After surviving a steward's inquiry following a victory in the Maryland Million Ladies last year but being placed second upon review of the Maryland Racing Commission in May, Vivian Rall's homebred Epic Idea left no questions Saturday, driving between horses entering the stretch to win the $100,000 Maryland Million Ladies by a half-length over Maldives Model at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md. It was another three-quarters of a length to Judi Blue Eyes in third.

A 5-year-old mare by Great Notion trained by Michael Merryman and ridden by Daniel Centeno, Epic Idea covered a firm 1 1/8-mile turf course in 1:49.46.

“It's big redemption for us,” said Merryman after the race. “I have to bite my tongue a little bit right now because everyone knows that (the disqualification) was not right. But all the credit to the breeder, Vivian Rall. She's one of the best horsemen in Maryland. Credit to my mom for bringing this horse along with us…. just a credit to all the nice horsemen we have behind this filly.”

Breaking alertly from the gate, Epic Idea was rated fourth along the inside entering the first turn and down the backstretch by Centeno while longshot Tipsy Chatter set fractions of :23.63, :47.89, and 1:12.04. But entering the stretch, Centeno moved Epic Idea off the rail and outside a tiring Tipsy Chatter and outside Brushing to take the lead and the Maryland Million Ladies.

Epic Idea came into the Ladies off a third-place finish at 5 ½ furlongs Sept. 30. “She came flying last time,” Merryman said.

The race reunited Epic Idea with Centeno, who had ridden the mare last in October of 2020.

“If you look back at her form, the best race she ever ran was with Centeno,” Merryman said. “We wanted to win so I made him fly up from Tampa to ride her.”

Said Centeno: “I talked to Mike and he said she was training really good. She sprinted the last race and we were going back to long. I told him we had a little bit of speed outside, and she always breaks sharp, so going to the first turn she's going to be right there. She broke really sharp, and she got a perfect trip. I found some room turning for home and she finished strong.”

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A 5-year-old Great Notion mare, Epic Idea led every step of the way in the 2020 Ladies to edge Gennie Highway by three-quarters of a length. She survived a steward's inquiry following the race but was placed second upon review of the Maryland Racing Commission in May.

Epic Idea made her 2021 debut in the $100,000 The Very One May 14 at historic Pimlico Race Course where she ran up against subsequent Grade 3 winner Caravel, finishing eighth by less than four lengths. She has run third in back-to-back turf sprints, including a half-length loss to next-out winner Polished Gal in a Laurel allowance Sept. 30.

“Epic Idea has been training great,” trainer Michael Merryman said. “Hopefully we have her ready to go two turns. The way the races set up, we sprinted the last two races and she ran well in both. It's a bit tougher field than last year, so we'll see how it plays out.”

Daniel Centeno gets the riding assignment from Post 4.

Hillwood Stable's 3-year-old homebred filly Misty's Banshee will be making just her third career start and first in a stakes in the Ladies for fall meet-leading trainer Brittany Russell. A daughter of Golden Lad out of the Malibu Moon mare Misty in Malibu, she exits a front-running triumph Sept. 23 at Laurel in a one-mile maiden claimer originally carded for the grass.

“The last time she ran great, and I think she'll love the turf. I know it's a lot to ask off a maiden win, but we've always thought highly of her ability. It's a matter of getting her brain right,” Russell said. “We've always really liked this filly, but she has been a [challenge] to get to the races. She's had a tough path, but I think we finally got her on the right track.

“Her mother was a turf horse and she trains like she would like the turf. She liked that tight, sealed track the day she broke her maiden when it came off, if that is any indication,” she added. “You hope she's better on the turf.”

Kevin Gomez, up for each of her first two starts, both also against older horses, rides from Post 7.

Bonuccelli Racing's Breviary will be racing first time off the claim for trainer Kenny Cox, who took the 4-year-old filly for $25,000 out of a one-mile event Oct. 7 at Laurel. She has three career wins but is 0-for-4 lifetime on turf including a sixth in last year's Ladies, when she was beaten 3 ¾ lengths.

“When we went back and looked at her turf races, every time she ran it seemed like she was pretty far back and the winner went wire to wire and didn't back up enough for her,” Cox said. “We're going to go ahead and take a chance. We're going to try and get her to lay a little closer. Last year she ran in it for the other connections and got beat [3 ¾] lengths to the horse that won that went wire to wire. She had to make up a lot of ground. I know we're taking a shot but I don't think it's out of the question that she can't run well in there.”

