Jokestar grabs inaugural Post Time Stakes
Vernon Smith wins Last Chance, First Chance Handicapping Tournament
LAUREL, MD—“He doesn’t give up,” owner Bryan Bushey of Bush Racing Stable said after Point Dume repelled all challengers in last month’s Fire Plug Overnight Handicap at Laurel Park. “That’s one thing that’s important to this horse. That’s like me. I’m not giving up.”
Bushey knows a thing or two about courage. In the spring of 2024, he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and was given less than six months to live.
Point Dume entered Bushey’s life last Fourth of July when Bush Racing claimed him for $40,000 after a runner-up effort at Penn National. Since then, Point Dume and Bushey have been fighting—and winning—together.
On Saturday, a smiling Bushey, wearing shorts and surrounded by friends and family, enjoyed Point Dume’s biggest moment, a victory in the $200,000 General George Stakes for 4-year-olds and up at seven furlongs.
“I’m proud to be representing Bush Racing on this kind of stage, proud to be representing it with my dad and business partner,” said Bryan’s son, David Bushey, his voice cracking with emotion. “I’m proud of this horse. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and it means so much to us. I can’t even describe it in words.”
Point Dume looked like the General George’s main speed, and he moved right to the lead under jockey Angel Cruz, who rationed his mount’s pace through fractions of 23.25 and 46.18 seconds.
Cruz let Point Dume out a notch on the turn, and they poured it on in the final furlong, scoring by 3 ¾ lengths over a rail-skimming Blue Kingdom in 1:23.14 on the fast main track.
Defending General George winner Quint’s Brew, the odds-on favorite, finished another 1 ½ lengths behind in third. Slam Notion, Petingas Twin, Freeze the Fire, and On the Mark completed the order of finish.
Point Dume returned $12.20 as the third choice in betting.
“He loves to be in front, and he fights every time,” said the red-hot Cruz, who has won 16 of 69 mounts since January 14. “He digs in every [morning], and in the race, he digs in even harder. When he gets to the lead, he’s a different horse. He breaks, takes a hold of you, and keeps going. But today, he was really good. It was impressive.”
Bred in Kentucky by Sea Horse Breeders, Point Dume is out of Maya Malibu, a multiple Grade 1-placed mare by Malibu Moon. His second dam, Island Sand, won the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes at Belmont in 2004.
A $450,000 yearling purchase, Point Dume changed trainers among Bob Baffert, Brittany Russell, Kieron Magee, Horacio De Paz, and Jamie Ness before settling with Tim Kreiser.
Three starts after the claim, Point Dume captured a restricted allowance race at Delaware. A month later, he won the $75,000 M.P. Ballezzi Appreciation Mile at Parx.
“He’s probably the best one I’ve ever had,” Kreiser admitted. “He’s a very strong animal. It doesn’t matter what track it is. Penn National is [very deep], and he’ll work in 46. He just does it so easily.”
Kreiser said that Point Dume is “very tough. The gallop guys come back. Their hands and shoulders are numb when they’re done with him.”
The trainer credited the Busheys for selecting Point Dume as a potential claim.
“They picked the horse out and asked what I thought. I told them, ‘You know I like speed.’ That’s my kind of horse. So we went for it.”
As for what’s next?
“I have no clue, but all I can say is that we’re going to live up every moment of this experience,” said David Bushey.
“He’s keeping me fighting,” Bryan Bushey said. “That horse has a lot of guts. I just have to keep up with him.”
*Jokestar wins inaugural Post Time Stakes
Pietro Moran’s first win in 2026 was eventful.
Moran, last year’s Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey, guided Jokestar around a riderless rival and drew off to win the inaugural $100,000 Post Time Stakes for 4-year-olds and older at 1 1/8 miles.
Breaking from the rail, Moran almost immediately had to contend with Surfside Moon, who went down on his nose at the start, unseating jockey Julio Hernandez.
Jokestar, a confirmed late runner, broke best from the inside post, and Moran kept him three paths off the inside on the first turn.
Meanwhile, jockeyless Surfside Moon slipped through along the rail at the seven-eighths pole, passing the entire field.
Moran settled Jokestar inside the favored Call Me Fast through a glacial opening quarter in 24.96 seconds.
Things became dicey once the pace quickened on the backstretch. The field caught up with Surfside Moon, who was loping up front. Jokestar was stuck inside that foe, and Call Me Fast raced three wide, clocking a half-mile in 49.02 seconds.
Jokestar wound up shuffled back to last entering the far bend, leaving Call Me Fast and Warp Nine to begin their sprint for home. Those two confronted Surfside Moon from the outside after six furlongs in 1:13.62, but Moran wheeled Jokestar into the clear, and the gelding unfurled his long stride.
Jokestar ran by Call Me Fast and Warp Nine without much fuss at the quarter pole, then dashed home to win by 6 ½ lengths in 1:52.66. Warp Nine finished second, 4 ¾ lengths ahead of Call Me Fast. Both Hernandez and Surfside Moon appeared to emerge unscathed.
Jokestar returned $8.20 to win as the public’s third choice. Otter Mischief and Cadet Corps scratched.
