Preakness Preview Day on Saturday

LAUREL, MD—As the horses circled the starting gate before Friday’s featured third race at Laurel Park, a $75,000 open allowance race for 3-year-olds at six furlongs, Top Manipulator grew impatient with the wait.

He reared up, almost unseating jockey Forest Boyce, and bolted the wrong way on the clubhouse turn.

“He walked up to the gate, and he was fine,” Boyce said after Top Manipulator regained his composure, then ran down odds-on favorite Crossingthechannel, posting a $57.80 number on the tote board. “[When they] turn them away, and they’re sitting on go, you’re in trouble. I was lucky I stayed on him because I was hanging off one side for a second.”

Although Top Manipulator entered the race in excellent form, having won his last two races, he faced a tall task on paper.

Odds-on favorite Crossingthechannel had won his last two starts, including a 9 ½-length romp in a restricted allowance race at Colonial.

Hollywood Import won two consecutive sprint stakes at Laurel Park before finishing fourth in the Private Terms Stakes after being stretched to two turns.

Magic Wallet was unbeaten as a 2-year-old, winning Delaware’s Dover Stakes in his final start of the season.

Our Day Will Come had a 50% win rate with six wins in twelve starts.

As expected, Crossingthechannel cleared to the lead and the inside from his far wide post. The pace was moderate, with Crossingthechannel throwing down splits of 22.95 and 45.66 seconds, but Boyce wouldn’t let him get too far ahead.

“He broke so sharp, I think because of what happened,” Boyce said. “I didn’t want to be that close, but you have to ride the break.”

Crossingthechannel led to the sixteenth pole, but Boyce prompted Top Manipulator to change leads, something the gray gelding hadn’t done in his previous two starts.

“We needed to [change leads] after the way we warmed up,” Boyce explained. “Fortunately, he did everything else right.”

The lead change energized Top Manipulator. Tail flashing, he collared Crossingthechannel and forged by to prevail by a half-length.

Our Day Will Come rallied to second, with Magic Wallet another three-quarters of a length back in third. Crossingthechannel faltered badly to fourth, causing no shortage of agitation for an unlucky bridge jumper. Hollywood Import trailed.

Top Manipulator completed the distance in 1:13.02 on the fast track.

“He ran very well,” Boyce added. “Goodness, he finished strong.”

Top Manipulator, a homebred owned by Mrs. E Allen Murray Jr’s Murmur Farm, is a Blofeld full brother to the multiple stakes-placed Bold Diversion.

“I’ve had the whole family,” trainer Tim Keefe said after Top Manipulator won a first-level allowance on February 13. “They’re four of them now, and they’re all a little different. They all come along at their own pace and take a little time. [Top Manipulator] is still learning every time he runs.”

Top Manipulator, a winner in three of four races with lifetime earnings of $111,060, is being considered for the $150,000 Chick Lang Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16.

*Preakness Preview Day on Saturday

Live racing resumes Saturday with “Preakness Preview Day,” featuring a 12-race program with full fields, the “Preakness Preview Day Handicapping Challenge,” five stakes races totaling $600,000 in purses, and “Win Today, See You in May” qualifying races.

The first post is at 12:00 pm ET. Laurel Park also offers two “Value Pick 5” wagers, each with a low 12% takeout.

To read the race advances, click here and here.

The “Preakness Preview Day Handicapping Challenge” is a hybrid on-site and online handicapping contest with a $500 buy-in, half of which goes to a live-money bankroll.

Players may participate at Laurel Park with on-site registration beginning at 11 am ET on Saturday, or online via Xpressbet, TwinSpires, and TVG/4NJBETS. Cash prizes are awarded to the top five finishers. The top three finishers may choose either one full seat in the 2026 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge or one of two prize packs for the 2027 National Horseplayers Championship.

The five stakes are highlighted by two “Win Today, See You in May” qualifiers. Any Triple Crown-nominated runner who wins the $150,000 Federico Tesio for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles will automatically earn a starting gate spot in the Grade 1, $2,000,000 Preakness, the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

The winner of the $150,000 Weber City Miss for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles receives an automatic berth in the Grade 2, $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico on Preakness Eve.

Maryland’s first three turf stakes of the year are part of “Preakness Preview Day” festivities. The $100,000 Henry Clark is for 3-year-olds and up at one mile, and the $100,000 King T. Leatherbury is for 3-year-olds and up at 5 ½ furlongs. The $100,000 Dahlia is for fillies and mares at one mile.

“Preakness Preview Day” is presented by John Deere.

*Around the track:

Apprentice rider Yedsit Hazlewood, who currently leads the nation in wins, added two more this afternoon. Hazlewood, 18, the runner-up in last year’s Eclipse Award voting for Outstanding Apprentice Rider, got on the board in the fourth race with Lien On Her ($9.20) for trainer Hugh McMahon. Hazlewood’s second win came in the finale aboard Bold Endeavor ($3.60) for trainer Jamie Ness.

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.

Reserve your spot for our weekly “Bubbly Brunch Sundays.” Kick back with friends over delicious brunch favorites and bottomless mimosas at our vibrant Stone Bar Restaurant and Bar. Sunday Brunch starts at 11:00 am ET. For more information, click here.

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.