Jevian Toledo has the call in the Ladies for a second straight year, breaking from Post 2.

The 5-2 program favorite is Burke, Campbell and Picarello's I Love You, coming out of a 7 ¼-length open allowance romp going one mile Sept. 11 on the Laurel turf. She owns four wins and two seconds from eight lifetime tries on the grass and has a record of 2-2-1 in five starts since being claimed for $160,000 in February.

Holly's Lady, Maldives Model, Tipsy Chatter, Artful Splatter, Sally's Mustang, Fool Yourself, Amplio Esquema, Judi Blue Eyes, Brushing and also-eligibles Awesome Jazz and Good Life Cider complete the field.

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The 15th running of the one-mile G3 BWI Turf Cup for 3-year-olds and up anchored four grass stakes worth $500,000 in purses, following wins by Indian Lake in the $100,000 Bald Eagle Derby for 3-year-olds and Can the Queen in the $100,000 Sensible Lady Turf Dash and Tightly Twisted in the $100,000 Big Dreyfus, both for fillies and mares 3 years old and up.

Ridden for the first time by Victor Carrasco for trainer Mike Maker, Field Pass ($3.40) earned his seventh career win and fourth in graded company after the Grade 3 Transylvania on turf and Grade 3 Ontario Derby and Grade 3 Jeff Ruby on synthetics last year.

“We're obviously happy with the win. We had a few anxious moments there, but we're happy he got through and got there,” Maker said by phone from Saratoga. “There weren't a whole lot of instructions. We basically said, 'He's the class of the field, get to the wire first,' and they did.”

The winning time was 1:35.12 over a firm turf course. Talk Or Listen, second by a length in the Grade 2 Dinner Party May 15 at Pimlico, trailed runner-up Ramsey Solution by 1 ½ lengths with Posterity another 3 ¾ lengths back. Graded-stakes winners Pixelate and English Bee were scratched.

Jockey Mychel Sanchez and Ramsey Solution broke on the outside and were intent on the lead, with Field Pass on the rail and Talk Or Listen with Daniel Centeno on their right hip. The early fractions were sensible, going :24.59 for a quarter-mile and :48.33 for the half.

“I saw on the first turn to the backside, Mychel was trying to keep his horse inside and he's fighting with him to keep him on the rail. I had Centeno on my outside with [Talk Or Listen] and I'm just waiting and holding because all my horse wants to do is go. I'm like, 'No, there's not enough room. It's too early yet,'” Carrasco said.

“They didn't give me many instructions. They said, 'Don't fight with him. If [Ramsey Solution] wants to go, let him go. Come around and stalk him, don't let him go free,'” he added. “But, I had somebody on my outside and he wasn't relaxing for me. I was fighting with him behind horses. I had no other choice but to wait, wait, wait, and patience won the race.”

Ramsey Solution, winner of the Tapit last fall at Kentucky Downs, remained in front after going six furlongs in 1:11.55 and straightened for home with Talk Or Listen bearing down on his outside and Field Pass trying to get through on the rail. Ramsey Solution dug in gamely through the lane but Field Pass had just enough room and time to get up two jumps from the wire.

“When we turned for home, Mychel stayed outside and I said, 'It's now or never.' When I said 'go,' he gave me some but when I hit him with the left hand he gave me another gear,” Carrasco said. “My horse is not huge but he's well-built. There wasn't much [room]. I moved on him and he wasn't afraid of going to the hole, and he got it done.”

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Out of the gate, Gibberish grabbed a short half-length lead over Miss Marissa, but Centeno pushed his gray 4-year-old filly to the front, with Gibberish and Saracosa just behind her. Through the backstretch, Miss Marissa maintained her advantage, with the favorite Bonny South moving up to fourth. With the first quarter in :25.15 and the half-mile in :50.10, Centeno held his mount steady, saving plenty for the stretch run.

Into the final turn, Dream Marie made her move on the outside of Gibberish, but no one could catch the eventual winner today. Despite an open rail for Queen Nekia, Miss Marissa was too good, stretching her lead to a length and a half as they approached the wire. Behind her, Gibberish held off Queen Nekia for second with Dream Marie, Bonny South, and Saracosa rounding out the field. Final Cut was scratched. The final time for the mile and a quarter was 2:04.50.

Find this race's chart here.

