With only four entered, this year's edition is highlighted by the Saratoga return of '21 champion 2-year-old filly and MGISW Echo Zulu (Gun Runner). The Steve Asmussen trainee won her juvenile debut at the Spa when she soared to become a 'TDN Rising Star' and followed that up with a 4-length win in the GI Spinaway S.

Second last fall in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint between Eclipse champion female sprinter Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) and stablemate MGSW &MGISP Wicked Halo (Gun Runner), who just won the Twin Bridges S. at Ellis Park on Sunday, Echo Zulu started her 4-year-old campaign by recording a 5 3/4 length victory in the GIII Winning Colors S. May 29 at Churchill Downs.

Facing her, will be MGISP Frank's Rockette (Into Mischief) from Bill Mott's shedrow. The 6-year-old mare (27-12-9-3) comes back to Saratoga riding a three-race win streak, which includes two Grade III victories at Gulfstream Park. Rounding out the field are a pair of runners who were beaten last time out by Goodnight Olive. Maryquitecontrary (First Dude), who has won six of eight career races, ran second to her in the GI Madison S. in April at Keeneland for new trainer Shug McGaughey, while Dr B (Liam's Map), trained by Butch Reid, was fourth behind her in the GII Bed o' Roses S. June 17 at Belmont Park.

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The four-time graded stakes winner has accumulated earnings in excess of $2.2 million with two Grade 1-placings on the NYRA circuit, including a runner-up effort in last year's Whitney to Improbable. He was a late-closing second to fellow Whitney contestant Silver State last out in the Grade 1 Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap on June 5 at Belmont Park.

By My Standards has posted all four of his graded stakes victories over two turns, capturing the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds Race Course during his 3-year-old year following a third-out maiden score. As a 4-year-old, the son of Goldencents captured the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic at Fair Grounds, the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap, and the Grade 2 Alysheba at Churchill Downs.

Prior to the Met Mile, By My Standards made a triumphant 5-year-old debut in the Oaklawn Mile at Oaklwan Park in Hot Spring, Ark., on April 10. The Whitney will be By My Standards' first start this year going nine furlongs, which Calhoun says is the horse's best distance.

“That's one of the things that impressed me about his last race, he ran so well and it wasn't his ideal distance,” Calhoun said. “A one-turn mile is a little shorter for him, but he definitely can move forward off that race. He ran a nice race in the Met Mile. He got ran over at the gate a little bit, but he bounced back and trained very well since. I like the good spacing between his races. He'll go an easy half-mile Sunday at Colonial and will arrive at Saratoga Wednesday morning. Hopefully, everything goes well between now and then.”

Gabriel Saez, who has piloted By My Standards in 14 of his 16 starts, will return to the irons.

Calhoun could also garner prosperity in West Virginia on Saturday with Mr. Wireless in the $750,000 Grade 3 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park in New Cumberland, W.Va. The Jon Lapczenski and JIL Stable-owned sophomore son of Dialed On won the Grade 3 Indiana Derby on July 10 at Indiana Grand Race Course in Shelbyville, Ind. last out over Sermononthemount and graded stakes winner Fulsome.

Calhoun also could have Tom Durant's graded stakes-winning veteran Silver Dust target the $200,000 Grade 3 West Virginia Governor's Cup. The four-time graded stakes-winning son of Tapit won the Governor's Cup in 2019 and captured the Grade 2 Ben Ali on April 10 at Keeneland two starts ago.

Calhoun said Silver Dust would prefer a cooler climate.

“It's under consideration,” Calhoun said of the nine-furlong event. “He's a lot better in the cooler weather. He just seems to thrive in cooler weather. His energy level isn't near as high in heat. We'll watch the weather and see what happens.”

Calhoun saddled Ain't No Elmers to a second placing at graded stakes level in Wednesday's Grade 2 Honorable Miss at the Spa, where she set the pace and held on gamely for third behind graded stakes-winners Bell's the One and Lake Avenue.

“I thought she ran great. She battled all the way down the lane and never gave up,” Calhoun said. “She was outrun by two very high-quality fillies, so kudos to them. Elmers bounced back good and hopefully, there's a graded stakes with her name on it in the future.”

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Bell's the One broke well from the outside post, but was quickly left at the rear of the field as the frontrunners raced up the Saratoga backstretch. Ain't No Elmers grabbed the early lead over Honey I'm Good, setting fractions of :23.80 and :45.85, while Lanerie patiently allowed Bell's the One to find her stride.

