Praying targets Grade 3 Vagrancy after switching from Bed o' Roses plan

Praying’s most important run Sunday may be the decision that came before it. Robbie Medina skipped the Grade 2 Bed o’ Roses and aimed the 4-year-old filly at the Grade 3 Vagrancy at Belmont at the Big A, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint that gives New York’s older filly-and-mare division a sharper read on where she belongs right now.

That audible matters because Praying is coming back in her second start off a five-month layoff, and Medina does not appear interested in forcing the issue. The Vagrancy, Race 10 on a 12-race card with the Westchester, Beaugay and License Fee, goes to post at 1:10 p.m. Eastern. With four stakes packed into the program, the race will sit near the center of a Sunday that also carries broader stakes weight for the Belmont at the Big A meet.

Praying’s comeback line in the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland on April 4 was good enough to keep her on the map. She finished fourth, earned an 88 Beyer Speed Figure and was never far from the pace, but the race unfolded quickly from the start. R Disaster carved out fractions of 21.95 and 44.68 over fast ground, and Eclatant stopped the clock in 1:21.84. Medina said afterward that Praying was not fully fit and that the pace was much faster than expected, which helps explain why the move into the Vagrancy looks less like a step up than a chance to catch her at the right time.

The placement also fits Praying’s profile. Equibase lists her as a Kentucky-bred foaled February 24, 2022, by Vekoma out of Pray for Leslie by Bernardini. She has compiled 10 starts, 3 wins and 4 seconds for $476,040 in earnings, and her record already includes two graded scores. She won the Grade 3 Prioress at Saratoga in August 2025 as the longest shot on the board at 21-1, then came back in October to take the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America at Keeneland by a half-length over Vahva. She also made the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint field, a reminder that her ceiling is still higher than a routine allowance mare.

The Vagrancy has shown before that it can sort out this division. Haulin Ice won last year’s edition in 1:16.10, while Equibase lists Bear Fan’s 1:14.46 in 2004 as the fastest Vagrancy since 1976 and Sky Beauty’s 119 in 1994 as the race’s top winning figure over that span. The 2026 Belmont at the Big A spring-summer meet opened Thursday, April 30, runs through Sunday, June 28 and includes 16 stakes worth $2.475 million, with a pause from May 26 through June 2 for the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course. If Praying runs forward, Medina’s change of plan will look like exactly the kind of sharp placement that can turn a filly’s season.