Warp Nine a supersonic winner of the co-featured ninth race
Post Time to stand at Northview Stallion Station in 2026

LAUREL, MD—Sometimes the best plan is to have no plan.

“We didn’t even discuss it,” trainer Kenny Cox said about race strategy before Jack’s Legend’s victory in Friday’s co-featured eighth race at Laurel Park, a second-level allowance for 3-year-olds and upward at one mile on the Kelso Turf Course. “To be honest, we didn’t even talk about the horse or the ride.”

Instead, jockey Jevian Toledo played the break aboard Jack’s Legend, went right to the lead, backed the fractions down to a crawl, and sprinted home to beat pace-pressing Sky’s Not Falling by 1 ¼ lengths in 1:35.60 over the firm turf course.

“Kenny always lets me ride the horses the way that I want,” Toledo said. “He’s a great trainer. Sometimes, you plan something, and it doesn’t really work out. The best thing happened today. I was hoping somebody would go, and I could sit just behind, but my horse broke so nicely. I came over, nobody went to me, and he relaxed. I knew he was going to kick on in the last part. The way he relaxed early, they had to really run today to pass me, because he was going to finish up, and he did. He’s a nice horse.”

A 5-year-old gelding bred and owned by Michael Harrison, Jack’s Legend began his career for trainer Michael Trombetta. A debut winner sprinting during the summer of 2023, Jack’s Legend then ran third, beaten a length, in the Maryland Million Turf. It was an impressive feat for such a lightly-raced runner, and Jack’s Legend continued his good string of races with a close runner-up finish in an open first-level allowance.

Jack’s Legend then went away for a long time.

After spending over a year on the sidelines, he returned to the races under Cox’s care and picked up where he left off. He won his third start of the season, a restricted allowance at Colonial on Aug. 23, then finished third, beaten two lengths in his second Maryland Million Turf appearance.

“He had some different injuries,” Cox said before this year’s Jim McKay Maryland Million. “They gave him some time. He went back to Mike [Trombetta], 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.”

The pace was extremely slow on Friday as Jack’s Legend and Sky’s Not Falling strolled through splits of 24.72 and 49.03 seconds. Sky’s Not Falling loomed a danger after six furlongs in 1:12.57, but Jack’s Legend always had a little more to give.

Despite those glacial fractions, stakes-placed Naptown rallied for third, three-quarters of a length behind the runner-up. Hold Out, Stormy Flight, Grade 2 winner Can Group, Pretorian Gold, stakes-winner Tok Tok, and Ruddy Buddy completed the order of finish.

Jack’s Legend paid $7.40 as the race favorite. Elusive Image, Mister Lincoln, National Law, Boppy O, Ruse, and Final Verdict scratched.

“He’s a big horse,” Toledo continued. “He’s got a big stride. When he felt [Sky’s Not Falling], he knew the deal. He picked it up all by himself, and when I asked him in the stretch, he had more in the tank. Everything worked out good.”

Jack’s Legend is by Great Notion, Maryland’s perennial leading stallion. A $70,000 RNA as a yearling, Jack’s Legend is a full brother to Talk Show Man, who captured two editions of the Maryland Million Turf for Harrison. Another full brother, Just Jack, was a state-sired stakes-winner sprinting on dirt at Laurel Park.

Cox said “there’s a good chance” that Jack’s Legend will be freshened over the winter with an eye on 2026, and a potential third try at Jim McKay Maryland Million glory.

“Absolutely,” Cox nodded. “Hopefully, we’ll get him back a little bit earlier in the year. He’s a horse that you can’t overtrain. He’s a big horse. You just can’t overdo it with him.”

*Warp Nine a supersonic winner of the co-featured ninth race

Since being claimed for $30,000 by trainer Harold Wyner out of a maiden claiming victory at Keeneland on April 12, Warp Nine has been a beacon of consistency.

