From the 1960s through the 1980s, few racing silks were as recognizable and iconic as the silks of Darby Dan Farm. The silks were fairly plain – a fawn-colored shirt with brown sleeves – but it was their simplicity and their regular appearances in the winner’s circle that made them famous.

The Alabama Stakes usually offers 3-year-old fillies a chance to do what 3-year-old colts will do a week later, namely race at a demanding 1 ¼-mile, classic distance at Saratoga. Only this year, due to revised racing schedules, it’s no longer ladies first.