Bred by Woodford Thoroughbreds, Miss Marissa is a daughter of He's Had Enough out of the Arch mare Ardara. She was consigned by Woodford Thoroughbreds at the October 2018 Ocala Breeders' Sale for $11,000 with Antonio Sano purchasing the filly. She is owned by Cammarota Racing LLC and trained by James Ryerson. Her win in the Delaware Handicap is her fifth win in 16 lifetime starts for total winnings of $604,690.

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Jockeys' Guild sought the stay of enforcement pending a decision on its appeal, which has not yet been decided. Beginning in 2021, jockeys at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, NJ will not be allowed to use the whip “except for reasons of safety.”

“Under these conditions, no, I don't think I can ride at Monmouth Park,” Joe Bravo, 13-time leading rider at Monmouth, told the Thoroughbred Daily News. “They didn't even speak to any of the New Jersey jockeys and ask what are your thoughts?” Bravo said. “In today's era, yes, there should be riding crop restrictions. I understand that. They have them at Delaware, at Tampa and in California. We have no problem with that. But to take the whip away completely away…That's crazy. Show me another county in the world with major racing that has these conditions.”

Other jockeys added their opinions on Twitter.

I have to say something important:
I left Presque Island a few years ago and went to Monmouth, I did very well. It's my second home after Tampa and it's so sad to change my plans just because they put a stupid rule into practice so I can't go back

— Antonio Gallardo (@jockeygallardo) April 21, 2021

I was so excited to go back to Monmouth but with that rule they put I can't SO!!! I have to change my plans!!!

— Daniel Centeno (@Jockeydc) April 20, 2021

NJRC really trying to kill Horse Racing. Jockeys can't fight and do this alone. Everyone that has a vested interest in racing in NJ should step up to the plate and voice their concern to get this overturned.

— Chris DeCarlo (@Equinepilot1) April 20, 2021

The Monmouth Park meet is scheduled to begin on May 28, 2021.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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At least three jockeys have said that, because of the whip ban, they will not ride at Monmouth this year. Jockeys across the country have come out against whip restrictions, saying that the crop is a necessary tool and that banning them outright would lead to dangerous conditions.

“Under these conditions, no, I don't think I can ride at Monmouth Park,” said Joe Bravo, who has been leading rider at Monmouth 13 times.

Jockeys Antonio Gallardo and Daniel Centeno took to Twitter to announce their decision to not ride at Monmouth this year.

“I have to say something important: I left Presque Isle a few years ago and went to Monmouth, I did very well,” Gallardo tweeted. “It's my second home after Tampa and it's so sad to change my plans just because they put a stupid rule into practice so I can't go back.”

Centento Tweeted: “I was so excited to go back to Monmouth but with that rule they put I can't GO!!! I have to change my plans!!!”

Bravo was third in the standings for the main Monmouth meet last year and Gallardo was fourth. Centeno has not ridden regularly at Monmouth since 2015.

Veteran rider Chris DeCarlo also took to Twitter to express his opinion, but did not say if he intended to ride at Monmouth this year or not.

“NJRC really trying to kill Horse Racing,” he wrote. “Jockeys can't fight and do this alone. Everyone that has a vested interest in racing in NJ should step up to the plate and voice their concern to get this overturned.”

In September, the New Jersey Racing Commission issued rules governing the use of the whip. To take effect with the opening of the 2021 Monmouth meet, jockeys will not be allowed to use their whip unless it is needed for safety reasons. The Jockeys' Guild took the issue to court, but it was announced earlier this week that their request for a stay had been turned down. The Guild plans to appeal that decision, but an appeal is not expected to be heard prior to opening day at Monmouth.

“When they first proposed this last year, I just couldn't fathom having races without any way to encourage the horse” Bravo said. “It passed and we appealed. I kept thinking there is no way they could put this in place. Monday, they denied our appeal. We're facing the fact that in a couple of weeks there is going to be an opening day at Monmouth Park and they will be expecting us to ride under these conditions.”

When announcing the rule change, the commission issued a statement saying the new rule was necessary because of public perception issues.

“The prohibition of the use of riding crops, except when necessary for the safety of horse or rider, will be perceived in a positive light by the general public,” said the statement. “The proposed repeal and new rules are of the utmost importance in adapting the industry to avoid the currently negative public perception of whipping a horse.”

Bravo said that after the court's decision was announced, the Board held a conference call in which the New Jersey riders were given an update.

