Preakness results 2014: Stopchargingmaria wins the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes

The 2014 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes came down to the final stretch and Stopchargingmaria had just enough to edge the rest of the field and win the 1 1/8-mile race. Vero Amore finished second while Fortune Pearl finished third.

The race started clean with Image of Anna jumping into the lead and leading the field in the early going. The race started out slow with not much pace early. Vero Amore took over the lead with her and Stopchargingmarie pulling away from the rest of the field during the final stretch. The two were neck-and-neck for most of the closing stretch with Stopchargingmaria finishing strong to win by a little more than a neck. It was an impressive run after Stopchargingmaria got shuffled into the back a bit off the start. Jockey Javier Castellano was able to get her outside and make the run toward the front.

Stopchargingmaria opened as the betting favorite with 7-2 morning-line odds. The odds shifted more toward her favor as the week went along with the Todd Pletcher trained horse being a 3-1 favorite early on Friday. That changed shortly before the race with Pletcher’s other horse, Sloan Square, joining Stopchargingmaria as 7-2 co-favorites. The win was the fourth Black-Eyed Susan victory for Todd Pletcher, tied for the most ever.

One notable name was absent from the field with Kentucky Oaks winner Untapable not running in the event. Untapable is widely regarded as the top 3-year-old filly, but her trainer, Steve Asmussen, opted not to run her with the short amount of turn around between the Oaks and the Black-Eyed Susan.

The $500,000 Grade 2 race is the Friday undercard to the Preakness Stakes. Heavy rains soaked the Pimlico Race Track early Friday with nearly 2 inches of ran falling. The weather led some to expect for a sloppy race. The weather cleared throughout the day and the track dried nicely and was in good condition by post time.