In a different world, the 4-year-old Neecie Marie would be gearing up for a start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. In this one, she boarded a horse trailer Friday leaving trainer Butch Reid’s Parx Racing barn bound for Keeneland, where she starts Sunday in the Grade 3, $300,000 Dowager Stakes. The 4-year-old filly travels on a one-way ticket. She’s entered in Fasig-Tipton’s November fall mixed sale and if all goes to plan will come out of that auction owned by someone other than Michael Milam. Neecie Marie has plenty of racing left in her, Reid believes, but after the Dowager, her career is out of his hands. Connections had considered paying a $100,000 supplemental entry fee to make Neecie Marie eligible to the Breeders’ Cup. The Dowager will have to do. Leaving the Reid barn on a high note requires overcoming a bad post: Neecie Marie drew the 12 hole in the 1 1/2-mile Dowager, which encompasses three turns and starts with a short run to the first of them. Nonetheless, the morning line lists Neecie Marie as a 3-1 favorite under Joel Rosario, and she merits favoritism. She failed to hit peak form in the Diana Stakes but began her season beating the Diana winner, Whitebeam, in the Beaugay. Neecie Marie finished second behind high-class Didia in the Grade 1 New York, third behind Grade 1 mares Moira and Fev Rover in the Beverly D., and last month authoritatively won the $1.3 million Ladies Marathon at Kentucky Downs. :: Play Keeneland with the most trusted information in horse racing! All Access Past Performances, Picks, Betting Strategies and more. Milam purchased Neecie Marie, by Cross Traffic out of the Posse mare Lode Lady, for $25,000 in 2021. The filly has earned nearly $1.15 million. “We picked her out of the Timonium sale hoping we’d get a nice Pennsylvania-bred,” Reid said. Neecie Marie is one of three Dowager entrants – the race drew 14, and 12 can run – entered in November sales along with Chop Chop and Let’sbefrankbaby. Reid said Neecie Marie came out of her Ladies Marathon win bouncing and from all appearances has held her excellent 2024 form. “We’re just going to have to live with the post position. I’m sure Joel will work out a good trip,” Reid said. A good trip might not be enough. Since 2000, posts 11 and 12 in Keeneland 1 1/2-mile grass races have combined to produce three winners from 87 starters. Gary Barber owned a part of the Australian-bred Frankel mare Let’sbefrankbaby during her Australian racing career, which produced five wins from 17 starts. Barber now is listed as sole owner – at least until next month’s sale at Keeneland. Let’sbefrankbaby stays 1 1/2 miles, has Grade 3-level form, and just raced Aug. 31 in Australia. She’s worked twice for Casse, who said he’s had good luck with Southern Hemisphere horses who get at least a half-year to acclimate after coming north. “She’s done well since she got here, but I have no idea what to even expect,” Casse said. Chop Chop, trained by Brad Cox, raced on dirt much of her career yet her two stakes wins have come on turf, the first as a 2-year-old at Kentucky Downs, the more recent in April at Keeneland when Cox stretched the 4-year-old filly to 1 1/2 miles in the Bewitch. Chop Chop ran below form in the Ladies Marathon but three defeats following her Bewitch rate just as high as the Keeneland score. While Atomic Blonde beat Chop Chop at Churchill Downs in May, Chop Chop has the higher baseline. :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  Eternal Hope twice nipped Neecie Marie last year in New York but hasn’t come close to Neecie Marie’s development this season. Surprisingly’s 2024 campaign so far has yielded zero wins from six starts, though her closest call came in her lone race over 1 1/2 miles. Three Priests was cross-entered this weekend in New York and is expected to run there. Neecie Marie runs at Keeneland on Sunday – after that, who knows. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.