Naked And Famous is the type of horse that doesn’t take a lot of work to get ready to race, but she still surprised trainer Noel Daley with her track record-setting seasonal debut on May 4 at Oak Grove Racing & Gaming in Kentucky.
Naked And Famous won her elimination of the inaugural Oak Grove Trotting Oaks, for three-year-old fillies, in 1:51.2 with Todd McCarthy in the sulky. She was 7-1/2 lengths clear of runner-up Jailbird Jog, the 2-1 favourite, as she lowered the track mark for a sophomore trotting filly by two-fifths of a second. Sent off at nearly 15-1, the daughter of Six Pack-Sleep Tight My Luv led to the first quarter in :26.4 and never looked back.
The top three finishers from the three eliminations on May 4 advance to Saturday’s $300,000 USD Oak Grove Trotting Oaks final. Naked And Famous will head to the race as the 5-2 morning line favourite in a field of nine. She will leave from post one.
“I knew she was forward, but I wasn’t planning on a track record with her,” said Daley, who trains Naked And Famous for owner CTC Stable of Chestnut Ridge, New York. “She’s a big, athletic thing and could have been ready six weeks ago. She’s ready whenever you want her to be ready. She showed talent last year, but that was a real eye-opening mile.”
Naked And Famous, a $97,222 yearling purchase at the Standardbred Horse Sale whose family includes two-time Dan Patch and O’Brien Award-winning filly Pampered Princess and O’Brien Award-winning colt Was It A Dream, won four of 12 races last year and earned $253,696. Her victories include a Kentucky Sire Stakes final at Cumberland Run in early November and she finished third in the Kentucky Sire Stakes Championship Series final in September at The Red Mile.
“Trotting-wise, she can be a bit of a handful around the place, but she’s a beautifully going big filly,” said Daley. “If she’s anything like she was last week, I think they’re going to have trouble beating her. She drew the rail and she can leave, so Todd has got plenty of options there.”
Daley will also send out Carve in Saturday’s final. Carve, a daughter of Captain Corey-Alpine, finished third in the elimination won by her stablemate, Naked And Famous.
Last year, Carve won two of 10 races, but hit the board an additional seven times on her way to $298,792 in purses. Her wins included a division of the Grade 3 International Stallion Stakes at The Red Mile in 1:52 – the second-fastest win time of the season for a freshman filly trotter – and she was second in a division of the Grade 3 Bluegrass when she was beaten by a half-length in 1:51.4 by Southwind Chaska. She finished fourth in the KYSS Championship.
“She was probably the stronger of the two last year,” Daley said about Carve and Naked And Famous. “She’s just a different type of filly. She’s built differently; she’s very solid. She’ll take a run or two, so I expect her to improve a lot off that [first start]. Whether she’s forward enough to go with [Naked And Famous] if she does the same thing again, I’m not sure. But hopefully she’s in for a good year. She’s a very smart filly that you can do anything with. She’s nice to be around. She’s a very agreeable filly.”
Carve is eligible to August’s Hambletonian Oaks (Grade 1) at The Meadowlands; Naked And Famous is not.
“It wouldn’t hurt to have 'Naked' eligible to the Oaks as well, but there are a lot of options these days if a horse is Kentucky eligible and somewhere else,” said Daley, referring to Naked And Famous being Kentucky and New Jersey eligible. “You just have to make sure you don’t over-race them.”
Carve will start the Oak Grove Trotting Oaks final from post four with Andy McCarthy driving for lessees Patricia Stables of Massapequa, New York, L A Express Stable of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania and Sjoblom Racing of Delray Beach, Florida. She is 6-1 on the morning line.
Setyoursightshigh, who was the 2025 Dan Patch Award winner for best two-year-old filly trotter, is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line. She finished second to Custom in her elimination, beaten by a half-length in 1:52.4. The Marcus Melander-trained daughter of In Range-Special Interest has never finished worse than second in 12 career starts, with seven wins. Dexter Dunn will drive the filly from post eight for owners Heights Stable of Lexington, Kentucky, Mantorp of Greenwich, Connecticut, AMG Stable of Delray Beach, Florida and K Kjellgren Livs AB of Bordentown, New Jersey.
“It would be nicer drawing four or five, something like that, but she can leave and it is what it is,” said Melander. “It’s out of our hands. I think Dexter will find some good position for her.
“I think she’s the best one in there, but it’s an open race. But then, you know, Noel’s filly raced great in the elimination and there are some other nice fillies in the field as well.”
Custom, a daughter of Walner-Goldy Mary FR is the 9-2 third choice on the morning line. She will start from post six with Jason Bartlett driving for trainer Per Engblom.
The remaining elimination winner, Victorianas Secret, will leave from post three with Ronnie Wrenn Jr. in the sulky for trainer Vernon Beachy. The daughter of Tactical Landing-Victoriana won her elim in 1:53.3 and is 8-1 on the morning line.
One race after the Oak Grove Trotting Oaks, the track will host the inaugural $500,000 USD Oak Grove Trotting Derby, for three-year-old colts and geldings. Spencer Hanover is the 2-1 morning line favourite, leaving from post one, for the driver-trainer combo of Bartlett and Melander. Endurance is the 5-2 second choice for Andy McCarthy and Chris Beaver, leaving from post six.
Endurance won his elimination in 1:51.3, a track record for sophomore male trotters. Spencer Hanover, the 2025 Breeders Crown champ, won his split in 1:53.4. The remaining elim was won by Matt Burkholder-trained Silverstein in 1:52.3. He will start from post nine and is 8-1.
The Oak Grove Trotting Oaks is race 10, with a 4:52 p.m. (CDT) post time. The Oak Grove Trotting Derby is slated for 5:23 p.m. (CDT).
(USTA; photo of Naked And Famous winning on May 5 at Oak Grove)