Registers Back-to-Back Hat Tricks at Laurel Park
Nine-Race Program Sunday Begins at 12:25 P.M.

LAUREL, MD – Jaime Rodriguez, who captured three meet titles in Maryland and finished with the most wins among all jockeys at Laurel Park and historic Pimlico Race Course in 2023, is picking up where he left off to start the new year.

Rodriguez, 32, registered his second consecutive hat trick to kick off 2024 on Saturday, winning aboard Omar Comin ($21) in Race 1, Lady Charlotte ($6) in Race 4 and Ashlee’s Ring ($16) in Race 6 for trainers Rudy Sanchez-Salomon, Lacey Gaudet and Elliot Sullivan, respectively.

On Friday, the opener of Laurel’s 38-day winter Heritage Meet, Rodriguez won with Sun Streaming ($6.20), Southern District ($3) and Take a Hint ($3.80), trained respectively by Antonio Machado, Jamie Ness and Gary Capuano.

A native of Puerto Rico, Rodriguez won 166 races and $6,213,458 in purses at Laurel and Pimlico last year, part of a season where he established career highs with 1,102 starters and $8,200,631 in purse earnings, ranking seventh nationally with 237 wins overall.

Rodriguez was leading rider at Laurel’s winter (58 wins), summer (39) and fall (50) meets while also leading the Delaware Park standings for a third consecutive year in both wins (67) and purse earnings ($1.65 million).

Laurel wraps up its first weekend of 2024 Sunday with a nine-race program. Rodriguez is named in six races including Speedyness, part of the favored entry in Race 8, an optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds going one mile. Bred, owned and trained by Ness, Speedyness most recently ran third in the Dec. 2 Maryland Juvenile at Laurel.

Notes: Jockey Jevian Toledo doubled Saturday with Go Sherry Go ($4.80) in Race 3 and Mindtap ($4) in Race 5 … Forest Boyce rode Deeds of Love ($7.80) to victory in Race 8, moving her within six of 1,000 career wins … There will be carryovers of $1,269.76 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (Races 4-9) and $765.52 in the $1 Jackpot Super High Five (Race 6) for Sunday’s nine-race program that begins at 12:25 p.m.