Lake Avenue was behind a wall of horses turning for home so jockey Junior Alvarado angled her out to the center of the course. Lanerie tracked that move and went wider still, drafting Bell's the One off Lake Avenue's hip as they geared up for the final three-sixteenths of a mile.

When the two sprinters matched strides at the eighth pole, Lanerie gave Bell's the One her cue to hit her next gear. The mare responded willingly, pulling ahead by a neck at the finish while appearing to have something left in the tank after the finish. Lake Avenue had to settle for second after a game effort, and it was several lengths back to pacesetter Ain't No Elmers. Truth Hurts filled out the superfecta.

“I just let her run her race and when she got on her left lead on the turn, she said 'it's time to go' and started making up ground so easy,” said Lanerie. “The four-horse [runner-up Lake Avenue] actually put in more of a fight than I expected. I thought when I got to her, I was going to run away. But she wouldn't go away for a while; we were running home. This was a good race.

“She ran her own race today and I let her do it. It can get kind of scary at times, especially here at Saratoga. It's hard to win here.”

“They didn't go very fast,” said Pessin. “They went 22 and four for the first quarter but she just took herself back and Corey didn't rush her, so I said we'll see what happens from there and she made her run like she usually does. It's been a hard track to close on today. I think she's the only one that deep-closed any at all, but I thought she was also the best horse in the race coming in, and I feel that way coming out.”

Bred in Kentucky by Brereton Jones, Bell's the One is out of the winning Street Cry mare Street Mate, a half-sister to Grade 1-placed, Grade 2 winner Tap Day (Pleasant Tap). As a yearling, Bell's the One commanded $155,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale. She won her first four starts, and got her first top-level win in the 2020 edition of the G1 Derby City Distaff before running third in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

“She's about as high-class a filly as you want,” said Pessin. “She gives it her all every time she runs. Hopefully, now she'll get the accolades she deserves and people won't put her on the back burner when they talk about the sprint fillies.

“I don't get real high or low,” Pessin added. “I was very happy that she won, but I was happier for her than for me just because people never really give her the credit she deserves. It's nice to win a race like this at Saratoga and maybe people will start to put her up in the top echelon now.

Pessin said the G2 Thoroughbred Club of America at Keeneland Oct. 9 – a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race for the Filly & Mare Sprint division – will most likely be Bell's the One's next start. “It's a 'Win and You're In' and then we'll go to the Breeders' Cup from there,” he said.

The Honorable Miss is the second win in a row for Bell's the One, and improves her overall record to nine wins from 19 starts for earnings of $1.13 million.

“She's the best horse I've ever had, and I've been training for almost 40 years,” said Pessin. “She's about as special as they come to me. I've got one other filly that I had in her category, Eden Prairie, that didn't do the races that this mare's won but she was all heart and tried every time. They're the two favorite horses I've ever had.”

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“I'm really not scared of any sprint filly in the country right now, to be honest,” Pessin said. “It's just a question of if she runs her race. If she does, she's going to be tough to beat no matter who shows up. I respect them all, but I don't fear any of them. I'm very confident in my filly's abilities.”

While Bell's the One is a perfect four-for-four and a graded winner at this six-furlong trip, she's likely slightly better going longer and as a late runner is somewhat vulnerable to pace dynamics. Among those who figure to show speed are rail-drawn 'TDN Rising Star' Ain't No Elmers (Goldencents), who found her best foam in a Churchill optional claimer June 17; and Honey I'm Good (Shackleford), a neck winner on Monmouth's Regret S. July 3 over a sloppy track.

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Trained by Neil Pessin, Bell's the One, who boasts a record of 18-8-3-2, captured the 2020 Grade 1 Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs by a nose over Serengeti Empress. Her graded stakes ledger also includes scores in the 2019 Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., and last year's Grade 3 Winning Colors at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

The 5-year-old Majesticperfection bay enters from a three-quarter length score in the Roxelana under returning rider Corey Lanerie on June 19 at Churchill.

“I'm really not scared of any sprint filly in the country right now, to be honest,” Pessin said. “It's just a question of if she runs her race. If she does, she's going to be tough to beat no matter who shows up. I respect them all, but I don't fear any of them. I'm very confident in my filly's abilities.”

Bell's the One rated closer to the pace last out in the 6 1/2-furlong Roxelana before popping outside rivals to secure the win.

“I'm trying to get her a little more that way, so we're not so pace dependent,” Pessin said. “In her last race, they didn't go fast early but we weren't far off of it. She was stuck in between horses – there were three across the track – and Corey let her suck back a little bit so she could get to the outside. When she turned for home, she just kicked on. She won by three-quarters, but it was a handy three-quarters.”

