“Maryland’s Day at the Races” at Laurel Park on Saturday
LAUREL, MD— Post Time, the reigning Maryland-bred Horse of the Year, is the headline attraction for Saturday’s 40th edition of the Jim McKay Maryland Million, presented by Brown Advisory.
Special first post for the 12-race program is 11:30 a.m. ET. Gates open at 10:00 a.m. ET. On the wagering side, Laurel Park offers two “Value Pick 5” wagers, each with a low 12% takeout rate. The Early “Value Pick 5” spans races 1 through 5, while the Late “Value Pick 5” sequence comprises races 8 through 12. Additionally, races 9 through 12 make up an All-Stakes Pick 4 wager with an estimated $100,000 pool.
Listed as the 3-5 morning line favorite, Post Time drew post five in the featured tenth race, the $150,000 Milton P. Higgins III Maryland Million Classic for 3-year-olds and upward at 1 1/8 miles.
Trained by Brittany Russell for Mrs. Ellen Charles’s Hillwood Stable, Post Time is unbeaten from 10 prior outings at Laurel Park. The winner of last year’s Grade 3 General George Stakes at Laurel, he dominated the previous two editions of the Polynesian Stakes here by a combined 28 ½ lengths. Two weeks ago, Post Time finished third of three in the Grade 2 Woodward Stakes at Aqueduct, 4 ¼ lengths behind the victorious Locked.
Post Time will be piloted by regular rider Sheldon Russell, and is the Classic high weight at 124 lbs.
“It’s the same thing with Post Time,” Brittany Russell said. “It’s home. He’s good here. We’re running him back in two weeks. Hopefully, he responds to that. It’s a little bit of a tricky situation for us, but he’s a good horse, and I think he’ll show up regardless.”
Blue Kingdom is the 5-1 second choice on the morning line. A 4-year-old gelding by First Mondays, Blue Kingdom captured his last three starts by a combined 16 ¾ lengths, including a gate-to-wire romp in a $50,000 starter allowance at Delaware on Sept. 25. Trained by Jamie Ness for Darryl Abramowitz’s DEA Thoroughbred Racing, Blue Kingdom breaks from post six under Mychel Sanchez, will carry 120 lbs., and looms the controlling speed in the race.
Blue Kingdom was claimed by Ness out of a victory in a $30,000 “non-two” claimer on July 30, the horse’s first start following a seven-month layoff.
“We saw a Maryland-bred off a layoff. We took a shot,” Ness said. “He still has all his conditions. Maryland Million, it’s the big day for Maryland, so we always try to take chances in these races. Post Time is a Grade 1 horse, and we’re still an entry-level allowance horse, so it’s a tall task. He’ll get the old litmus test.”
Barbadian Runner, the third choice on the line at 6-1, breaks from post position two under Forest Boyce. Trained by Henry Walters for AJ Will Win Stables, Barbadian Runner is a 3-year-old gelding by Barbados. A four-time stakes-winner this year, all against open company, Barbadian Runner recently won the $500,000 Robert Hilton Memorial for 3-year-olds racing seven furlongs at Charles Town. Barbadian Runner carries 121 lbs. in the Classic.
First preference in the Jim McKay Maryland Million races goes to horses that are Maryland-sired. If there are fewer than eight Maryland-sired entrants in a race, then Maryland-bred runners are included in the body of the field.
With fewer than eight Maryland-sired entrants in the Milton P. Higgins III Memorial Maryland Million Classic, both Post Time and Secret Zipper were allowed to enter.
All the Hardways, the lone Also Eligible in the lineup, will compete if there is a race-day scratch, and it appears there will be an opportunity, as Ness mentioned that Feeling Woozy is an uncertain starter, and that trainer Gary Capuano will scratch Secret Zipper, and is unlikely to run Sacred Thunder.
All the Hardways is conditioned by John “Jerry” Robb, who holds the all-time Jim McKay Maryland Million record for wins by an active trainer.
*Jack’s Legend seeks to upset John Deere Maryland Million Turf
As one prior Maryland Million winner departs trainer Kenny Cox’s barn, another looks to assume the mantle of stable star.
