2025 Coaching Club American Oaks Preview at Saratoga Race Course

Key Takeaways:

1. Champion Immersive seeks redemption after her first career loss, but she’ll need to prove she’s trained on from two to three in a deep, quality field at Saratoga Springs that includes two other Grade 1 winners.
2. La Cara and Take Charge Milady bring pace and proven form, with La Cara coming off a wire-to-wire Acorn win and Take Charge Milady already owning a victory over Immersive in the Monomoy Girl.
3. Sweet Seraphine is the upside play at a price, lightly raced and improving with every start, while the cutback in field size and likely fast track could set the table for a breakout performance.

Six of the best sophomore dirt fillies line up this week on Saturday, July 19, at Saratoga for the Coaching Club American Oaks. The $500,000 race covers 1 ⅛ miles on the dirt, and it is a perennial showdown of the best the division has to offer.

The field features juvenile champion Immersive clashing once more with Take Charge Milady, who ended her undefeated streak in the Monomoy Girl at Churchill Downs last out. Multiple Grade 1 winner La Cara, who got back on track last month with a score in the Acorn (G1), returns to the fray. So does Scottish Lassie, the Frizette (G1) winner who was third in the Acorn. Facing them will be a pair of up-and-comers, Sweet Seraphine and Dry Powder.

Originally a feature at Belmont, the Coaching Club American Oaks was moved to Saratoga Race Course in 2010. With a history dating back to 1917, some of the greatest fillies of the last century have won the race. Some of the leading lights to win the CCA Oaks over the years include Top Flight (1932), Bowl of Flowers (1961), Shuvee (1969), Ruffian (1975), Davona Dale (1979), and Mom’s Command (1985). Some of its best 21st-century winners include Ashado (2004), Stopchargingmaria (2014), Songbird (2016), Monomoy Girl (2018), and Thorpedo Anna (2024).

2025 Coaching Club American Oaks Information

• Race Date: Saturday, July 19
• Track: Saratoga Race Course
• Post Time: 5:38 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 ⅛ miles
• Age/Sex: three-year-old fillies
• Where to Watch: FanDuel Racing
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2025 Coaching Club American Oaks Draw and Odds

This is the field for the 2025 Coaching Club American Oaks, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds for each horse in the field.

Coaching Club American Oaks Prep Race Results

The six runners in the Coaching Club American Oaks come out of three different races, all stakes for sophomore fillies.

Two horses come out of a Grade 1 race, the 1 ⅛-mile Acorn during Belmont Stakes weekend at Saratoga Springs. La Cara led at every call, a no-doubt-about-it winner. Scottish Lassie, making her second start of the season, chased on for third, 3 ¼ lengths behind La Cara but only a neck out of the place.

Another pair comes out of the Monomoy Girl, a 1 1/16-mile stakes at Churchill Downs on June 14. Take Charge Milady stalked the pace, battled with Immersive down the lane, and prevailed by a neck over that foe, who she faces again in the Acorn. Another pair comes out of the one-mile Wilton at Aqueduct on June 22. Sweet Seraphine, facing winners for the first time in that race, overcame an early stumble to get up by a head over the more forwardly placed Dry Powder, who finished a clear second.

2025 Coaching Club American Oaks Contenders

Here is more information about the runners in the 2025 Coaching Club American Oaks, in order of post position.

