Counting Stars (Honor A.P.) made her time in the Big Apple something to remember, roaring home to defeat the Kentucky Oaks victress and claim her first elite-level win in the GI Acorn Stakes at Saratoga.The race was always going to be a blockbuster event when the top three from the GI Kentucky Oaks all returned in New York–one to remain at the fore and two hoping to capitalize on a second shot to claim her throne.And we got the rematch we were hoping for.Breaking in a line with the field, Counting Stars rode the rail just off of 35-1 longshot Maximum Offer (Maxfield) with fellow Oaks alumni Meaning (Gun Runner) and Always a Runner (Gun Runner) to her outside. The opening quarter was posted in :23.41 and a half-mile in :47.73 as they entered the far bend with positions largely unchanged. Counting Stars lost ground on Meaning and Always a Runner as those two made their moves on the turn, but had found running room on the grandstand side as heads turned for home.Widest of all but rolling with a full head of steam, Counting Stars was asked to overtake them in midstretch and she rolled away from her rivals, dominating the contest by over three lengths. Always a Runner ran second as Meaning held on to third. COUNTING STARS gets her Grade 1 moment.Third in the Kentucky Oaks last time out, she wins the @DraftKings Acorn Stakes under @iradortiz for trainer @markecasse. pic.twitter.com/9tWekxJPDY— NYRA () (@TheNYRA) June 5, 2026Friday, SaratogaDRAFTKINGS ACORN S.-GI, $485,000, Saratoga, 6-5, 3yo, f, 1 1/8m, 1:48.85, ft.1–COUNTING STARS, 124, f, 3, by Honor A. P. 1st Dam: Paynterbynumbers, by Paynter 2nd Dam: Ruth and Neva, by Cherokee Run 3rd Dam: Tap for Gold, by Pleasant Tap1ST GRADE I WIN. ($13,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP; $150,000 2yo '25 OBSAPR). O-West Point Thoroughbreds; B-HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud (KY); T-Mark E. Casse; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $275,000. Lifetime Record: 9-5-1-1, $1,385,606. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.2–Always a Runner, 124, f, 3, by Gun Runner 1st Dam: Always Carina (GSP, $218,800), by Malibu Moon 2nd Dam: Miss Always Ready, by More Than Ready 3rd Dam: Miss Seffens, by Dehere'TDN Rising Star'. ($1,050,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). O-Douglas Scharbauer and Three Chimneys Farm, LLC (Goncalo B. Torrealba); B-Three Chimneys Farm, LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $100,000.3–Meaning, 124, f, 3, by Gun Runner 1st Dam: Figure of Speech (GISP), by Into Mischief 2nd Dam: Starlight Lady, by Elusive Quality 3rd Dam: Colcon, by Pleasant Colony($440,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). O-Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners; B-Stonehaven Steadings (KY); T-Michael W. McCarthy. $60,000.Margins: 3 3/4, 2, 5HF. Odds: 4.72, 0.86, 3.52.Also Ran: Prom Queen, Maximum Offer. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.The post Counting Stars Claims Her Grade I Moment with Stylish Acorn Victory appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.