Pretty Mischievous, who is owned by Godolphin LLC and trained with Brendan Walsh, is the winner of the 149th Kentucky Oaks. The horse had 10-1 odds in the lead-up to the race.
Gambling Girl, who had 13-1 odds, came in second. The Alys Look, with 30-1 odds, crossed the finish line in third place. A total of 14 horses competed in the race.
Tyler Gaffalione, who is also the jockey for Verifying in tomorrow’s Kentucky Derby, said he’s developed a strong relationship with Pretty Mischievous.
“She gives me so much confidence,” Gaffalione said. “She’s a big, strong, beautiful filly.”
Pretty Mischievous started the race from post-position 14 – the outermost post on the track. Gaffalione said that post did not prove to be an obstacle. Walsh, who trained Pretty Mischievous, said the winning horse ran wide the entire race.
“Hats off to her for overcoming that. But good horses do it – champions do it,” Walsh said.
There has been controversy surrounding Pretty Mischievous’ owner. In 2021, activists called on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to ban the owner, pointing to findings by a British court that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum kidnapped his own daughter and is holding her hostage.
Tens of thousands of spectators descended on Churchill Downs for a sunny day of Oaks festivities.
This year’s Oaks race came on the heels of a challenging week at Churchill Downs. Four horses died on the track in separate incidents, including a Kentucky Derby qualifier. Four horses have also been scratched from tomorrow’s highly-anticipated Derby race, most due to health concerns.
Churchill Downs released a statement Wednesday characterizing the string of deaths as “highly unusual” and “unacceptable.”
This story was updated.
