Four Maryland-Bred/Sired Stakes Worth $300,000 in Purses Saturday, Aug. 17

LAUREL, MD – Skeedattle Stable’s multiple graded-stakes winner Just Howard tops 65 Maryland-bred/sired horses nominated to four stakes worth $300,000 in purses on the Maryland Pride Day program Saturday, Aug. 17 at Laurel Park.

In addition to a full card of live racing, fans will be treated to live music; family events including pony rides, petting zoos and face painters; and an outdoor marketplace filled with local Maryland businesses ranging from spirits to soaps to the Baltimore Orioles. A red Maryland Jockey Club t-shirt will also be given away with program purchase, while supplies last.

Maryland Pride Day comes on the final weekend of Laurel’s 43-day summer meet, which wraps up Sunday, Aug. 18. Racing returns to Laurel for its calendar year-ending fall stand starting Friday, Sept. 6 following the Maryland State Fair meet at Timonium that runs through Labor Day, Sept. 2.

The $75,000 Find for 3-year-olds and up and $75,000 All Brandy for fillies and mares 3 and older, both at 1 1/16 miles, are scheduled for Laurel’s world-class turf course. Also on the program are the $75,000 Star de Naskra for 3-year-olds and $75,000 Miss Disco for 3-year-old fillies, each going six furlongs on the main track.

Just Howard, Maryland’s champion 3-year-old male, turf horse and Horse of the Year in 2017, is being pointed to the Find by trainer Graham Motion. The 5-year-old son of champion English Channel snapped a string of hard-luck finishes with his second career Grade 3 triumph in the Oceanport July 20 at Monmouth Park. Just Howard won the Caveat, Find and Commonwealth Derby (G3) in 2017, all at Laurel.

Motion-trained stablemate Nakamura, a gelded son of Kentucky Derby (G1) and Dubai World Cup (G1) winner Animal Kingdom, is also nominated to the Find, most popular among horsemen with 20 nominations. Nakamura has won his last two starts, both in Laurel allowance events, May 4 and June 30 in his most recent outing.

Other prominent Find nominees include defending champion Sonny Inspired; Grade 3-placed Bonus Points, who counts Laurel’s 2018 John B. Campbell and 2017 Maryland Million Classic among his three stakes wins; 2019 Pimlico Special (G3) show finisher Cordmaker, whose three stakes wins have all come at Laurel, most recently in the June 16 Polynesian; O Dionysus and John Jones, each stakes winners on both turf and dirt; and 9-year-old English Minister, a winner of three straight including a record-setting performance over the Laurel turf Aug. 4.

Mike Trombetta, who recently took over the training of Bonus Points, also nominated a pair to the All Brandy in My Sistersledge, the two-time defending Maryland Million Ladies winner coming off a victory by disqualification Aug. 2 at Laurel, and stakes winner Monte Crista.

Also nominated are Todd Pletcher-trained stakes winner Another Broad, a three-time winner at Laurel that ran second by a neck in the 2018 Geisha to fellow All Brandy nominee Victory Rally, trained by Michael Matz; Ghoul’s Night Out, neck winner of the Jameela Stakes July 14 at Laurel; 2017 Weber City Miss winner Goodonehoney, a gutsy optional claiming allowance winner at Laurel Aug. 4; and stakes winner Peach of a Gal.

Scrap Copper, the 2018 James F. Lewis III Stakes winner who ran sixth off a 7 ½-month layoff July 25 at Laurel; and Follow the Dog, who beat Scrap Copper in the 2018 Maryland Million Nursery, are among nominees to the Star de Naskra along with stakes-placed Distant Shore, Sky Magician and Trifor Gold, the latter second to Alwaysmining in the April 20 Federico Tesio.

William Ferrone’s Brucia La Terra, second in the 2018 Frizette (G1) in her second career start but unraced since Feb. 10; Colts Neck Stables’ Introduced, third as the favorite in the Stormy Blues Stakes last out July 14 at Laurel; and Hillwood Stable’s homebred Friend Me Charlie, impressive debut winner July 18 at Laurel in her lone start, top the Miss Disco nominees.