The popular Ain’t Da Beer Cold, placed first via disqualification in the 2023 Maryland Million Classic, was recently retired after a string of disappointing performances. The 7-year-old gelding concluded his career with a record of 7 wins from 45 starts, earning $469,712.
Thankfully, Cox has Dr. Michael Harrison’s homebred, Jack’s Legend, waiting in the wings for the $125,000 John Deere Maryland Million Turf for 3-year-olds and upward racing 1 1/8 miles on the Dahlia Course.
No stranger to Maryland Million Turf action – he finished a fast-closing third in the 2023 edition when trained by Mike Trombetta – Jack’s Legend hit the board in his first three career starts before going to the sidelines for over a year.
“He had some different injuries,” Cox said. “They gave him some time. He went back to Mike, and something else happened. I’ve had horses for Doc Harrison for a while, and he felt like a horse would fit in a smaller barn.”
A 5-year-old gelding by Great Notion, the all-time win leader among active stallions in Jim McKay Maryland Million history, Jack’s Legend has three starts under his belt for Cox, and improved with each outing, culminating in a restricted first-level allowance victory at Colonial on Aug. 23.
“[Jockey Jevian] Toledo rode him perfect,” Cox said about that victory. Toledo, the Maryland Million’s winningest active rider, retains the mount.
Cox admitted that he wanted an interim race before the Maryland Million, but “he’s been fine with the extra time. We’ve done a lot of slow works with him because that’s more how I do things. He’s doing good. I think he’s my best shot on the day, for sure.”
Jack’s Legend will have to have them nailed on tight if he is to upend Youknownothing, the even-money favorite on the morning line. A 4-year-old Candy Ride filly facing males for the first time, Youknownothing was purchased for $600,000 as a yearling, and finished second in Keeneland’s Grade 3 Bewitch Stakes on April 25. Trained by Miguel Clement, the New York-based Youknownothing hit the board in her last two starts, both second-level allowance races at 1 ½ miles.
Sky’s Not Falling, the winner of the 2022 Maryland Million Turf Sprint, and nosed out for the victory in this race last year, prepped for this year’s Jim McKay Maryland Million with a runner-up effort behind prohibitive favorite Wolfie’s Dynaghost in a restricted handicap at Colonial Downs. Trombetta trains the 7-year-old Seville gelding for the Estate of R. Larry Johnson and R. D. M Racing Stable. Another strong contender, Grade 3-placed Crabs N Beer, finished third in this race in 2022 and 2024.
The John Deere Maryland Million Turf drew a field of eight with five others residing on the Also Eligible list.
*Keefe looks for improved effort from Worth a Dime
Expectations were high for Worth a Dime after the 3-year-old homebred filly by Mosler rallied from left field in her career debut to upset a state-bred maiden special weight sprinting on May 23.
Following four consecutive defeats, Worth a Dime attempts to rebound in the $125,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Maryland Million Ladies for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles over the All Along Turf Course.
Owned by Nancy Lee Farms, Worth a Dime raced around two turns for the first time in her last start, an open first-level allowance on Sept. 28. She utilized unfamiliar tactics in that race, battling for the early lead before tiring to finish fifth.
“Coming off a couple of sprint races didn’t help us,” admitted trainer Tim Keefe. “She broke right out of there, and a longer shot on the outside was pressing us the whole way. I was happy with the way she ran. It was her first time going long, and I think she’ll benefit from that. I do look forward to seeing what she can do for us. I think the longer, the better for her. Our best shot will be sitting from off the pace.”
Although Precious Avary is a New Jersey-bred, she is by Maryland sire Divining Rod, and thus is eligible for a prime spot. The 5-year-old mare won this race two years ago, then just missed by a neck in last year’s edition.
Trained by Tim Shaw for Smith Farm and Stable, Precious Avary should show good speed from the inside post position as she stretches out in distance following a rallying runner-up effort in the restricted Pinot Grigio Handicap at five furlongs on Monmouth turf.
Mopo, never off the board from five turf appearances, also moves sprint to route following a second-place finish. A 3-year-old filly by Great Notion, Mopo was a game maiden winner of a maiden special weight at Pimlico at one mile on May 16 for trainer Phil Capuano and owner Mopo Racing.
