Downtown Mama Scores Maiden Win Sunday at Laurel
Downtown Mama Scores Maiden Win Sunday at Laurel
3-Year-Old Filly Gives Trainer Rice 21st Meet Victory
Rainbow 6, Late Pick 5 Carryovers For Friday
LAUREL, MD – Trainer Linda Rice continued her hot hand at Laurel Park’s winter-spring meet when Lady Sheila Stable’s Downtown Mama rolled to a three-quarter length maiden victory in her career debut Sunday.
Purchased for $440,000 as a 2-year-old in training last April, Downtown Mama ($5.40) went off as the 8-5 favorite in a field of eight 3-year-old fillies, running six furlongs in 1:11.25 over a muddy main track in the $40,000 maiden special weight sprint.
It was the 21st win from 41 starts at the meet for New York-based Rice, good for third in the standings behind Claudio Gonzalez and Kieron Magee, each tied at 25. Rice ranks first in purse earnings with $711,180.
Downtown Mama broke on top from Post 8 before being settled back into third on the outside by jockey Horacio Karamanos as Toby Girl and Tell Me More battled through a quarter-mile in 22.81 seconds and a half in 46.67. Kept in the clear three wide, Downtown Mama moved up to challenge for the lead rounding the far turn and hooked up with Toby Girl after straightening for home. The two brushed slightly in the final eighth before Downtown Mama edged clear.
“Linda told me try to be ready because she doesn’t break good in the morning, so try to get a good break and don’t send her to the lead. Just keep a steady hand, let her be and make one move,” Karamanos said. “She broke really sharp so I let her pick it up and then I took her back a little bit. I saw the speed inside go and I sit third nicely and when I asked her she looked around a little bit. She started to run a little spotty so I hit her a couple times and she gave me a kick. She was a little green but she has lot of room for improvement.”
Toby Girl stayed on for second 1 ¾ lengths ahead of She’s Achance Too.
Rainbow 6, Late Pick 5 Carryovers for Friday
Live racing returns to Laurel Park on Friday with carryovers in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 and 50-cent Late Pick 5 wagers.
No one selected all six winners in the Rainbow 6 Sunday, growing the carryover jackpot to $2,671.83. Tickets with five of six winners returned $98.90.
The Late Pick 5, offering an industry-low 12 percent takeout, also went unsolved Sunday to produce a carryover of $4,898.10. Tickets with four of five winners were worth $32.
The Rainbow 6 spans Races 5-10 on Friday, with the Late Pick 5 covering Races 6-10. First race post time is 1:10 p.m.
Notes: Jockey Trevor McCarthy added two wins to his meet-leading totals Sunday, aboard Make My Saturday ($10) in the third race and He’s One Wild Dude ($10.40) in the fifth. Jockey Forest Boyce rode back-to-back winners in the eighth with Whatifiwaswilling ($8.20) and ninth with Tricky Escape ($18.20), while Steve Hamilton also had a riding double atop Sunrise Sunset ($5.80) in the second and Dukin’ With Dale ($8) in the 10th.