“I'll put it this way, no one on that call said they were willing to ride there under these conditions,” Bravo said.

Bravo voiced a common theme among the Monmouth riders, that the NJRC took these measures without bothering to consult with the Guild or any of the local riders.

“They didn't even speak to any of the New Jersey jockeys and ask what are your thoughts?” Bravo said. “In today's era, yes, there should be riding crop restrictions. I understand that. They have them at Delaware, at Tampa and in California. We have no problem with that. But to take the whip away completely away…that's crazy. Show me another country in the world with major racing that has these conditions.”

Bravo did not say where he intended to ride this summer, but one option would be Gulfstream Park, where he is currently riding.

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Ridden by Daniel Centeno, Last Judgment was never headed, setting fractions of :23.29, :47.41, 1:11.37 and 1:35.62 en route to a final clocking of 1:41.98 for 1 1/16 miles on a fast track.

Last Judgment paid $4.80 as the 7-5 co-favorite in the field of five older runners. Modernist finished second, with the other 7-5 co-favorite, War Stopper,  1 3/4 lengths behind in third. War Stopper was followed across the finish by Letmeno  and Jungle Fighter.

“It looked like he should be forwardly placed and that's how the race was run,” said Maker. “He seemed to be well within himself the whole way. He got into a nice rhythm and kept it going. We tried to chase Knicks Go in the Pegasus. I'll try to spot him more appropriately the rest of the year.”

Last Judgment won one of three starts since Maker haltered him for Michael Dubb, Steve Hornstock, Bethlehem Stables and Nice Guys Stables but was coming off a 12 3/4-length drubbing at the hands of Knicks Go as a 41-1 outsider in the Pegasus. He raced second behind the frontrunning winner that day before tiring in the stretch.

“Mike's instructions were to take the lead and he broke really sharp and made an easy lead all the way to the wire,” said Centeno. “(Letmeno) got a little close to me past the half-mile pole, but my horse grabbed the bit again and I knew I had plenty of horse left. It looks like he can run all day. It's nice when you get a lead like that and the horse is enjoying being out there all by himself.”

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The Sam F. Davis is one of four stakes on a 12-race Festival Preview Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South card set to begin at 11:50 a.m. Scheduled as the 11th race, it will be preceded (in order) by the Grade 3, $175,000 Tampa Bay Stakes, for horses 4-years-old-and-upward at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf course; the $150,000 Suncoast Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, at a mile-and-40-yards on the main track; and the Grade 3, $175,000 Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes, for older fillies and mares at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf.

Approximate post time for the Sam F. Davis is 5:02 p.m. There is a carryover pool of $9,057.70 into the Super High-5 wager in the first race.

The Albaugh Family Stables, LLC-owned colt Smiley Sobotka has been established as the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the Sam F. Davis, run at a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the main track. Trained by Dale Romans, Smiley Sobotka will be ridden by Daniel Centeno while breaking from the No. 5 post position.

Smiley Sobotka won at the Sam F. Davis distance when he broke his maiden in October at Keeneland. He finished second at the same distance in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes on Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs.

The Sam F. Davis awards points on a 10-4-2-1 scale to the first four finishers toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and future Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher each have two horses entered in the Sam F. Davis. Mott's runners are breeder-owner Michael Shanley's colt Nova Rags, who won the 7-furlong Pasco Stakes here on Jan. 16, and Frank Fletcher Racing Operations' colt Candy Man Rocket, an eye-popping maiden special weight winner on Jan. 9 at Gulfstream Park.

Nova Rags will again be ridden by Samy Camacho. Junior Alvarado is the pilot on Candy Man Rocket.

Pletcher, who has won the Sam F. Davis a record six times (no other trainer has won it more than twice), will counter with Known Agenda, a St. Elias Stables-owned homebred who finished third on Dec. 5 in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct in his most recent start, and Millean, a Jan. 10 maiden claiming winner at Gulfstream Park owned by Donegal Racing.

Velazquez will ride Known Agenda. Roberto Alvarado, Jr., has been named on Millean.

Smiley Sobotka and seven others will vie to keep the Mott and Pletcher-trained sophomores from the winner's circle, but Mott suggested Friday the biggest surprise in the Sam F. Davis would be a result that winds up surprising hardly anyone.

The race appears that wide-open.