Bell's the One launched her current campaign with a narrow loss to Kimari in the Grade 1 Madison on April 3 at Keeneland ahead of a fourth-place finish in her title defense in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff at Churchill in May.

“Kimari beat us at Keeneland and it was my mare's first out of the year,” Pessin said. “We also got stuck on the inside and didn't get to bounce outside. If we'd got outside, I think we'd have beat her that day.”

Bell's the One breezed a bullet half-mile in :47 flat on July 20 over the Arlington Park synthetic and will arrive in Saratoga on Sunday.

“It was an OK work. She went a little faster in the first part than what I wanted,” Pessin said. “She finished good and did it fairly handily. It didn't take a lot out of her. Fitness-wise, I don't have any issues. It's just a matter of if she handles the shipping and likes the track.”

Lanerie retains the mount from the outermost post 9.

“He knows her well and rode her excellent last time,” Pessin said.

Godolphin homebred Lake Avenue enters in search of her first graded stakes win since the 2019 Grade 2 Demoiselle in the final start of her 2-year-old campaign.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the 4-year-old Tapit chestnut was winless in four starts last year but has enjoyed a resurgence in 2021, posting wins in an optional claimer at Gulfstream in February ahead of a 6 3/4-length score in the Heavenly Prize Invitational in March at the Big A.

Last out, Lake Avenue made the lead at the stretch call of the Grade 3 Bed o' Roses but could not stave off Estilo Talentoso, who prevailed by a neck in the seven-furlong sprint on a sloppy Belmont main track on June 4.

Junior Alvarado will pilot Lake Avenue from post 4.

Dennis Narlinger's graded-stakes-placed Sadie Lady, a 5-year-old New York-bred daughter of Freud, boasts a record of 20-8-1-3 with purse earnings of $406,322.

The speedy mare won the open-company Correction in her seasonal debut at Aqueduct in March ahead of a strong second in the Grade 3 Vagrancy on May 8 at Belmont. Last out, Sadie Lady went gate-to-wire in the six-furlong Dancin Renee for state-breds.

Trainer Rob Atras said Sadie Lady, who breezed a half-mile in :49.26 Friday on the Saratoga main track, may consider waiting for the state-bred Union Avenue Handicap on August 19.

“We breezed her this morning and she went really well. It was just an easy half with a nice little gallop out,” Atras said. “We're probable to run but there's also a New York-bred stake in just over three weeks, so we'll talk it over with the owner.”

Atras said Sadie Lady is at her best on the engine.

“She runs her top race when she can get out front and dictate it a little bit,” Atras said.

Jose Ortiz retains the mount from post 3.

Almost Heaven Stables' Honey I'm Good enters from a neck win in the Regret, contested at six furlongs over a muddy Monmouth Park main track on July 3.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the 5-year-old Shackleford mare was a gate-to-wire winner of the six-furlong Harmony Lodge over muddy going at Belmont last June.

Honey I'm Good will emerge from post 7 under Ricardo Santana, Jr.

Truth Hurts, trained and co-owned by Chad Summers with J Stables, added blinkers and romped to a 5 3/4-length score last out under Luis Saez in the off-the-turf Perfect Sting at one mile over a sloppy and sealed Belmont main track on July 3.

The 4-year-old Ontario-bred daughter of Tonalist tried her luck at longer distances last season, including a third in the 1 1/16-mile Bison City at Woodbine.

Truth Hurts breezed a half-mile in :48.54 on July 20 on the Saratoga main track under Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Summers said he is cautiously optimistic after her last-out win.

“I think it was good for her. The first time with blinkers on she was more aggressive,” Summers said. “She came out of the gate good and sat a perfect trip. I'm proud of how she finished up and she galloped out strong. She came out of the race like nothing. I know we'll be a big price on the board, but she's doing so well. Irad came out and breezed her the other day. He liked her and it gives me a lot of confidence going into Wednesday.”

Truth Hurts, who graduated at first asking sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs in December 2019 at the Big A, will shorten up to six furlongs for the first time.

“I think seven [furlongs] is probably her game, but she can go six,” Summers said. “With Sadie Lady and a few of the others with speed in there, I'm hoping we can work out a good trip.”

Rounding out a competitive field are Ain't No Elmers [post 1, Adam Beschizza], Reagan's Edge [post 2, Jose Lezcano], Don't Call Me Mary [post 6, Saez], and Miss Mosaic [post 8, Manny Franco].