1. Immersive: The champion juvenile filly of last year, she is a neck shy of undefeated. That defeat came last out in the Monomoy Girl, her first race of the year. She will need to take a step up from what she showed in that race, given that she not only faces Take Charge Milady again but an altogether deeper group of horses. But, she has tactical versatility, and she already showed in the Spinaway last year that she can win from the rail—and doesn’t need to make the top to do so. On her best, she fits, but don’t take too short of a price, since she still has to prove how much she has trained on from ages two to three.
2. Sweet Seraphine: One of the new shooters, she was defeated in a maiden sprint in her only start at age two, but has come back to win a pair of one-turn miles this year. The maiden win came at Churchill by a nose in May, and then she rallied to win the Wilton in her stakes debut at Aqueduct. It is a positive that she has been able to rally for the win into either a fast pace or a more modest one. However, she’ll have to go faster: she has not yet run a race fast enough to stack up here. Even so, trainer Cherie DeVaux and jockey Jose Ortiz are red-hot, so between that, her two-turn pedigree, and the fact that she is lightly-enough raced to improve, there is upside if she goes off at a price.
3. Scottish Lassie: She broke her maiden with a nine-length score in the Frizette (G1) last year, but that remains her only win. She was fourth behind Immersive in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last year, and has been third in both her starts so far this year. She did move forward from her allowance race in May to her effort in the Acorn, though, and she is likely to get back on a fast track for this time out. Her tactical speed is a positive. However, the idea of 1 ⅛ miles is a hit-or-miss proposition based on her pedigree. Sire McKinzie and damsire Bodemeister are positives, though the female family is more middle-distance.
4. Take Charge Milady: A pace-versatile type, she beat Immersive in stalk-and-pounce fashion but has also been able to win from further off the pace as well. This bodes well in a six-horse field. She does need to step up a bit in terms of speed if her other foes show up with their best efforts. And, she still has to prove herself at 1 ⅛ miles, as she was never involved in her only try at the trip, the Kentucky Oaks. Her pedigree is middling for it—not out of the question, but not a slam-dunk either, and this may be right at the end of her distance capability.
5. Dry Powder: With just three starts, she (along with Sweet Seraphine) is the joint least-experienced horse in the field. She showed grit to battle and win her sprint debut, but she has fallen just short in both of her one-mile tries, one in allowance company and one in the Wilton, a neck behind Sweet Seraphine. In a short field, her early speed may be a positive, though La Cara to her outside also has serious early speed and is drawn outside of her. She is another with a mixed bag of a pedigree for this trip: Gun Runner on top is a huge plus, though her dam line suggests 1 ⅛ miles will be on the long side.
6. La Cara: With 11 starts, this Mark Casse trainee is the most experienced in the field. Speed is the name of her game, and she is on the outside in a short field, meaning she should be able to seize the lead. She won’t be able to go slow, though, as Dry Powder should be speeding from inside as well. To her credit, though speed is her more typical style, she has also won from near the rear and run good races from a stalking shape, meaning she has an out even if she is outgunned. The biggest question is her recent tendency to alternate better and worse races, since she comes off of such a big winning effort.

2025 Coaching Club American Oaks FAQ

Q: When is the Coaching Club American Oaks?

A: The Coaching Club American Oaks happens on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 5:38 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Q: Where is the Coaching Club American Oaks?

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

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Coaching Club American Oaks?

A: Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher is a fixture in New York, and that stretches to the Coaching Club American Oaks. He has won the race eight times, most recently in 2022 with Nest, who went on to champion three-year-old filly honors. Surprisingly, Pletcher does not have an entrant in 2025. Among trainers who do have horses in the race this year, Brad Cox leads with two wins. He can make it three if Immersive takes the race.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Coaching Club American Oaks?

A: Immersive was named a narrow 8-5 morning-line favorite for the Coaching Club American Oaks, ahead of La Cara at 2-1. Expect Immersive to hold as the favorite come post time; though she was defeated last out, it was her first start off of a long layoff, giving her upside to improve second-time back. Furthermore, she has a consistent career record, as opposed to the ups and downs on La Cara’s form lines.

Q: Who is the best Coaching Club American Oaks jockey?

A: Mike Smith and John Velazquez lead all jockeys with five wins in the Coaching Club American Oaks. Both are still active, though neither has a ride this year. Among jockeys riding in 2025, only Jose Ortiz has won before, with Guarana in 2019. He can win a second time with Sweet Seraphine.

Q: Who won the Coaching Club American Oaks in 2024?

A: Trainer Kenny McPeek and jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr. won the Coaching Club American Oaks last year with Thorpedo Anna. Hernandez does not ride this year, but McPeek has Take Charge Milady with Kendrick Carmouche in the saddle.

New to FanDuel Racing? Place your first bet up to $500 and get it back in Racing Bonus if it doesn’t win! Valid in participating states. See here for full terms and conditions. Head over to FanDuel Racing to see all of today’s horse racing odds.

Looking for more horse racing betting opportunities? Head over to FanDuel Racing to see all of today’s horse racing odds.