Spring Meet Opens Saturday with Nine Stakes Worth $950K
Federico Tesio for 3YO, Weber City Miss for 3YOF April 15

LAUREL, MD – Though winless on Friday’s closing day program, jockey Jaime Rodriguez and trainer Jamie Ness formally claimed their meet titles as Laurel Park lowered the curtain on its calendar year-opening winter stand.

Rodriguez, 32, was blanked on three mounts but finished with a 58-49 advantage over apprentice Jeiron Barbosa, who captured Friday’s opener aboard Cloud Music ($4.20) and Race 7 with Prove Right ($4.60). It is the first riding title in Maryland for Rodriguez, Delaware Park’s leading rider in 2021 and 2022 who is 27 away from 2,000 career victories.

Ness, 48, went winless with two starters and wound up with a four-win cushion, 34-30, over Brittany Russell, who won with Blowthruyelowlites ($6) in Race 5 and Strong Finish ($5) in Race 8. Ness now owns six Maryland training titles, three each at Laurel and historic Pimlico Race Course, and first since Pimlico’s spring 2019 stand.

Together, Rodriguez and Ness won 29 of 101 races at the meet for purses of $1,001,103. Rodriguez was also tops with $1.925 million in purse earnings while Ness was second to Russell with $1.233 million. Ness’ Jagger Inc. and partner Morris Kernan Jr. also finished as leading owner with 10 wins.

Laurel will have nine races Saturday, opening day of a 21-day spring meet that runs Thursday-Sunday through May 7 with the exception of Easter Sunday, April 9. Post time will be 12:25 p.m., with a special 12:10 p.m. post on Kentucky Derby (G1) Day, May 6.

Saturday’s feature comes in Race 6, a maiden special weight for 3-year-old fillies sprinting seven furlongs. The narrow 3-1 program favorite is Brereton C. Jones’ homebred Sister Cloudy, a bay daughter of Grade 1-winning multi-millionaire Collected entered to make her debut for Russell.

Ginger Girl, owned and trained by Joanne Shankle, exits a half-length loss when second in debut in a 5 ½-furlong maiden claimer Feb. 24 at Laurel. Trainer Graham Motion will send out Alpha Delta Stables’ Dynamism, a homebred daughter of champion Uncle Mo.

Also beginning Saturday, Laurel Park will introduce a $1 Jackpot Super High 5 wager in Race 6 every live race day.

In the Jackpot Super High 5, the jackpot is paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with each of the first five winners in exact order. On days when there is no unique ticket, 50 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with all five winners while 50 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

If there is no ticket will all five finishers in exact order, the entire pool will be carried over to the next day’s Jackpot Super High Five.

Laurel’s spring meet offers nine stakes worth $950,000 in purses led by the $125,000 Federico Tesio for 3-year-olds and $125,000 Weber City Miss for 3-year-old fillies, both scheduled for Saturday, April 15 as a prelude to Preakness Weekend May 19 and 20 at historic Pimlico Race Course.

For the seventh straight year, the 1 1/8-mile Tesio will offer an automatic berth to the 148th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 20 for Triple Crown-nominated horses. It is the last of Laurel’s series of stakes for 3-year-olds, following the seven-furlong Spectacular Bid, one-mile Miracle Wood and Private Terms at about 1 1/16 miles.

Triple Crown-nominated Prince of Jericho captured the Spectacular Bid Jan. 21 and was second to Coffeewithchris in the Feb. 18 Miracle Wood. With Prince of Jericho sitting out, Coffeewithchris ran second to Blue Grass (G1)-bound Hayes Strike in the March 18 Private Terms.

Following the six-furlong Xtra Heat, seven-furlong Wide Country and one-mile Beyond the Wire, the Weber City Miss provides the winner with an automatic berth to the 99th Black-Eyed Susan (G2) May 19. L Street Lady captured the Jan. 21 Xtra Heat and was sixth behind Stonewall Star in the Feb. 18 Wide Country. Lady Lowery captured the Beyond The Wire March 18 and is being pointed to the Eight Belles (G1) May 5 at Churchill Downs.

Also on the April 15 program are the $100,000 Frank Y. Whiteley for 3-year-olds and up sprinting seven furlongs, and $100,000 Heavenly Cause for fillies and mares 3 and up going one mile. Nominations to all four stakes are due Saturday.

Five $100,000 stakes are on tap Saturday, April 22, including the first three scheduled for Laurel’s world-class turf course – the Henry S. Clark for 3-year-olds and up and Dahlia for fillies and mares 3 and older, both going one mile, and the 5 ½-furlong King T. Leatherbury, also for 3-year-olds and up.

On the main track will be the 1 1/8-mile Native Dancer for 3-year-olds and up, and six-furlong Primonetta for fillies and mares 3 and older.

Notes: Jockey Jevian Toledo tripled Friday aboard Top Boss ($3.20) in Race 2, Blowthruyelowlites ($6) in Race 5 and Strong Finish ($5) in Race 8 … It was the fifth win from nine starts at the meet for 5-year-old Khozan gelding Top Boss, owned and trained by David Mohan … Brittany Russell trains both Blowthruyelowlites and Strong Finish … Apprentice Jeiron Barbosa and trainer James Chapman teamed up for a pair of winners, Cloud Music ($4.20) in Race 1 and Prove Right ($4.60) in Race 7. Both horses are co-owned by Chapman and Steve Tsujimoto … Third in the 2022 Remsen (G2), Prove Right covered six furlongs in 1:10.42 to snap a three-race losing streak and win for the second time in as many starts at Laurel … Alex Kazdan’s Masterwork ($7.80) took a three-length lead into the stretch and powered home a 5 ¾-length winner of Friday’s Race 3 maiden special weight for 3-year-old fillies in 1:46.86 for about 1 1/16 miles over a fast main track. It was the third start for the daughter of Mastery and first since being claimed for $45,000 out of a fourth-place finish sprinting seven furlongs March 19 at Laurel … There were mandatory payouts of $289.46 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6, $105.15 in the 50-cent Late Pick 5 and $1,591.20 in the $1 Super Hi-5 wagers.