Jockey Carlos Lopez rides 500th winner

LAUREL, MD —Grayson’s Girl was bred in Maryland by Matt Dorman’s 2500 Determined Stud, and the gray daughter of Gift Box was nothing but determined during the stretch drive of Friday’s featured seventh race at Laurel Park, a state-sired allowance for fillies and mares at six furlongs. As is her habit, Grayson’s Girl broke near the back of the pack, but jockey Jevian Toledo nudged her forward to track the pace from the pocket. At the same time, speedy odds-on favorite Great Andrei showed the way through a reasonable opening quarter in 23.31 seconds.

Great Andrei dismissed early pace rival Gilda’s Girl, shrugged off Divine Works’ challenge after a half-mile in 46.71, then opened a seemingly insurmountable 2 1/2 length lead at the furlong marker. After angling Grayson’s Girl to the far outside at the quarter pole, Toledo pointed his mount in the right direction, and they closed the gap. Great Andrei showed signs of fatigue by drifting outward, and Grayson’s Girl stuck her neck out to score by a half-length in 1:11.07 over the fast track. Divine Works finished another 7 1⁄2 lengths behind in third. Then came Gilda’s Girl, I Can Do It, Diamond Sue, Weekend Wife, and Christy My Love.

Grayson's Girl, the second choice in the wagering, paid $6.60 to win.

Purchased by John Middleton for $50,000 as a yearling, Grayson’s Girl is out of Drinking Dixie, a Quality Road mare that was stakes-placed racing one mile at Prairie Meadows. The second dam, Made Up, earned two stakes-placings routing on dirt.

Grayson’s Girl hit the board in both starts last year, then graduated by eight lengths in a maiden special weight for 3-year-old fillies on April 11. She cracked the top three in her four subsequent starts, including a runner-up effort in the restricted Miss Disco Stakes at Colonial Downs on July 12. “She’s been knocking on the door for a while,” said winning trainer Brittany Russell. “She’s had some tough luck, tough trips, all that, but she’s just a tough, tough girl who loves her job and always shows up.”

Russell believes that this six-furlong distance might be Grayson Girl’s optimal trip.

“It’s funny because with her running style, you’d think she wants to go a route,” she explained. “But, I think she’s a bit distance-limited. I think she’s a closing sprinter. She wants to settle and make a run.”

Grayson’s Girl has never been off the board in eight starts and has earned $121,680.

*Jockey Carlos Lopez rides 500th winner

Jockey Carlos Lopez reached a career milestone at Laurel Park on Friday when he notched his 500th victory aboard Forward Move in the fourth race.

Lopez booted home his first winner in North America at Pimlico aboard Wonder Gal on July 3, 2021, and quickly became a mainstay in the Mid-Atlantic region. He rode 156 winners in 2022, then hadbhis best season the following year, capturing 160 races with purse earnings of $4,527,451.

Lopez is riding in fine form in 2025 with 18% winners from 373 starters for $1,996,569 in earnings. He has won stakes races this year at Charles Town, Timonium, and Delaware. Two of his nine lifetime stakes wins came at Laurel Park with Gold Digging Broad in the 2023 All Brandy and Shaft’s Bullet in last year’s Harrison E. Johnson Memorial.

Forward Move, trained by Jamie Ness, was beaten a combined 69 1⁄4 lengths in his prior two starts out of town. Lopez encouraged the 5-year-old gelding to the lead from the inside post, and they drew off to prevail by 1 1⁄2 lengths in the $7,500 “beaten” claiming race for 3-year-olds and upward at six furlongs.

*Laurel Park hosts “Cigars On the Rail” on Saturday

Tickets are available for “Cigars on the Rail,” presented by WBAL NewsRadio 1050 AM. Enjoy premium cigars, an open bar, a trackside luncheon, and great live horse racing on Saturday between noon and 5 pm ET.

Space is intentionally limited to 150 guests to maintain an intimate, high-quality experience.

Click here to learn more.

*Around the track:

Live racing resumes on Saturday with a nine-race program highlighted by the $100,000 Weather Vane Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs. The first post time is 12:10 pm ET…Preakness Stakes runner-up Gosger is the 4 to 1 third-choice in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1,000,000 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx. Reserve your spot for our weekly “Bubbly Brunch Sundays”. Kick back with friends over delicious brunch favorites and bottomless mimosas in our vibrant Stone Bar Restaurant and Bar. Sunday Brunch begins at 11:00 am ET and runs through the final live race at Laurel Park…Register for the Autumn Handicapping Tournament, a hybrid on-track and online event on Saturday, September 27. It’s a live money contest with a $500 buy-in. Top prizes include cash, a full seat to the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, and two National Handicapping Championship Prize Packs. For more on upcoming events at Laurel Park, click here.