Brittany Russell wins training title
Four-way tie at the top of the jockey standings
Joanne Shankle the meet’s leading owner
LAUREL, MD –- Going into his final mount on closing day Sunday at Laurel Park, jockey Jaime Rodriguez was in an unfamiliar position.
He was behind in the jockey’s race.
With seven prior Laurel Park meet riding titles on his mantlepiece, Rodriguez is usually the one in the lead on closing day. On this occasion, however, he was the hunter, one win behind on the leaderboard.
As is expected by those who closely follow racing in Maryland, Rodriguez came through, guiding Bouncer ($9.40) to a stalk-and-pounce victory in the featured eighth race, a $56,000 conditioned allowance race with a $55,000 claiming option.
The win placed Rodriguez in a four-way tie for the riding title with Sheldon Russell, Jevian Toledo, and Ismerio Villalobos.
“This was a fun meet,” Rodriguez said. “Everybody was winning, everybody was even. I’m really grateful and happy for everybody. Everybody had a turn to win. Everybody could enjoy, and everybody could eat.”
As for Bouncer, the 5-year-old gelding was knocking on the door after dropping photos in his first two starts for trainer Jamie Ness, most recently finishing a head behind Bump N Run when entered for the $55,000 claiming option on June 1.
Bouncer jumped from the far outside post in the seven-horse field and tracked in the second flight while three wide as Arden’sluckytobe streaked through an opening quarter in 22.65 seconds.
Bouncer and odds-on favorite Haileysfirstnotion passed Arden’sluckytobe after a half-mile time of 45.26. Bouncer poked a nose in front at the furlong pole, then had just enough left to hold off a resurgent Hailey’sfirstnotion to score by a neck in 1:10.07 over the fast track.
Rodriguez’s pre-race strategy was to track Arden’sluckytobe and Haileysfirstnotion, but those plans changed when the latter broke tardily.
“He broke a little bit sharper today,” Rodriguez said of Bouncer. “I saw [Arden’sluckytobe] in front in the lead, and I wanted to put a little bit of pressure early. Once we hit the three-eighths pole, [Haileysfirstnotion] moved. Once he moved, I moved with him because my horse is the type of horse that likes to run in company. When he’s by himself, he kind of gets lost.”
Bred in Florida by Helen Alexander, Bouncer is by Adios Charlie from the family of Grade 1 winners Greenpointcrusader and Justin Phillip. A $190,000 juvenile purchase, Bouncer made his first 14 starts for trainer Mark Casse before being claimed for $50,000 last summer by Darryl Abramowitz’s DEA Racing.
Bouncer bounced around from trainer Jeanne Dolan to Horacio De Paz before settling in with Ness earlier this year.
Bouncer boasts seven wins from 22 starts for $354,065.
*Brittany Russell wins training title
Brittany Russell secured her seventh Maryland Jockey Club meet training title, besting Jamie Ness by a margin of 17 to 12. Kieron Magee finished third with nine wins.
Russell’s horses won at an astounding 36% clip. Fans who blindly bet Russell’s 47 starters received a $3.17 return on investment.
Russell’s stable star is undoubtedly Post Time. Owned by Mrs. Ellen Charles’s Hillwood Stable, Post Time remained unbeaten from nine Laurel Park starts when winning yesterday’s $125,000 Deputed Testamony Stakes. Post Time might make his next start in the Grade 2, $1,000,000 Charles Town Classic on August 22.
Russell also saddled Gata Brazil to take the Stormy Blues Stakes on June 15.
In 2023, Russell ended Claudio Gonazlez’s six-season reign atop the year-end leaderboard by notching 118 victories at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, finishing five ahead of runner-up Ness.
Last year, Russell earned 113 victories at Laurel and Pimlico, 16 more than runner-up Ness.
Married to jockey Sheldon Russell, Brittany Russell is often joined in the winner’s circle by their daughter, Edy, and son, Rye.
*Four-way tie at the top of the jockey standings
Sheldon Russell, Ismerio Villalobos, and Jevian Toledo joined Rodriguez on the winner’s podium for the riding championship.
For Russell, this was his eighth riding title in Maryland and his first since the Laurel Park winter meet in 2020. The 37-year-old rides first call for wife Brittany, and he is the regular partner of reigning Maryland-bred Horse of the Year Post Time.
Russell also guided trainer Jonathan Thomas’s Wofie’s Dynaghost to a gate-to-wire win in Saturday’s Prince George’s County Stakes at Laurel. Russell has won 1,752 races in his career for earnings of $56,191,950.
With this being his first riding title in Maryland, Ismerio Villalobos is the new kid on the block. A native of Venezuela, Villalobos began riding in the United States in 2022, compiling a record of seven wins from 96 starts.
Villalobos has shown steady improvement each year since his debut and is currently in the midst of his best season ever. After Sunday’s program, Villalobos has 31 wins and $1,117,485 in earnings.
“He’s a good kid,” trainer Kieron Magee said after Villalobos rode his Devil Pays In Gold to a win on May 23. “He works hard. He tries hard. He’ll go anywhere you want him to go.”
Toledo, a veteran mainstay in Maryland, earned his 12th riding title. The 30-year-old native of Puerto Rico has won the year-end riding title four times, most recently in 2022. Toledo’s big win this meet came aboard the Brittany Russell-trained Gata Brazil in the Stormy Blues Stakes.
Toledo has 1,717 lifetime wins, earning $60,222,961. He has won more than 100 races in each of the last five years.
*Joanne Shankle the meet’s leading owner
Joanne Shankle captured the owner’s title with nine winners, four more than DEA Thoroughbred Racing. George Sharp, Larry Rabold, and The Elkstone Group all tied for third place with three wins apiece.
Ginger Girl and Zero Blitz each won twice for Shankle, who also trained seven winners during the meet.
*Laurel Park hosts summer Sunday brunches in July
Take your summer weekends to the next level with Laurel Park’s “Bubbly Brunch” events every Sunday in July between 11 am and 3 pm.
Kick back with friends over delicious brunch favorites and bottomless mimosas in our vibrant Stone Bar Restaurant. Whether you’re catching up with your crew or treating yourself to the perfect weekend escape, we’ve got the ideal spot.
Place your bets and cheer on your picks from the comfort of your table. It’s the best seat in the house to enjoy the finest simulcast action from major tracks around the country.
For reservations and menu options, please click here.
*Around the track:
Romeo, a 2-year-old trained by Jerry Robb and ridden by Xavier Perez, upset Churchill Downs’s Bashford Manor Stakes on Sunday. A Maryland-bred colt by Honor A. P., Romeo captured his career debut at Laurel Park on by 10 ¼ lengths, then finished third in Saratoga’s Tremont…Live racing resumes at Timonium for the Maryland State Fair meet between August 22-24 and August 29 – September 1. The first post time is 12:25 pm ET…The Laurel Park fall meeting begins on Friday, September 5.
