Majority owner Jess Jackson announced today that his reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, who arrived in Saratoga on Wednesday, will ship out to make her next start in the ungraded Lady's Secret Stakes at Monmouth Park in New Jersey on July 24.

The Lady's Secret is a listed stake at nine furlongs for fillies and mares three and up. The race was originally carded for August 1, Haskell Invitational Day, with a purse of $150,000. But with the addition of Rachel Alexandra to the field, the race has been moved up just over a week to July 24, and the purse has been bumped to $400,000. If Rachel Alexandra fails to enter, the purse will revert to its original amount. Moving the date up was the right move by Monmouth. The Haskell, which is expected to include Derby winner Super Saver and Preakness winner Lookin at Lucky, will already attract a crowd; moving the date of a race that includes Rachel Alexandra guarantees the new date a huge crowd all its own.

The eyes of the racing nation have been on Monmouth since late May, as the track opened its "Million Dollar Meet," offering an unprecedented $50 million in purses over 50 days of racing. Attracting Rachel Alexandra is the latest coup for a meet that many have feared could compete with Saratoga to attract the top horses and connections this summer. This does nothing to dispel those concerns.

The announcement that Rachel Alexandra's next start will come at Monmouth doesn't rule out that the filly could start at Saratoga later in the meet - a route she took successfully in 2009. Rachel Alexandra was based at Saratoga last summer but shipped out to win the Haskell on August 2, scoring an authoritative victory over eventual Eclipse champion 3-year-old male Summer Bird over the muddy Monmouth strip. She then returned to Saratoga to defeat older males in the historic Woodward Stakes on Sept. 5, capping her 8-for-8 championship campaign. If Rachel Alexandra does start later in the meet, potential targets could include the Personal Ensign against fillies and mare on August 29 or a title defense in the Woodward on Sept. 4.