“Both of our horses have been training well, and we're anxiously awaiting the outcome to see if we have horses good enough to go on and come back for the (Grade 2 Lambholm South) Tampa Bay Derby (on March 6),” Mott said today from his south Florida base. “It's a big test for both horses, and we have no great expectations. Candy Man Rocket hasn't been beyond 6 ½ furlongs and Nova Rags hasn't raced around two turns yet, so they need to be tested to find out how far they want to go.”

At this early stage, there are no true standouts entering the race. The only stakes winner in the field other than Nova Rags is Florida-bred gelding Boca Boy, who captured the restricted Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association Florida Sire In Reality Stakes on Sept. 26 at Gulfstream. Antonio Gallardo rides Boca Boy.

Mott, who has also entered 4-year-old filly New York Girl in the Lambholm South Endeavour and Florida-bred Jade Empress in the Suncoast, hopes having won the Pasco here will be an extra advantage for Nova Rags.

“It's a safe racetrack and it's a very challenging racetrack,” Mott said. “It's deep and tiring, and you see some horses that don't run well on it. So with Nova Rags, it's a good thing he has that race (the Pasco) over the surface.”

Hidden Stash, who won his last two races as a 2-year-old, both around two turns, will break from the No. 1 post under jockey Hector Diaz, Jr. Among the others, trainer Patrick Biancone, who won last year's Sam F. Davis with Sole Volante, will attempt a repeat with Lucky Law, and George “Rusty” Arnold, II takes a shot with Runway Magic, to be ridden by Leparoux.

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“Nobody knew who I was then,” Centeno said, laughing at the memory.

Painstakingly (as nothing comes easy in Thoroughbred racing, appearances notwithstanding), Centeno has built a reputation as a leading jockey up and down the East Coast, winning eight graded stakes races and capturing a record six Oldsmar riding titles. He is No. 1 all-time at Tampa Bay in total victories, with 1,377, and stakes triumphs, with 50.

On Saturday, in the most dramatic fashion imaginable, Centeno joined an exclusive fraternity, earning career victory No. 3,000 in North America in the 10th race, the Fillies and Mares Division of the Tampa Turf Test. The product of Caracas, Venezuela, rode 7-year-old mare Lucy's Town to a nose victory from Postino's Idol in the one-mile starter handicap for owner K12, LLC and trainer Jose H. Delgado. Catsoutofthebag finished third in the 10-horse field.

Centeno is one of 182 jockeys to ride 3,000 winners in the Northern Hemisphere. He won 847 races in Venezuela.

His 12-year-old daughter, Jazmyn, and his girlfriend, Brooke Sillaman, were in attendance.

“I don't have words right now. I'm feeling so great, grateful and blessed to make 3,000,” he said. “Especially here at Tampa. This place made Daniel Centeno.”

Lucy's Town usually races from far back, and today was no exception. Centeno encountered plenty of traffic on the turn for home, and had to split horses late to take the lead before holding on for the victory.

“I was all over the place. I had to find room because I had plenty of horse,” Centeno said. “She responded right away when we found an opening and when she crossed the wire, I knew she got it.”

Centeno had taken time earlier in the week to reflect on the approaching milestone.

“It would mean a lot to me to be in that group, winning 3,000 races in the United States,” Centeno said. “I started riding (in 2003) at Thistledown and spent some time after that at Mountaineer and Finger Lakes, and over time I started riding for better trainers and getting on a better quality of horse. My goals were to keep learning every day and to become a better jockey.

“I'm thankful to all the people who have supported me – my family and friends, the fans and all the people on the backside who make everything possible. I took a long road to get here, but it's not just me. All the trainers, owners, grooms and exercise riders deserve a lot of credit.”

Centeno has proven over the years he can perform on a larger stage. His graded-stakes triumphs include the then-Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby in 2009 on Musket Man and the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby in 2014 on Ring Weekend.

Centeno won the 2020 Grade 3 Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes on Jehozacat for trainer Arnaud Delacour and captured the Grade 2 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes on Oct. 3 at Pimlico on Miss Marissa for James Ryerson.

“It was very emotional winning that race on Preakness Day,” said Centeno, who rode Always Mining to an unplaced finish in the 2019 Preakness after winning five consecutive stakes on the gelding. “To win a Grade 2 on a big day like that was very exciting.”

Centeno has two children – Daniel, 21, and Jazmyn – and his girlfriend Brooke, whose father Richard Sillaman is a trainer in the mid-Atlantic region. The jockey's mother, Ligia, lives with him at his Tampa home. Centeno's father, Enrique Centeno, is a former boxer and current fight trainer who will send Roger Gutierrez into the ring Saturday night in Dallas against champion Rene Alvarado for the WBA super featherweight title.