Moran, who spent most of his 2025 campaign in Canada, shifted his tack to Turfway Park after Woodbine closed for the winter.
“I saw [Surfside Moon] stumble badly, and then it was a three-horse field after that,” Moran said. “[Warp Nine], I thought, would show more early speed. Nobody went [to the lead], so I just bided my time. Then, a little havoc behind the loose horse, but I think it worked out for the best to wait and come around. He was much the best today.”
Jokestar is a 5-year-old homebred son of Practical Joke out of Stormaline, by Star Guitar. Owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling, he is a half-brother to stakes-winning turf sprinter Rhaenyra. Their second dam, Tourmaline, was a multiple stakes-winner on dirt.
Jokestar began his career with trainer Kevin Attard at Woodbine and proved a hardy sort, running in all three legs of the Canadian Triple Crown in 2024.
“He’s a big, rangy horse,” Attard said during a phone interview after the Post Time. “We always thought he had some ability. I really think he matured from three to four.”
Jokestar won his first two starts last year on dirt, then finished fourth in the Grade 3 Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows. He earned his first stakes placing one month later, finishing third in the West Virginia Governor’s Cup at Mountaineer.
“He ran some good dirt races,” Attard said. “I wasn’t sure whether it was the dirt that improved him or, in a sense, age.”
Jokestar ran second in two Grade 3 races on Woodbine’s Tapeta at nine furlongs and 1 ½ miles, respectively, then rallied to fifth in a $100,000 handicap at a mile and 70 yards on Gulfstream’s Tapeta in his 2026 debut.
“We ran him in two tough spots, and he showed up both times with big efforts,” Attard said. “I think the key is the distance, which really helps him. At Gulfstream, I think he was hampered by the distance, and it was tough to close that day.”
Jokestar has won five of 20 starts, earning $363,057.
Formerly known as the John B. Campbell Stakes, the Post Time was renamed to honor the popular Maryland-bred Grade 2 winner who also finished second in several Grade 1 races, including the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Post Time will stand his first season at stud in 2026 at Northview Stallion Station in Maryland.
*Vernon Smith wins Last Chance, First Chance Handicapping Tournament
Talk about a debut winner!
Vernon Smith, 50, entered his first-ever Handicapping contest on Saturday and defeated 216 other players in Laurel Park’s Last Chance, First Chance Tournament.
“No main strategy,” Smith said after taking home the top cash prize of $6,075, along with a full seat to the 2026 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge at Keeneland on October 31 and November 1. “Just read the Racing Form and go with my gut. I was actually down to $300 going into the General George. I bet $100 Exactas with [Point Dume] on top of three horses. $3,600 later, I was in the lead.”
Smith was cheered on by his wife, Melissa.
“I said, ‘You know there’s a handicapping competition.’ She said, ‘You should do it.’ I said, ‘Really, it’s Valentine’s Day.’ She said, ‘Yeah, let’s go.’”
The $500 hybrid online and on-track contest ($250 entry fee, $250 bankroll) allowed Win, Place, Show, Exacta, and/or Daily Double wagers on the entire card of live races at Laurel Park. Contestants had to play at least five (5) contest races, with a $50 minimum bet per race.
Smith finished with an account balance of $4,360. Dave Nicols ranked second with $3,155, and Chris Heagy placed third with $2,432. All three top finishers played at Laurel Park.
The top five finishers received cash prizes, and Laurel Park offered six additional prize packs for the National Handicapping Championship.
Smith, a native of Bowie, Maryland, lives in Edgewater, Maryland, and is a lifelong racing fan.
“I went to Bowie as a kid,” Smith reminisced. “My dad would give me two dollars per race. I went to Belmont when I was 15, and I [bet] because I looked 18.”
*Around the track:
Apprentice jockey Yedsit Hazlewood captured three races on Saturday’s program. He teamed with trainer Gary Capuano for Juniper’s Jubilee ($3.80) in the third race and Atlantic Queen ($11.80) in the $100,000 Nellie Morse Stakes. Hazlewood completed his riding triple aboard Run Tzu ($3.20) in the finale.
Live racing resumes Sunday. The first post for the ten-race program is at 12:00 pm ET, and there are two “Value Pick 5” wagers, each with a low 12% takeout.
The FREE “Laurel Park Handicapping Guide” is available every racing day. Get picks, analysis, trainer stats, trip notes, horses to watch, track bias information, and more from The Maryland Jockey Club’s team of handicappers. Sunday’s guide is available. Click here to view it.
Reserve your spot for our weekly “Bubbly Brunch Sundays.” Kick back with friends over delicious brunch favorites and bottomless mimosas at our vibrant Stone Bar Restaurant and Bar. Sunday Brunch begins at 11:00 am ET.
Join us for belated Mardi Gras festivities as Laurel Park presents “Flavors of the Bayou” on Saturday, February 21, from noon to 4 pm. Your ticket includes authentic Cajun dishes, unlimited non-alcoholic beverages, and a free betting voucher. For the full menu and ticket prices, visit here.
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