2026 edition of the Alabama, John Velazquez leads with four wins, most recently with Malathaat in 2021. He can tie the record if he rides Ati Girl to victory.

Q: Who won the Alabama Stakes in 2025?

A: Nitrogen won the 2025 Alabama for trainer Mark Casse and jockey Jose Ortiz, and went on to champion three-year-old filly honors. Jose Ortiz does not have a ride in the Alabama this year, but Casse returns with Counting Stars and Measure. Irad Ortiz, Jr. rides Counting Stars and Flavien Prat rides Measure.

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