At a racetrack that has witnessed its share of dominant jockeys – including Mike Manganello, Ronnie Allen, Jr., Ricardo Lopez, Willie Martinez, William Henry and Antonio Gallardo – the crown fit Centeno longest, and best. In addition to having the most victories and most stakes victories here, Centeno's six season titles are the same number as Manganello, best known for riding Dust Commander to a 1970 Kentucky Derby victory.

From 2006-2010, Centeno strung together four consecutive Oldsmar riding championships while averaging 1.48 winners per performance. He set the track's single-season record for victories with 144 in 2007-2008 (Gallardo bettered it in 2014-2015 with 147).

Along the way, Centeno has displayed a level of professionalism and attention to detail that is difficult to match. On many occasions, he will pause along the rail after weighing in to watch a race replay on the jumbo video board in the infield, reviewing not only his own ride but other jockeys' stratagems and filing the information away for upcoming races.

“He does his homework, watches replays and reads the form,” said John Weilbacher, his agent at Tampa Bay Downs. “Horsemen respect his opinion, and he'll tell a trainer if he thinks a horse would run better with or without blinkers, or going longer or shorter. I never have to worry about his preparation.”

Centeno's focus moving forward is to find a few horses for the track's graded races in February and March. Beyond that, “the No. 1 thing right now is to stay healthy, keep working hard and win as many races as I can,” he said.

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Miss Marissa was keen early alongside of Mizzen Beau, the pair a length ahead of the rest of the field through early fractions of :23.10 and :46.61. Meanwhile, the favored Bonny South was last of the 10-filly field after being squeezed back a bit at the start (the G1 Alabama runner-up has a late-running style anyway, so it may not have compromised her chances).

Rounding the far turn, Miss Marissa took command from Mizzen Beau and grabbed a two-length lead into the lane. Bonny South weaved in and out of horses to be about six lengths off Miss Marissa at the head of the stretch, but it took her about a sixteenth of a mile to find her best stride.

Bonny South really started to close in the final sixteenth, and Miss Marissa briefly looked in trouble before Centeno asked his filly for just a bit more. Bonny South was able to cut the distance to a neck in the shadow of the wire, but had to settle for second as Miss Marissa got her first stakes victory.

Hopeful Growth closed to finish third ahead of frontrunning Mizzen Beau in fourth.

Bred in Kentucky by Woodford Thoroughbreds, Miss Marissa is out of the winning Arch mare Ardara. She was an $11,000 yearling at the OBS October sale, and required four starts to break her maiden as a 2-year-old. She finished off the board in two graded stakes efforts last year, but returned as a 3-year-old to be third in the listed Ruthless Stakes in January. Recently, the filly won two straight allowance races, one at Monmouth and another at Saratoga, prior to stepping back into graded company.

Overall, Miss Marissa has four wins from 12 starts for earnings of over $320,000.

Winning Trainer James Ryerson (Miss Marissa) – “She's fairly fast. The fractions are going to be fast with her up near the lead, so I wasn't too concerned [with the early fractions]. She ran great.”

“Last year, I thought she wanted two turns and she made a liar out of me. It was ugly. But [this year] ever since we got a two-turn race at Monmouth she just moved forward in the race we got in at Saratoga. It was a small field but there were some nice horses in there. She ran fast, and then you look for a tougher spot. She answered today.”

Winning Owner Alfonso Cammarota (Miss Marissa): “This is my biggest win, but I have won other races with other horses.”

“I knew she was going to win. I do a lot of background on the horses when I buy them. I buy the horses personally. I do a lot of background on the siblings. Her mother won a race at a mile and a quarter and I knew she was going to be good. She proved it today. My research paid off.”

Winning Jockey Daniel Centeno (Miss Marissa): “The plan was to try to break sharp, get a good position and try to go easily from there. If someone tried to go to the lead we wanted to make sure that we were very close and make sure that she was really comfortable. She broke really sharp, I saw the inside horse go and I let her go. She sat off her practically all the way around. When I asked her she responded very well to the end.”

Jockey Florent Geroux (Bonny South, 2nd): “Horses that are deep closers sometimes you need some luck. She ran a great race. She finished the fastest. Today, we couldn't catch the winner.”

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