6-Year-Old Chasing Second Stakes Win in 1 1/16-Mile Turf Event
MJC Champions Handicapping Tournament, Crab Fest Saturday
Sophomore Blame Colt High Value Graduates in Friday Debut

LAUREL, MD – Mint Meadows Farm and Donald Metzger’s B Determined, whose biggest win came on one of Maryland’s highest-profile days at the longest distance he’s ever run, will stretch out again in search of a second career stakes victory in Saturday’s $75,000 Find at Laurel Park.

The Find and $75,000 All Brandy for fillies and mares, both restricted to Maryland-bred/sired 3-year-olds and up and scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the grass, co-headline a 10-race program that starts at 12:25 p.m. on the penultimate program of Laurel’s 33-day summer meet.

Trained by northern Maryland native and 2012 U.S. Olympic pentathlete Suzanne Stettinius, B Determined has raced three times as a 6-year-old in 2023. At Laurel he was second by a nose June 9 and registered a 1 ¼-length victory July 15, both in restricted turf allowances going 5 ½ furlongs.

“He’s been doing really well,” Stettinius said. “He showed that he could really close sprinting, so we were trying really hard to find him a sprint race. I’ve always had the Find in the back of my mind if that’s what it ended up being. Every race we entered didn’t go or came off the turf, so here we are.”

B Determined came within a half-length of winning the Find last year, finishing third just a nose behind runner-up and defending champion Somekindofmagician. In six tries at the distance, the Artie Schiller gelding has two seconds and two thirds and was fifth, beaten less than three lengths, in a season-opening optional claimer May 19 on the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) undercard May 19 at historic Pimlico Race Course.

“He ran a big race Black-Eyed Susan day. He was sitting back in 11th place with that huge field and came running. He had to kind of come around horses that day,” Stettinius said. “I think the horse can go both ways, as long as he gets the right trip in front of him. He’s proven that he likes to pick them up one by one, so it’s tough if there’s no speed out in front. That’s why we were sprinting him because we know he’ll get speed.”

Out of the Street Sense mare Smart Policy, B Determined is a half-brother to 2019 Turf Amazon and 2018 Jameela winner Rocky Policy and 2018 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship winner Money Fromheaven. He trailed by as many as 19 lengths before rallying for a popular head victory to open the 2021 Jim McKay Maryland Million day program in the 1 1/8-mile Turf Starter Handicap.

Last year B Determined raced at a mile or longer in each of his first eight starts before ending his season running third by a length in a 5 ½-furlong turf allowance in November at Laurel with Jevian Toledo up. Charlie Marquez, who has two wins, two seconds and a third in seven rides aboard B Determined including the Maryland Million, has the assignment in the Find.

“Last year the turf season was ending and there wasn’t anything for him, and I wanted to get one more race in before we turned him out for the rest of the year. We put him in the Maryland-bred sprint with Toledo up and he showed huge numbers so we decided to go into sprinting this year,” Stettinius said. “Charlie Marquez knows the horse well and he’ll have him settle and hopefully have him come closing in on that speed.”

The Find, led by multiple graded-stakes winning millionaire Field Pass in his first time facing Maryland-breds, drew a field of 11 including 2022 Maryland Million Turf winner Wicked Prankster from the rail, multiple dirt stakes winner Tappin Cat on the far outside. And main-track-only entrant Galerio. B Determined is listed at 10-1 on the morning line.

“It looks like there’s some good pace in there. The one horse should be going,” Stettinius said. “I’m hoping he can just settle and remember how to go long. But he’s been training well. We’ve been putting some longer gallops in him and he should be set up well for this.”

Overall B Determined owns five wins, five seconds and four thirds with $208,840 in purse earnings from 27 starts, all but the first three for Stettinius, who ran him for the first time in the fall of 2020.

“I ran him for $5,000 when I got him, so he’s come a long way since then,” she said. “We’re excited.”

The All Brandy is led by multiple turf stakes winner Coconut Cake, the 9-5 program favorite trained by Tim Keefe, and Graham Motion trainee Thegirlfromireland, a Shamrock Farm homebred making her stakes debut seeking a third win in the last four starts.

Also on Saturday, Laurel will play host to a pair of special events. The fall edition of the Maryland Jockey Club’s bi-annual Champions Handicapping Tournament will be held in the second-floor clubhouse sports bar offering prize money and berths to the 2024 National Horseplayers Championship and Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship as well as the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Nov. 3 & 4 at Santa Anita.

Maryland blue crab is on the menu for Saturday’s Crab Fest featuring all you can eat blue crab (on-site only), side dishes, beer and non-alcoholic beverages and live race program, all under the apron tent. For more information click here.

Sunday, the finale of Laurel’s 33-day summer meet, will feature mandatory payouts in the 20-cent Rainbow 6, 50-cent Late Pick 5 and $1 Jackpot Super High Five wagers.

Notes: Jockey Carlos Lopez doubled Friday aboard Uncle Curly ($9.40) in Race 3 and Tall Order ($5) in Race 5 … Jeiron Barbosa also visited the winner’s circle twice, with Dialing Dixie ($6) in Race 2 and Willful Desire ($10.20) in Race 9 … Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s 3-year-old Blame colt High Value ($7.60) took the lead from $1.5 million yearling Vinco on the far turn and drew away through the stretch to capture his unveiling in Race 7, a maiden special weight for horses ages 3, 4 and 5. The winning time was 1:23.36 over a fast main track … Hardspun Reason ($5.40), racing first time with blinkers for breeder-owner Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds, captured Race 8, an open entry-level allowance for 3-year-olds and up, in 1:48.37 over a firm Kelso turf course. It was the first in three tries on turf and second overall for the 4-year-old Hard Spun gelding … There will be carryovers of $4,942.96 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (Races 5-10) and $986.34 in the $1 Jackpot Super High Five (Race 6) Saturday. First race post time is 12:25 p.m.