Trainer Trombetta and jockey Sanchez team up for early Daily Double.
Striker Has Dial gearing up for seasonal debut
Fayes Heart earns 5% Maryland Million Maiden Bonus

LAUREL, MD—Last year, Yedsit Hazlewood went from an unknown to a runner-up in the Eclipse Award balloting for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey.

Will 2026 be Jose Vargas’s year?

Vargas, a native of Venezuela, secured three more wins at Laurel Park on Friday. Since March 1, he has ridden 17 winners from 51 mounts, maintaining a strong 33% strike rate.

Vargas scored his first win on the opening day of the Laurel Park spring meet in the third race, guiding Nothinlesswilldo ($8) to a maiden victory for trainer Mary Eppler. He then followed up just thirty minutes later, leading Red Spitfire to a stalk-and-pounce win in the fourth for trainer Annette Eubanks.

Vargas was aggressive in the featured sixth race, a $49,000 first-level allowance for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles. He was determined to take the lead aboard trainer W. Thomas McMahon’s Diamond N Dress ($5.20), opened up a four-length advantage after an opening quarter mile clocked in 23.57 seconds, then held off a prolonged challenge from odds-on favorite Ixchel to win by 1 ¾ lengths in 1:48.33 on the muddy, sealed track.

Vargas began riding in the United States in 2024, securing wins on two of his three mounts. In his first full season last year, Vargas rode 18 winners and earned $615,262, drawing some attention here in Maryland.

“He went to Tampa last year, rode some at Delaware, and came here in the fall,” his agent Kevin Witte said after Vargas rode three winners at Laurel on March 14. “He’s young, and he’s learning every day, and he’s improving all the time. I think he has a bright future.”

Vargas, a well-known gym enthusiast who trains for hours every day, is expected to spend a lot of his summer at Delaware Park.

“He is getting so much better,” trainer Kieron Magee said about Vargas after the apprentice rider won last Sunday’s feature race aboard longshot Kuaga. “I told him once [Hazlewood loses the bug], that [he’s] in.”

As for Diamond N Dress, she was the only multiple-race winner heading into today’s race. A chestnut filly by Connect, she has won three of her last four races and has performed well since being stretched out to a route of ground.

Bred in Kentucky by Wasabi Ventures and Greenspring Mares, Diamond N Dress is out of Seville’s Princess, by Seville. She has won four times from 13 starts, earning $81,394.

*Trainer Trombetta and jockey Sanchez team up for early daily double

Trainer Michael Trombetta and jockey Mychel Sanchez kicked off the spring meet with a bang, winning the early daily double with Old Fashion Candy ($8) and Amy’s Music ($2.60), respectively.

Old Fashion Candy, a 4-year-old filly by Game Winner, won her maiden in her third career start. Sanchez broke well, rated back off the pace, then moved up the inside to win by a head. Old Fashion Candy was claimed by trainer Anthony Farrior for $16,000.

Amy’s Music, a 4-year-old gelding by Maclean’s Music, settled back in last, made a three-wide bid on the turn, then splashed home 5 ¼ lengths better than Lifting. Amy’s Music was claimed by trainer Phil Capuano for $30,000.

*Striker Has Dial gearing up for seasonal debut

Striker Has Dial, unraced since winning the Endine Stakes at Delaware Park on September 27, breezed a half-mile in 48.80 seconds at Laurel on Wednesday morning. A 5-year-old mare by Dialed In, Striker Has Dial is trained by Horacio De Paz.

“She’s coming along nicely,” De Paz said Friday morning. “We gave her a little break, just freshened her up after having a nice campaign. She needed a freshener, no physical injuries. She’s coming back in good form.”

De Paz plans to have Striker Has Dial compete in an allowance race before aiming for the $125,000 Skipat Stakes on the Preakness undercard. Striker Has Dial finished second in last year’s Skipat, 1½ lengths behind Zeitlos.

*Around the track:

Maryland-bred maiden winner Fayes Heart earned a 5% bonus on Friday. The bonus program, which began on March 1, rewards Maryland Million-eligible horses that win maiden races within the state. Only horses sired by Maryland Million stallions, conceived in Maryland, and fully nominated and certified for the Maryland Million program qualify. Stallions must have been nominated in the year the horse was conceived. Fayes Heart is a 3-year-old gelding by Irish War Cry out of Gracie’s Hero, by Great Notion. A homebred owned by No Guts No Glory Farm, Fayes Heart is trained by John Robb.

Live racing resumes Saturday with an 11-race card featuring four $100,000 stakes races. The first post is at 12:00 pm ET. Additionally, Laurel Park offers two “Value Pick 5” wagers, each with a low 12% takeout rate. To read the stakes advances, click here.

The free “Laurel Park Handicapping Guide” is available on every race day. It provides picks, analysis, trainer stats, trip notes, horses to watch, track bias info, and more from The Maryland Jockey Club’s team of handicappers. Saturday’s guide is available. Click here to view it.

Never miss a second of the action on the Laurel Park YouTube channel. Click here to watch full pan and head-on replays.

Watch “Today at the Races,” the Maryland Jockey Club’s morning handicapping show every racing day at 11 am ET on the Maryland Jockey Club X account. Click here to watch.