The Honorable Miss is slated as Race 9 on Wednesday's 10-race card. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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The 5-year-old Majesticperfection bay captured the seven-furlong 2020 Grade 1 Derby City Distaff by a nose over Serengeti Empress, but finished fourth in this year's renewal, a key race that saw the top-four finishers – Gamine [Grade 2 Lady M, Los Alamitos], Sconsin [Grade 3 Winning Colors, Churchill Downs], Estilo Talentoso [Grade 3 Bed o' Roses, Belmont Park] and Bell's the One [Roxelana, Churchill] – win stakes races in their next start.

“She should have been first or second in that race,” Pessin said regarding this year's Derby City Distaff. “She had a bad trip and was too far back in a very slow pace and then came on the inside instead of going outside which she likes better. If she ran the race she should have, she'd have been one-two.”

Bell's the One, who boasts a record of 18-8-3-2, was a close-up fifth in the early stages of the 6 1/2-furlong Roxelana last out before rallying to a three quarter length score in the overnight event on June 19 at Churchill Downs.

Pessin said he asked jockey Corey Lanerie not to lose touch with the field early.

“I told Corey if they go slow she doesn't need to be 10 or 12 [lengths] back. I'm trying to get her a little more that way so we're not so pace dependent,” Pessin said. “In her last race they didn't go fast early but we weren't far off of it. She was stuck in between horses – there were three across the track – and Corey let her suck back a little bit so she could get to the outside. When she turned for home, she just kicked on. She won by three-quarters, but it was a handy three-quarters.”

Pessin said Lanerie will retain the mount in the Honorable Miss, which is expected to include familiar foe, Kimari, who bested Bell's the One in the Grade 1 Madison in April at Keeneland.

“Kimari beat us at Keeneland and it was my mare's first out of the year,” Pessin said. “We also got stuck on the inside and didn't get to bounce outside. If we'd got outside, I think we'd have beat her that day.”

Others under consideration for the Honorable Miss include, Don't Call Me Mary (Todd Pletcher), Lake Avenue (Bill Mott) and Pacific Gale (John Kimmel).

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Guided by jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., Come Dancing broke sharply from her inside post but took back into fourth as graded stakes winner Lady's Island threw down swift splits of 21.64 for the opening quarter and 43.81 for the half-mile over the fast main track.

Around the far turn, Come Dancing began making up ground and moved a path to the outside of multiple graded stakes winner Blamed and got her cue from Ortiz, Jr. at the quarter pole.

With Lady's Island to catch, Come Dancing was under an all-out drive and charged in between rivals and took command just past the eighth-pole. She hit the wire a three-quarter length winner, stopping the clock in a time of 1:08.74.

Lady's Island finished second, 2 3/4 lengths ahead of Blamed. Unholy Alliance, Pink Sands, Bye Bye J and Pacific Gale completed the order of finish.

Come Dancing's last victory took place in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom last September at Belmont Park. Prior to that effort, she won against graded stakes company at all three NYRA tracks taking the Grade 3 Distaff at Aqueduct Racetrack, the Grade 2 Ruffian at Belmont Park and the Grade 1 Ballerina at Saratoga.

“I was happy to see that Irad was able to get her to break and settle and he had her in the clear when he made his move,” said trainer Carlos Martin. “The track has been very fast, but I just wanted to see the old Come Dancing give us a run like the champion that she is. It's very gratifying that Marc [Holliday, Blue Devil Racing Stable] brought her back. A lot of naysayers were saying she lost a step but hopefully she can come back and finish the year strong and we can be vindicated. I'm so happy for Come Dancing, she's a special horse for us.”

Ortiz, Jr., who picked up his tenth stakes win of the meet, was piloting Come Dancing for the first time since October 2018, where she was fifth in the Grade 1 Beldame.

“I'm happy to be back on her today,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “I haven't ridden her in a long time but she's as good as she's ever been. Hopefully, she stays sound and healthy.”

Ortiz, Jr. said a clean break from the gate was instrumental in the victory.

“I thought I had the best filly, so I tried to stay close and not give them a chance to steal the race,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “She broke well today. Last time she missed the break and today she broke good and sat a little closer and I think that was the key.”

Returning $4.70 as the post time favorite, Come Dancing enhanced her lifetime earnings to $1,186,783 and her record to 18-8-3-0.

Live racing returns Monday with a 14-race card to close out the 40-day Saratoga summer meet highlighted by the Grade 1, $250,000 Runhappy Hopeful at seven furlongs for 2-year-olds; and the $85,000 Lure, a 1 1/16-mile turf test for older horses. First post is 11:30 a.m.

Live racing will then move to Belmont Park for the 27-day fall meet, featuring 38 stakes worth $5.58 million in purse money, that will kick off on Friday, September 18 and run through Sunday, November 1

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