Jose Vargas notches three victories
Cross of Valor earns Maryland Million Maiden Bonus

LAUREL, MD— The popular Witty made his 7-year-old debut a winning one in Friday’s co-feature at Laurel Park, a $56,000 off-turf allowance race for 3-year-olds and up over 5 ½ furlongs.

Although Witty has earned most of his $947,282 on turf, he is also a very capable dirt performer. Earlier in his career, he won Parx’s restricted Pennsylvania Nursery and Laurel’s Spectacular Bid by a combined 13 ¼ lengths in consecutive starts.

Once Witty switched to turf, the gray gelding raised his game, sweeping the restricted Ben’s Cat Stakes and the Maryland Million Turf Sprint, both at Laurel Park, in 2023.

The following year, Witty won the King T. Leatherbury Stakes at Laurel. In 2025, Witty captured the Jim McKay Turf Sprint at Pimlico and the Van Clief Stakes at Colonial.

On Friday afternoon, Witty broke from the rail post position under Jeiron Barbosa and soon angled off the inside to track the leaders while racing three wide from third. Barbosa asked his mount for a run coming off the turn, and Witty’s class came to the fore.

He swept past Where’s Ray and favored Saxton to win by 1 ¼ lengths in 1:04.39 over fast going. Saxton was second, 4 ¾ lengths ahead of Where’s Ray. Incinerator trailed throughout.

Witty returned $6 to win as the second choice in the betting.

"I was really sad they came off the grass today, but he wanted to run so badly,” said trainer Elizabeth Merryman. “He's obviously a nice dirt horse. The one thing he hates about dirt is having it in his face. Barbosa did a nice job letting him drift to the outside and staying out of the dirt.”

One of the reasons Witty resents kickback is that he almost lost his eye while racing on the dirt at Parx as a 3-year-old.

Witty has overcome significant adversity in his career. After finishing third in Colonial’s Da Hoss Stakes on September 6, the son of Great Notion went to the sidelines for the rest of 2025.

“He wrenched his ankle last fall, and we decided to give him a longer winter break because we’d be pressing to get back for anything last fall,” Merryman said. “So, we just checked him out for the whole winter. He was at my house, turned out with a bunch of other horses, living the life. He’s a sweetheart on the farm.”

Witty is a true rags-to-riches story. Merryman acquired his dam, the Congrats mare Zeezee Zoomzoom, at no cost.

“A girl who used to ride for me, a lady named Kim Brette, was an awesome horseperson. It was like riding with your best friend every day,” Merryman said. “She was in Florida working for a vet down there, and she had a friend who had the mare. The mare had bowed a tendon, and they were looking for her to have a home, either as a broodmare or as a riding horse.”

Brette felt that Zeezee Zoomzoom would fit Merryman’s breeding program.

“I ran the pedigree, and I thought I’d take a shot sight unseen,” she said. “We sent her to Kentucky, and bred her to Mizzen Mast, so she came home to me carrying Caravel.”

Caravel was a revelation, winning 15 of 26 starts and earning $1,983,327. Merryman sold her for $500,000 in 2021, and she later beat males in two Grade 1 turf sprints, the Jaipur Stakes at Belmont and the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland.

Merryman mentioned Woodbine’s Grade 2, $200,000 Highlander Stakes at five furlongs as a possible next race for Witty, who finished second in the 2024 edition, which was run at six furlongs.

*Jose Vargas wins three races

Apprentice jockey Jose Vargas rode three winners at Laurel on March 14, repeated the feat on April 3, and completed another hat trick on Friday’s card.

Since March 8, Vargas, a native of Argentina, has ridden 36 winners from 163 starters, yielding a 22% strike rate and a positive return on investment for punters who blindly backed all of his mounts during that period.

Vargas took the bull by the horns in the day’s opener, grabbing the early lead aboard Back Wall Bandit ($2.60) for trainer John Robb.

He used completely different tactics in the fourth race, rallying widest aboard Red Spitfire ($3.60) for trainer Annette Eubanks.

Vargas swept both match races on the card, winning the fifth aboard Straight to Water ($3.20) for Linda Albert.

Vargas is currently tied for second in the jockey standings with veterans Jorge Ruiz and Jeiron Barbosa, seven wins behind leader Yedsit Hazlewood.

*Around the track:

Maryland-bred maiden winner Cross of Valor earned a 5% bonus on Friday. The bonus program, which began on March 1, rewards Maryland Million-eligible horses that win maiden races in 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. Cross of Valor is a 4-year-old filly by Blofeld out of Sweet Valor, by No Armistice. A homebred owned by HH Stables, Cross of Valor is trained by Ferris Allen III.

Barbosa earned his second victory of the afternoon in the co-featured eighth race aboard Twelve Treasures ($37.40) for trainer Renaldo Richards.

Jockey Mychel Sanchez rode a natural double on Friday. Sanchez led from start to finish aboard Cross of Valor ($5.80) in the sixth race for trainer Ferris Allen, then repeated with trainer Hamilton Smith’s Jolly by Golly ($8) in the seventh.

Live racing resumes Saturday with an 11-race card featuring two “Value Pick 5” wagers, each with a low 12% takeout rate.

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.

Join us next Saturday for the “Belmont Stakes Watch Party” at Laurel Park. Gates open at 10:45 AM, and advance wagering on the full card is available at Saratoga. Enjoy food and drink specials, six Grade 1 races from Saratoga, including the third jewel of racing’s Triple Crown, and action-packed live racing at Laurel Park. For more information, visit here.

Tickets are available for “Tacos & Margaritas at Laurel Park” on Sunday, June 7, between 1 PM and 4 pm. Enjoy great food, exciting live racing, and a relaxing social atmosphere. For menu and ticket information, visit 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.