“I always say I should have named her Two Steps Forward Three Back,” owner-breeder Erin Hlubik said about her pride and joy, the 7-year-old mare Bourbon Bon Bay. When Bourbon Bon Bay is race-ready, she rarely takes a wrong step as she’s won five times from six starts, including a victory in Parx Racing’s Cornucopia Stakes in 2022. Bourbon Bon Bay doesn’t race very often, however, and she’ll return from a 410-day layoff at Laurel Park in Saturday’s $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff for fillies and mares at seven furlongs. The Distaff is one of eight stakes for state-sired performers. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. “She fractured her jaw and broke a tooth,” Hlubik said. “I had to wait for the mandible to heal so I could pull the tooth out. It set us backwards.” Bourbon Bon Bay has been breezing at Delaware Park for new trainer Ned Allard and should show positional speed under Carol Cedeno from post 5. “There’s a lot of firsts,” Hlubik admitted. “We’re shipping for the very first time, we have a different rider, but I’m confident in my horse. She never disappoints me.” Although Bourbon Bon Bay would make a valuable broodmare prospect, Hlubik hasn’t been tempted to retire the daughter of Bourbon Courage. “That thought goes through my head,” Hlubik said. “Unfortunately, I don’t feel like I want to be in the breeding industry any longer. She’ll just come home and retire with me when it’s her time. She hasn’t told me she’s ready to retire. I had her home after she fractured her jaw, and she didn’t want to be there. She likes to race.” The Distaff is one of the more competitive races on the program. Miss Harriett, Sheilahs Warcloud, and Kissedbyanangel, the top-three finishers in last year’s Maryland Million Lassie, are back in action. Trained by Brandon McFarlane, Miss Harriett made her debut in the Lassie at 62-1 odds and proved that win was no fluke with four subsequent victories, including a gate-to-wire score in the restricted Miss Disco on July 21. The Blofeld filly won her Distaff prep, an open allowance on Sept. 27 at Laurel. Forest Boyce pilots from post 8. Sheilahs Warcloud has never been out of the exacta in seven starts. After winning a first-level allowance Jan. 12, she missed eight months. "We turned her out for a little freshening and she had a bit of a paddock accident," trainer Justin Nixon said. "She just needed time. We brought her back at the end of March and she just wasn't right. We sent her back out to give her a bit more time. The second time we brought her in she's just trained super." Sheilahs Warcloud has two preps leading up to the Distaff, including a 3 1/4-length win in her most recent start, a state-sired allowance Sept. 22. "She settled, handled a bit of off ground, and rallied nicely," Nixon said. "I was thrilled. That's about as nice a setup as you could get for a stakes race." Sheilahs Warcloud breezed a bullet five-eighths on Oct. 5 at Laurel. "Another horse broke off in front of her and there was a little bit of traffic," Nixon added. "She pinned her ears and was strong." Foxy Junior has won her last four starts on dirt, all around two turns. She shot through along the fence to take Parx’s Plum Pretty Stakes on Sept. 21. “I had plenty of horse,” jockey Jomar Torres said. “I just waited for the hole. She always tries. Every time I asked her, she’s there for me.” Foxy Junior might be riding a five-race win streak coming into the Lassie, but she finished fourth in the Princess of Sylmar over Presque Isle Downs’s Tapeta surface on July 29. “I didn’t have the best trip,” Torres said about the Princess of Sylmar. “I had to check a little.” Malibu Beauty was second in this race in 2021 and 2022, and the 12-time winner has already won two stakes this year at Laurel for trainer Gary Capuano. She breaks from post 2 under J.G. Torrealba. Spencerian leaps into the stakes ranks after winning all three of her starts this year by a combined 22 1/2 lengths for trainer Hugh McMahon. Jevian Toledo picks up the mount from post 6. Stakes winners Malibu Moonshine, Mavilus, and Talk to the Judge join stakes-placed Mattitude as solid contenders. I’m Gittin There, Binnie, and Brzina complete the field, with Bella Bettina and I Can Do It on the also-eligible list. ◗ Precious Avary defends her title in the $125,000 Ladies for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf. Trained by Tim Shaw, the New Jersey-bred boasts good speed, but must be at her best against the likes of Active, Juniper Juice, and Downtown Katie. Although Precious Avary finished eighth of 10 in a restricted allowance Sept. 14 at Delaware, Shaw believes the 4-year-old filly can rebound. “She did scope a bit of mucous and got a bit cut up,” Shaw said. “Once we treated her and she started to blossom again, she started training like a real bear. Last week’s work went in 47 and change, out in 59. We never turned her head loose. The old Precious Avary is still in there.” Shaw admitted that Precious Avary might be a need-the-lead type.  “We experimented with trying to get her to relax and maybe stalk a little bit, and that’s probably part of her [puzzling efforts] this year,” he said. “I think we got a bit too cute trying to fix what’s not broken.” ◗ There doesn’t appear to be a standout in the Lassie for 2-year-old fillies at six furlongs. Shkhara Fire finished ahead of three of these when second in a first-level allowance on Sept. 15. Onyx Ten chased the talented Caprice in a pair of restricted stakes at Delaware over the summer. No Need to Ask dominated Delaware waiver maidens by 7 1/2 lengths at 1-10 odds on Sept. 21. She’s a daughter of Nickyrocksforpops, who ran third in the Maryland Million Ladies in 2017. Biscuitwiththeboss is a speedy full sister to Bosserati, who finished third in the 2022 Lassie. Malibu Hooch tried hard for third in her lone start against winners. Itsamonstamash is still a maiden but is a half-sister to Maryland Million Distaff heroine Anna’s Bandit. ◗ In addition to the stakes, there will be four $50,000 starter allowances on the 12-race program. Special first post time is 11:30 a.m. Eastern. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.