Chad Brown came close to sweeping the three Grade 1 races on the Arlington Million program in 2018 when Robert Bruce won the Million, Sistercharlie won the Beverly D., and Analyze It was second to longshot Carrick in the Secretariat. A year later and Brown will have favorites all three of those races again on Aug. 10.

Pre-entries were due Friday for the trio of Grade 1s on Million Day and Brown has not only the likely favorite but multiple entrants in all of them. Robert Bruce will return to try and win his second straight Million but it's his Brown-trained stable-mate Bricks and Mortar who will be heavily favored in the 1 1/4-mile fixture. Bricks and Mortar is unbeaten this year, comes off a win in the Grade 1 Manhattan, and for weeks has been the top-ranked horse in the weekly NTRA Top 10 poll.

Sistercharlie is the likely strong favorite to capture her second Beverly D. having scored a scintillating victory making her belated 2019 debut in the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga last month. Brown pre-entered two other horses here, Competitionofideas and Thais, the latter of whom has been used as a pace-maker and filled that role in the 2018 Beverly D.

For the Secretariat, contested this year at one mile for the first time in the race's history, Brown is two-handed with Fog of War and Valid Point, who will be two of the favorites if not the two favorites. 

The new Secretariat distance appears to have hit a fairly sweet spot with a competitive, talented group of 11 pre-entrants. 

The other main supporter of the Grade 1s is Ireland-based Aidan O'Brien. O'Brien pre-entered Hunting Horn, a pace-maker, and the filly Magic Wand in the Million, and while Magic Wand was cross-entered in the Beverly D. she seems more likely to face males in the big race. For the Beverly D., O'Brien's big hope is the 3-year-old filly Fleeting, who has very strong overseas form having finished second in the Group 1 Irish Oaks and second in the Group 2 Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot - beaten both times by the excellent Star Catcher -- and third in the Group 1 Oaks at Epsom. O'Brien pre-entered Never No More and Van Beethoven for the Secretariat.

The top overseas Million hope could be the France-based Intellogent, most recently fourth in the Group 1 Prix d'Ispahan.

Final fields for these races will be formally entered next week. Pre-entry requires a considerable fee but Arlington racing officials caution there could be more Million defections than usual before entry time this year.

MILLION                            BEVERLEY D                    SECRETARIAT
Bandua                             Awesometank                  Bizzee Channel
Bricks and Mortar              Competitionofideas           Clint Maroon
Captivating Moon               Fleeting                           Crafty Daddy
Catcho En Die                    Magic Wand                     Faraway Kitten        
Hunting Horn                     Oh So Terrible                  Fog of War
Intellogent                         Remember Daisy              Journeyman
Magic Wand                       Sistercharlie                     Never No More
Pivoine                              Thais                               Ry's The Guy
Robert Bruce                                                            The Last Zip
The Great Day                                                          Valid Point
                                                                               Van Beethoven