Post Time tunes up with another bullet workout
Jaime Rodriguez rides four winners

LAUREL, MD – Last summer, Arrow Speed was claimed by trainer Jamie Ness out of a runner-up effort in a $25,000 “non-two” event at Delaware Park.

Arrow Speed went on a roll for Ness, winning three of five starts with two second-place finishes before being taken for $30,000 on Dec. 14 by trainer Horacio De Paz and Darryl Abramowitz’s DEA Racing Stable.

Arrow Speed couldn’t replicate his success with De Paz, however. He finished eighth of nine in a first-level allowance at Parx on Jan.8 and last of seven in a similar spot on March 4.

Abramowitz and De Paz parted ways, Arrow Speed returned to Ness, and Arrow Speed moved back to the winner’s circle, benefiting from a nice inside-out tracking trip under Jaime Rodriguez to take Sunday’s featured fifth race at Laurel Park, a $49,000 first-level allowance at 1 1/8 miles.

Breaking from post two in the six-horse field, Arrow Speed settled into pocket position as White Socks, and Runandscore set reasonable fractions of 24.83 and 50.24 seconds. Rodriguez angled Arrow Speed three wide at the three-eighths pole after a posted time of 1:15.54, and Arrow Speed did the rest.

The 4-year-old Tapit gelding collared Runthescore at the three-sixteenths, winning by two lengths in 1:55.43 over the good track. Runandscore was 2 ¾ lengths better than beaten favorite Deadpan, who rallied for third after a slow start. Collection Day, Whatahardmanfidead, and White Series completed the order of finish. Roundtop scratched.

Arrow Speed paid $9.60 as the public’s third choice.

“The plan was to break running,” said Rodriguez. “But I broke like two steps slow. I had no problem with it because he can come from off the pace. Once I settled down behind the speed, he was so comfortable. I was waiting for the moment just to let him out and let him rip. When I put him in the clear, he just broke.”

Bred in Kentucky by Tall Oaks Farm and Tapit Syndicate, Arrow Speed is a half-brother to multiple Grade 2-winning turf sprinter Avie’s Flatter, stakes-winning turf router Avie’s Mineshaft, and Grade 3-placed turf router Avie’s Mesa. Their second dam, Fly for Avie, won the Grade 1 E. P. Taylor Stakes going 1 ¼ miles on turf in 2000.

A $160,000 yearling purchase, Arrow Speed made the first nine starts of his career for trainer Juan Avila before being claimed by Ness. It appears he’s found a home in this barn.

*Post Time tunes up with another bullet workout

The popular Post Time breezed for the second time in 2025 on Saturday morning at Fair Hill. The 5-year-old son of Frosted recorded another bullet workout over the dirt track, breezing a half-mile in 48.60 seconds.

Post Time has never been off the board from 15 trips to the starting gate and boasts $1,227,910 in career earnings.

The winner of the Grade 2 Carter Stakes last year at Aqueduct, Post Time ran second in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, third in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes, and second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile for Mrs. Ellen Charles’s Hillwood Stable. He finished third in his most recent start, the Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap at Aqueduct on Dec. 7.

In addition to his win in last year’s Carter, Post Time has notched stakes victories in the Maryland Juvenile, City of Laurel, Jennings, Polynesian, and the Grade 3 General George. All those races came at Laurel Park, where Post Time is unbeaten from seven starts.

Post Time was named Maryland-bred Horse of the Year, Sprinter of the Year, and Older Male in 2024. His connections will receive their awards at the Renaissance Awards Dinner at Laurel Park on Friday, April 11.

*Around the track

*Rodriguez and Ness completed a natural double on the Sunday card when Divine Armor rallied from off the pace to win the sixth race. Rodriguez, the champion jockey at the recently-concluded Laurel Park Winter Meet, rode four winners on the program, with Quit Quay taking the third race for trainer Rudy Sanchez-Salomon, and Heard On Thestreet prevailing in the seventh for Mike Geralis.

*Nominations closed for five stakes races on Saturday, April 19, “Preakness Preview Day” at Laurel Park.

The $150,000 Federico Tesio Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles and the $150,000 Weber City Miss Stakes for sophomore fillies at 1 1/16 miles are “Win Today, See You in May” events.

Any Triple Crown-nominated runner that wins the Federico Tesio earns a spot in the starting gate for the 150th edition of the Grade 1, $2,000,000 Preakness Stakes, the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, run at Pimlico on May 17.

The winner of the Weber City Miss receives an automatic berth in the Grade 2, $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico on Preakness Eve.

The Federico Tesio attracted 23 nominees, including multiple stakes-winner Studlydoright, stakes-winners Pay Billy, Baby Dukes, Pascaline and Sacred Thunder, and Grade 1-placed Filoso.

There were 19 nominations to the Weber City Miss. Among them are Grade 2-placed Liam in the Dust, Grade 3-placed As Catch Can, and stakes-winners Hollywood Beauty, Icona Mama, Safe Trust, and Shkhara Fire.

Laurel will host three $100,000 stakes races on grass that Saturday, the first turf stakes in Maryland in 2025. They are the Dahlia for fillies and mares at one mile, the Henry S. Clark for 3-year-olds and up at one mile, and the King T. Leatherbury for 3-year-olds and upward at 5 ½ furlongs.

*Live racing resumes on Friday, April 11 with an eight-race program. The first post time is 12:10 ET. Laurel Park offers a low 12% takeout on “Value Pick 5” wagers. Both “Value Pick 5” bets offer carryover potential.