Since being claimed for $40,000 earlier this year by Ness for Madison Avenue Racing Stable and Morris Kernan Jr., Concrete Faze has won five of ten starts. All those races came on dirt, however, and the Super Ninety Nine filly will switch to grass on Saturday.
“She’s been in good form since we claimed her,” Ness said. “Obviously, if I had my druthers, I’d like to run on the dirt, but this is the race that came, the only one that she is eligible for today. Her last race was a sneaky-tough race. There were really good horses in that race, and she ran a credible third.”
The Thoroughbred Aftercare Maryland Million Ladies drew a field of nine with two also-eligibles.
*Had to Have Him razor-sharp for the 1/ST BET Maryland Million Turf Sprint
Had to Have Him, a 4-year-old gelding by Force the Pass, enters the 1/ST BET Maryland Million Turf Sprint in excellent form. Gelded over the winter, he hasn’t been off the board in four starts this year, and roared from off the pace to grab the Laurel Dash on Sept. 13.
“Gelding him really made a difference,” said trainer John Salzman Jr. after the Laurel Dash. “He’s a professional. He handles everything so good. He’s a nice horse to have. He’s impressing me every time he runs.”
Had to Have Him had his final tune-up on October 1, breezing three furlongs in a bullet 35.80 seconds.
Kenneth Ramsey’s Whenigettoheaven already has four victories over the Laurel lawn, including consecutive triumphs in the restricted Ben’s Cat Stakes at six furlongs. Trained by Nolan Ramsey, Whenigettoheaven was a gritty winner of a restricted handicap at Colonial on Aug. 30.
“Probably his best race to date,” Nolan Ramsey admitted. “Before I picked him up, he liked to sit towards the rear of the field, and make one run. [Since then], he started finding his way towards the front, but I thought he was probably best sitting from just off the pace. Our post position last time out forced our hand, and I thought he responded to it great, especially after he got headed. To fight back down on the rail after doing the hard work, I was really proud of him.”
Ramsey believes that Whenigettoheaven will be forwardly placed on Saturday.
“I’m not going to take anything away from his running style,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier with him right now.”
Eight horses entered the 1/ST BET Maryland Million Turf Sprint, including 2023 winner Witty.
*Slewperstitus looks promising in Glenangus Farm Maryland Million Lassie
Slewperstitus hinted at immense potential when walloping nine other juvenile fillies by 8 ¾ lengths in her career debut.
The Great Notion filly earned stakes placings in her two subsequent starts at Colonial Downs.
She’ll likely start favored in the $100,000 Glenangus Farm Maryland Million Lassie for 2-year-old fillies at six furlongs.
“She showed a lot of good things [before she ran], mentioned trainer Robbie Bailes. “We’ve liked her all along. She’s an easy-training filly. We were debating whether to get a little allowance race in between, but she does everything so well in the morning, the timeframe never really bothered me at all.”
Brittany and Sheldon Russell counter with Share Success, who wasn’t headed in her career debut at five furlongs on Sept. 5. The Engage filly sold for $115,000 as a yearling and is owned by Cash Is King Racing and LC RacingShare Success has breezed three times since her successful coming-out party.
“She’s great,” Brittany Russell said. “She’s trained right forward and has given us some good works in the morning. She’s been a little bit of a funny filly mentally, but I think giving her the time to train along is what she needed. I’ve liked her from an ability standpoint.”
Salzman Jr. trains Rerun Table, a Blofeld filly that rallied from just off the pace to get up in the nick of time over a sharp four furlongs at Timonium on Aug. 24 for owner Bird and Grady LLC.
“Brittany had one in there coming from Saratoga that was real fast,” Salzman Jr. mentioned. “[The jockey] didn’t panic. Turning for home, I still didn’t think she’d get there, and she still got up even when lugging in and all.”
Salzman speaks glowingly about Rerun Table.
“I think she’s a nice filly, and I always did,” he said. “I had her ready for one of the first 2-year-old races [of the year], and she got hurt like two days before the race, and I had to give her some time off. At that time, I thought she’d win that race. She’s a professional. I’m looking for a big race out of her. Naturally, I’d rather have a little more experience, but it didn’t work out.”
