Mychel Sanchez wins four races
Brittany Russell barn saddles three winners
LAUREL, MD—“He’s my best friend. He’s my first-born,” said owner-trainer Anthony “T. J.” Aguirre Jr. after 9-year-old Benny Havens splashed home first in Sunday’s opening race at Laurel Park, a $16,000 claimer for 3-year-olds and up who had never won three races.
Due to heavy rainfall over the previous 24 hours, the race was moved from the Exceller Turf Course and contested at 5 ½ furlongs on the main track.
On paper, the surface switch posed an interesting dilemma for handicappers. What to do with Benny Havens, a gelding who hadn’t raced on dirt in more than six years, had never won on the surface, and was a confirmed late-runner in a three-horse field?
Aguirre considered scratching the crotchety veteran, a horse that had acted up badly before the start of his last three races and hadn’t raced since June 7.
“Absolutely,” he said. “And then I went into my handicapping expertise. I [thought] if we could get a three- or four-horse field, then we could win this thing. It could set up for us, because there’s speed [in the race]. And it went according to plan.”
The race went exactly as Aguirre’s script called for, with odds-on favorite Stone Cold Jones and Borletti sparring for the lead through an opening quarter in 22.59 seconds on the sealed, sloppy track. Jaime Rodriguez, riding Benny Havens, had his mount perched outside them, ready to pounce.
“Jaime gave him a patient ride,” Aguirre noted. “He said he was going to keep him clean and let him do the running.”
Once set down for the stretch drive, Benny Havens sealed the deal, drawing away to win by 2 ½ lengths over Borletti in 1:06.97. Stone Cold Jones finished a well-beaten third.
Benny Havens paid $6.20 as the second choice in the wagering.
Bred in Maryland by Douglas Brown’s Little Man Farm, Benny Havens, an Outflanker brother to Aguirre’s multiple stakes-placed turf sprinter Tidewater and a half-brother to stakes-winning Lotsa Mischief, was purchased by Aguirre for $1,500 as a yearling.
He has won three times in 51 starts, but that record doesn’t tell the whole story, as he’s raced for a tag only three times and usually faces tough allowance competition.
“If you look at his past races, when he’s sitting four or five lengths out, he closes and finishes well, whether he wins or gets beaten by a length or a half-length. He always tries,” Aguirre explained.
Although Benny Havens looked good over the wet track today, Aguirre isn’t convinced he’s the next Cigar.
“I guess next time, when it comes off the turf, I’m not afraid of scratches,” he admitted. “Jaime says he runs like a turf horse and feels like one.”
Benny Havens was Aguirre’s first winner when the barn started up and running in 2019.
“He’s everything I’ve ever asked for. He’s a horse who shows up every day and never complains. I know he’s a little rowdy in the afternoons, but that’s just his personality. I told Jaime I entered for [yesterday], but the race didn’t go. It was brought back for [today].”
“Everything happens for a reason.”
*Mychel Sanchez rides four winners
Jockey Mychel Sanchez rode four winners on Sunday’s card, three of which were trained by Brittany Russell.
Russell, Maryland’s leading trainer by victories over the past three years, saddled Silver Strings ($4.80) to a dominant 12 ½-length win in the fifth race, a $30,000 maiden claimer for juvenile fillies. Silver Strings, a daughter of first-crop stallion Nashville, was claimed by trainer Jamie Ness after the race.
Russell and Sanchez came right back in the sixth race, a second-level allowance moved from the turf to the main track. Mizner ($2.40) ran away and hid by 19 ½ lengths. A 3-year-old gelding by Munnings, Mizner has now won his last three starts on dirt.
Barbados Buzz ($8.40) completed the natural triple for Russell and Sanchez, winning the seventh race by 8 ½ lengths. Making his first dirt start after graduating on turf at Colonial Downs, Barbados Buzz is a 3-year-old gelding by Speightstown.
A native of Venezuela, Sanchez enjoyed a breakout year in 2025, posting career-bests in wins (307) and earnings ($11,463,434). He rode 23 stakes winners, including a double at Parx on New Year’s Eve.
Sanchez began riding in the United States in 2013 and has won 2,040 races, earning $71,769,464. He has won more than 200 races each year since 2023.
Sanchez is currently third in the jockey standings this meet, trailing Jaime Rodriguez by two wins and Jorge Ruiz by one.
*Around the track:
*Jockey Jose Vargas rode two winners on Sunday. He guided All Fruits Ripe ($7.80) to a popular victory in the fourth race for trainer Valrie Smith. Vargas then set up a stalking trip on the outside aboard Kiss Me Mo ($3.40) in the eighth race for trainer Kerry Hohlbein.
Live racing resumes Friday with ten races. First post time is 12:00 pm, and there are two “Value Pick 5” wagers with a LOW 12% takeout.
The free “Laurel Park Handicapping Guide” is available on every race day. It features picks, analysis, trainer stats, trip notes, horses to watch, track bias information, and more from The Maryland Jockey Club’s team of handicappers. Friday’s guide is available Thursday evening. Click here to view it.
Oyster Fest returns to Laurel Park on Saturday, October 3. Join us for an afternoon of Chesapeake-region oysters, cold drinks, and live racing. Enjoy oysters from True Chesapeake, Choptank Oyster Company, Tom’s Cove Aqua Farms, and more. Admission is free. Reserve your spot 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’s X account. Click here to watch.