He hit the board in six of his first seven races for Wyner, with the only blemish on that record coming in a turf race at Monmouth Park over the summer.

This afternoon, Warp Nine kept the ball rolling, beating a good field in the co-featured eighth race, a second-level allowance for 3-year-olds and upward at 1 1/16 miles.

Ridden by Frankie Pennington, Warp Nine prompted Crossland through reasonable fractions of 24.41 and 48.81 seconds, opened a clear advantage after three-quarters in 1:12.95, then cruised home to prevail by four lengths in 1:44.73 over the fast track.

Crossland held second, 1 ¾ lengths better than Phantom Speed. Stakes-winners Be Better and beaten favorite Sacred Thunder were next. Boss Logic trailed.

Warp Nine paid $7 to win as the public’s second betting choice.

“We claimed him off Kenny McPeek for $30,000,” Wyner said. “I watched him train out there. He was a big, nice-looking horse, and he was sound. I brought him back to Parx, and he excelled.”

Warp Nine’s tactical speed was beneficial in a race lacking much in the way of established speed.

“I told Frankie to break sharp, get a good position, and see what happens up front,” Wyner stated. “If you find yourself on the lead, just sit chilly, and just let him do his work. I saw him at the three-eighth pole and thought I got the win. He has a very nice stride on him and a very good cruising speed. When he gallops in the morning, he goes a two-minute lick. He just cruises.”

Bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm, Warp Nine is a 4-year-old by Hightail. His third dam, Fleet Renee, was a multiple Grade 1-winning router.

Owned by Alaricorns, Warp Nine has won three of 21 starts, earning $185,953. Wyner is hoping that Warp Nine competes in the Claiming Crown at Churchill Downs on Nov. 15.

*Post Time to stand at Northview Stallion Station in 2026:

Maryland-bred Horse of the Year Post Time will stand his first season at Northview Stallion Station in Chesapeake City, MD., in 2026 for $4,000 live foal.

A gray son of Frosted out of Vielsalm, by Fairbanks, and an earner of nearly $1.5 million, the extremely popular Post Time is campaigned by Mrs. Ellen Charles’s Hillwood Stable LLC.

A stakes-winner every year from two to five, Post Time’s most significant victories came in the Grade 2 Carter Stakes at Aqueduct and Grade 3 General George Stakes at Laurel Park, both in 2024.

That season, Post Time earned Grade 1 placings in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar, as well as Saratoga’s Metropolitan Handicap and Whitney Stakes.

He earned top-three finishes in 21 of 22 starts, with 17 coming in stakes company.

“Post Time represents everything we look for in a stallion prospect,” said David Wade, General Manager of Northview, in a release produced by the stud farm. “He’s sound, fast, correct, and from a family of solid runners. On the track, he broke his maiden going 5 ½ furlongs at two, and went on to win eight of his first nine starts. He didn’t dodge any horses, ran a very impressive second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, and won stakes up to 1 1/8 miles. I always judge a horse by who they beat, and he has finished ahead of Domestic Product, White Abarrio, National Treasure, Muth, and Seize the Grey, to name a few. We’re thrilled to keep him in Maryland and offer him at a fee that presents incredible value to our clients.”

Post Time has current earnings of $1,497,705.

*Around the track:

Trainer Michael Trombetta saddled two turf winners as Mambo Queen ($6.80) rallied from slightly off the pace to grab the second race under Jorge Ruiz, and Souper Williwaw ($5) pressed the pace under Mychel Sanchez to capture the fifth…Ruiz completed a turf double of his own aboard rail-skimming Proudly Hailed ($8) in the sixth race for trainer Jack Sisterson…Live racing resumes Saturday with a 12-race program. The special first post time is 11:50 a.m. ET, and there are two “Value Pick 5” wagers, each with a low 12% takeout rate… Laurel Park proudly hosts the “Craft Beer Festival” on Saturday. Enjoy the best in local Maryland craft brewing on our Trackside Apron. For more information, click here.