Ness saddles Witchyness, a Golden Lad homebred owned by Ness’s Jagger Inc. and Super C Racing. A Delaware debut winner on July 19, Witchyness hasn’t raced since.
“She ran really well,” Ness said. “She never showed like she was going to be a horse that could win first out. All her siblings have been two-turn horses. She missed the break, circled the field, and passed every horse, which doesn’t happen very often with a first-time starter. She [then] got a little sick on me, so we had to back off her. She’s doing fine, had some good workouts at Parx, so we’re trying to play catch-up here with these horses.”
Gary Capuano trains the battle-tested Doc’s Miracle, who has already started six times. A maiden winner of a two-turn sprint at Timonium on Aug. 23, she finished second in the restricted Small Wonder Stakes at Delaware 22 days later.
“When I ran her at Timonium, she really woke up,” Capuano stated. “She came back last time and ran a huge race against a good horse. She’s coming into this good, too. She’s put things together.”
The 1/ST BET Maryland Million Lassie drew a full field of 12 juvenile fillies.
*Foxy Junior defends title in Shamrock Farm Maryland Million Distaff
Foxy Junior puts her unbeaten record at Laurel Park on the line when she defends her title in the $100,000 Shamrock Farm Maryland Million Distaff for fillies and mares at seven furlongs
A perfect three-for-three over this surface, Foxy Junior turned up for this year’s Jim McKay Maryland Million with a decisive 4 ¾-length win in the Twixt Stakes at one mile on Sept. 6
“She just broke really good today, and she put me there,” jockey Jomar Torres said in the winner’s circle. “I just let her go and let her get comfortable. At the three-eighths pole, she was ready to go, but I waited a little bit, considering the second wire finish. When I got to the stretch and I asked her, it’s done. She’s gone.”
Since Torres became Foxy Junior’s regular dance partner, they’ve combined for eight wins from ten dirt starts. Foaled in Pennsylvania, the 5-year-old Cuba mare is a homebred owned by Dianne Stern.
“She gets a lot of love from me,” Torres said. “She’s the best horse I’m riding right now. She’s amazing.”
John Williamson III’s Stickwiththecolors captured the restricted Conniver Stakes on March 8. She makes her first start since finishing sixth of eight in an open second-level allowance the following month.
“She got the one-hole, and that’s probably not the best situation,” remarked trainer Salzman Jr. “There’s not a lot of speed in there. I’ve been training her pretty tough, trying to get her ready. It’s all going to matter on if she can get a slow enough pace. She’s a big, long-striding, good-looking filly. I think I got her tight enough. I hope so, anyway.”
Onyx Ten won two stakes races to kick off her 3-year-old campaign for Gary Capuano and owner Frank Sample. A homebred daughter of Street Magician, Onyx Ten returned from a 176-day layoff to take a restricted allowance at Delaware on Sept. 14
“She’s been wonderful,” Capuano said. “We ran the heck out of her last fall and this winter, and she didn’t miss a beat. She was tailing off, so we gave her all summer off. She trained really good going into the Delaware race, and she showed that. She’s coming into this race as good as she came out of that race.”
A full field of 12 is expected for the Shamrock Farm Maryland Million Distaff
*Gary Capuano has two strong hopes in Fasig-Tipton Maryland Million Nursery
Gary Capuano seems to have the bases covered in the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Maryland Million Nursery for 2-year-olds at six furlongs.
Pocket 3s Racing’s Big Cuddle came from off the pace to win his debut, a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight at Delaware on Sept. 11.
“He ran a really nice race,” Capuano said. “He had shown some talent. He didn’t break quick enough. He got a decent trip, but he came from off the pace. He gained some experience, got a little dirt in his face, and started putting things together. He’s been breezing well.”
Conversely, Buds Notion led at every call when graduating in his Delaware debut nine days later. Owned by Pinochle Partners, Buds Notion drew off in the stretch to score by 5 ½ lengths.
“He’s been quick in the mornings,” Capuano noted. “We expected, as long as he broke well, that he’d be out there. He cruised along and was a little green, laying in a bit through the stretch and looking around.”
Both Big Cuddle and Buds Notion are by Great Notion.
