BALTIMORE (AP) — Margie's Intention splashed her way to victory in the Black-Eyed Susan.
Shortly after a substantial storm soaked the track at Pimlico, she overtook Paris Lily on the outside toward the end of the 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old fillies, winning by three-quarters of a length Friday. It was Margie Intenton's fifth straight race finishing in the top two, a streak that began when she won by nearly a dozen lengths in January at the Fair Grounds.
That race, like this one, was in sloppy conditions.
“We haven't had her that long, but she performed well on an off track this winter,” trainer Brad Cox said. “I thought she moved forward today. It was a demanding race. She was under a ride turning for home and she finished the race off.”
The storm darkened the sky above the track and delayed the Black-Eyed Susan for over an hour. The one remaining race after it was canceled.
With jockey Flavien Prat on board, Margie's Intention was the 5-2 favorite at race time. Runnin N Gunnin, the morning line favorite, had fallen all the way to 10-1 by the time she left the gate. Sure enough, she was no factor, finishing last in the nine-horse field.
Paris Lily, who had won on a sloppy track in her previous start, began impressively and was in front in the second turn. She was eventually overtaken by Margie’s Intention on the outside.
“She ran great on a nice, easy lead,” said Joel Rosario, Paris Lily's jockey. “The trainer told me to go forward with her so I did and got her in front. ... She kicked for home but the outside horse was too much at the end.”
Kinzie Queen was third.
This was the first stakes victory for Margie's Intention after she finished second in the Flashy Prize and the Crescent City Oaks in March. She was trained then by Brendan P. Walsh, and she was sold after the Crescent City Oaks — her most recent race before this one.
“We'd seen her at the 2-year-old sale. We'd looked at her then,” said Elliott Walden, president and CEO of co-owner WinStar Farm. “It made sense to us. We bought her privately, then turned her over to Brad. Brendan had done a great job with her. We have plenty of horses with Brad, and that was the only reason for the change.”
Margie's Intention paid $7, $4 and $3.20 on Friday, finishing in 1 minute, 52.05 seconds. The $1 exacta paid $21.30, and a $1 trifecta paid $115.40.
AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing
Margie's Intention, far left, with jockey Flavien Prat, edges out Paris Lily, with jockey Joel Rosario, to win the 149th running of the Black-Eyed Susan horse race Friday, May 16, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Margie's Intention, with jockey Flavien Prat, wins the 149th running of the Black-Eyed Susan horse race Friday, May 16, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A state appeals court is being asked to dismiss felony voter misconduct charges against an Alaska resident born in American Samoa, one of numerous cases that have drawn attention to the complex citizenship status of people born in the U.S. territory.
In arguments Thursday, attorneys for Tupe Smith plan to ask the Alaska Court of Appeals in Anchorage to reverse a lower court's decision that let stand the indictment brought against her. Her supporters say she made an innocent mistake that does not merit charges, but the state contends Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship.
Prosecutors also have brought charges against 10 other people from American Samoa in the small Alaska community of Whittier, including Smith’s husband and her mother-in-law. American Samoa is the only U.S. territory where residents are not automatically granted citizenship by being born on American soil and instead are considered U.S. nationals. Paths to citizenship exist, such as naturalization, though that process can be expensive and cumbersome.
American Samoans can serve in the military, obtain U.S. passports and vote in elections in American Samoa, but they cannot hold public office in the U.S. or participate in most U.S. elections.
About 25 people gathered on a snowy street outside the courthouse before Thursday's hearing to support Smith. One woman, Fran Seager of Palmer, held a sign that said, “Support our Samoans. They are US nationals.”
Smith's husband, Michael Pese, thanked the American Samoa community in the Anchorage area. “If it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t be strong enough to face this head on,” he said.
State Sen. Forrest Dunbar, a Democrat who attended the rally, said the Alaska Department of Law has limited resources.
“We should be going after people who are genuine criminals, who are violent criminals, or at least have the intent to deceive,” he said. “I do not think it is a good use of our limited state resources to go after these hardworking, taxpaying Alaskans who are not criminals.”
Smith was arrested after winning election to a regional school board in 2023. She said she relied on erroneous information from local election officials when she identified herself as a U.S. citizen on voter registration forms.
In a court filing in 2024, one of her previous attorneys said that when Smith answered questions from the Alaska state trooper who arrested her, she said she was aware that she could not vote in presidential elections but was “unaware of any other restrictions on her ability to vote.”
Smith said she marks herself as a U.S. national on paperwork. But when there was no such option on voter registration forms, she was told by city representatives that it was appropriate to mark U.S. citizen, according to the filing.
Smith “exercised what she believed was her right to vote in a local election. She did so without any intent to mislead or deceive anyone,” her current attorneys said in a filing in September. “Her belief that U.S. nationals may vote in local elections, which was supported by advice from City of Whittier election officials, was simply mistaken.”
The state has said Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship. Prosecutors pointed to the language on the voter application forms she filled out in 2020 and 2022, which explicitly said that if the applicant was not at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen, “do not complete this form, as you are not eligible to vote.”
The counts Smith was indicted on “did not have anything to do with her belief in her ability to vote in certain elections; rather they concerned the straightforward question of whether or not Smith intentionally and falsely swore she was a United States citizen,” Kayla Doyle, an assistant attorney general, said in court filings last year.
One of Smith's attorneys, Neil Weare, co-founder of the Washington-based Right to Democracy Project, said by email last week that if the appeals court lets stand the indictment, Alaska will be “the only state to our knowledge with such a low bar for felony voter fraud.”
Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.
Michael Pese and his wife, Tupe Smith, stand outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Michael Pese, left, his wife, Tupe Smith, and their son Maximus pose for a photo outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
FILE - Tupe Smith poses for a photo outside the school in Whittier, Alaska, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