Lundi Loot breaks from the inside post for trainer Lynn Ashby. A gelding by First Mondays, Lundi Loot adds blinkers for the first time after finishing second in an open “non-two” allowance at Delaware on Sept. 28.
Code of Silence is still a maiden, but he finished third in the restricted First Dash Stakes at Delaware on Sept. 14, three lengths behind runner-up Lundi Loot.
“He’s just like a diesel engine,” said trainer Keefe. “It takes a little bit of time to get going. He’s a big boy. He’s a lot like his half-brother, [stakes winner] Tattooed. I would love to see him go a little bit farther in distance. Hopefully, there will be a quick pace. I don’t think he’ll be too far off it, but he’ll definitely come running at the end.
The Fasig-Tipton Maryland Million Nursery drew an overflow field of 16. Feels So Right and Flatter My Dad are on the Also Eligible list.
*Wide open Fair Hill Training Center Maryland Million Sprint rounds out the card
A strong field of nine entered the $100,000 Fair Hill Training Center Maryland Million Sprint for 3-year-olds and upward at six furlongs.
Haileysfirstnotion hit the board in eight of nine starts for Gary Capuano and owners Daniel Crowley and Non Stop Stable. The 4-year-old Great Notion gelding just missed in a restricted allowance at Delaware on Sept. 14.
“He ran a great race again,” Capuano said. “It’s a shame he didn’t win. Hopefully, he makes amends. No Lasix for these horses, and for him, it might make a difference. We’ll see. He’s been rock-solid all year.”
Slam Notion nabbed the restricted Star de Naskra Stakes for 3-year-olds at Colonial on July 12. Two starts later, he won a high-level allowance there. Both of those races were at seven furlongs over wet tracks.
“He’s about as honest as they come,” said trainer Bailes. “Can’t say enough good things about him. He gives you what he’s got all the time.”
Multiple stakes-winner Twisted Ride looks like a tough customer shipping in from his Parx base for trainer Mike Moore. A 6-year-old Pennsylvania-bred gelding by Great Notion, Twisted Ride hasn’t won in over a year, but placed in two stakes during that time period, including a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga during the summer of 2024.
Freeze the Fire was third in this race last year, and Salzman Jr. claimed him for $20,000 out of a winning effort at Timonium with plans to run in this year’s event.
“Every time they [ran] him in a stake, he runs his best race,” Salzman Jr. noticed. “I thought maybe the Lasix is drawing him up and hurting him. But when I claimed him, he won that day, and I scoped him, and he did bleed. So, I’ve been really working on that horse. I bought a salt machine, and I’ve been working on him pretty hard. I breezed him and told jockey Jeiron Barbosa to go in 1:02, and he worked a half-mile, and galloped out in 59. I gave Barbosa hell, and he told me that he did it so easy.”
Wickeddevine makes his second start of the year for trainer Cox and Bonuccelli Racing after finishing third, beaten a half-length, in a state-sired allowance on Sept. 20.
“We really thought he would win,” Cox said. “He ran his eyeballs out in between and impressed us again.”
That was his first start following a 321-day layoff.
“He had some baby stuff and we gave him time,” Cox said. “No surgery. I thought he was the best 2-year-old of the crop. He did everything the way he was supposed to. We kicked him out, brought him back, he’s worked bullets, and we’ve never really sat him down. I think he’s going to turn out to be a nice horse.”
Rounding out the program are four Maryland Million Starter Handicaps. Two of them, the $50,000 Turf Starter for 3-year-olds and upward, and the $50,000 Turf Distaff Starter for fillies and mares, are contested at 1 1/16 miles. On dirt, the $40,000 Maryland Million Distaff Starter for fillies and mares, and the $40,000 Maryland Million Starter for 3-year-olds and up, are run at seven furlongs.
Named for the late Hall of Fame and 13-time Emmy Award-winning broadcaster who helped launch the groundbreaking concept in 1986, the Jim McKay Maryland Million has evolved into the second-biggest day on the state’s racing calendar behind only the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes.
“Maryland’s Day at the Races” celebrates the stallions that stand in the state, as well as its rich and diverse racing history, which dates to the founding of the Maryland Jockey Club in 1743 and has spawned copycat events across the United States and Canada.
