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Maryland Jockey Club Unveils Fall Schedule Of 33 Stakes Worth $3.525 Million

The Maryland Jockey Club announced Friday a fall schedule of 33 stakes worth $3.525 million in purses for Laurel Park led by the $200,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) and 36th edition of the Jim McKay Maryland Million.

The fall meet begins Thursday, Sept. 9 and run through Saturday, Dec. 31.

The six-furlong De Francis for 3-year-olds and up will help kick off the fall stakes schedule as one of four stakes worth $500,000 in purses Saturday, Sept. 18. Named for the late president and chairman of both Laurel and historic Pimlico Race Course, its illustrious roster of winners includes Hall of Famer Housebuster, fellow sprint champions Cherokee Run, Smoke Glacken, Thor's Echo and Benny the Bull, and Lite the Fuse, the race's only two-time winner.

Also on Sept. 18 are the $100,000 Weathervane for fillies and mares 3 and older sprinting six furlongs and a pair of one-mile events for 3-year-olds and up, the $100,000 Twixt for females and $100,000 Polynesian.

Saturday, Oct. 2 will feature five stakes, all on turf, worth $600,000 in purses highlighted by the $150,000 Laurel Futurity for 2-year-olds and $150,000 Selima for 2-year-old fillies, both going 1 1/16 miles. They are joined by the $100,000 Laurel Dash sprinting six furlongs and a pair of listed stakes, the $100,000 Japan Turf Cup at 1 ½ miles and $100,000 All Along for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles.

The ground-breaking Maryland Million, which debuted in 1986 and inspired copycat programs throughout the U.S. and Canada, returns Saturday, Oct. 23 with eight stakes anchored by the $150,000 Classic for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles. Juveniles are in the spotlight in the $100,000 Nursery and $100,000 Lassie for females, both at six furlongs.

Maryland Million will also serve up the $100,000 Sprint (3-year-olds and up, six furlongs), $100,000 Distaff (fillies and mares 3 and up, seven furlongs), $100,000 Turf (3-year-olds and up, 1 1/8 miles), $100,000 Ladies (fillies and mares 3 and up, 1 1/8 miles), and $75,000 Turf Sprint (3-year-olds and up, 5 ½ furlongs).

Juveniles will take center stage again Saturday, Nov. 13 in the $100,000 James F. Lewis III and $100,000 Smart Halo, the latter for fillies, both at six furlongs. The card will also include the $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go at 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares 3 and up.

Thanksgiving weekend will feature five stakes worth $450,000 in purses spread over two days. Maryland-bred/sired horses are featured Friday, Nov. 26 with the seven-furlong, $75,000 Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial for 3-year-olds and up and six-furlong, $75,000 Politely for fillies and mares 3 and older.

Saturday, Nov. 27 offers the last stakes races in Maryland for straight 3-year-olds, the $100,000 Safely Kept for fillies and $100,000 City of Laurel, both sprinting seven furlongs. In addition, horses aged 3 and up will travel 1 1/8 miles in the $100,000 Richard W. Small.

The final month of the calendar year will feature eight stakes worth $850,000 in purses, launched by the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Futurity for 2-year-olds and $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship, each at seven furlongs, Saturday, Dec. 4.

Christmastide Day Stakes return Saturday, Dec. 26 with six stakes worth $650,000 in purses including the $100,000 Heft for 2-year-olds and $100,000 Gin Talking for 2-year-old fillies sprinting seven furlongs, $100,000 Dave's Friend for 3-year-olds and up and $100,000 Willa On the Move for females 3 and older, each at 6 ½ furlongs.

New to the stakes calendar are the $150,000 Robert T. Manfuso for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles and $100,000 Carousel at 1 1/8 miles for fillies and mares 3 and older. The Carousel, which carried Grade 3 status from 1988 through 1997, was last run in 2002 at Laurel.

Manfuso passed away March 19, 2020 at the age of 82. A former owner of both Laurel and Pimlico and longtime partner of trainer Katy Voss, Manfuso was instrumental in revitalizing Thoroughbred racing in Maryland. An owner and breeder who established Chanceland Farm with Voss in 1987, Manfuso bred 2016 Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Cathryn Sophia and was named Maryland's Breeder of the Year with his filly earning Maryland-bred Horse of the Year honors.

The extended Preakness Meet at Pimlico runs through Sunday, Aug. 22. Live racing shifts to the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium from Aug. 26 through Labor Day, Sept. 6.

Fall Stakes Schedule: https://www.laurelpark.com/sites/www.laurelpark.com/files/PDF/2021-FINAL-Fall-stakes-schedule.pdf

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MJC Releases Laurel’s Fall Stakes Schedule

The Maryland Jockey Club released the fall schedule of 33 stakes worth $3.525 million in purses for Laurel Park, including the GIII Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash and 36th edition of the Jim McKay Maryland Million. The fall meet begins Thursday, Sept. 9 and continues through Saturday, Dec. 31. For the complete stakes schedule, click here.

The six-furlong De Francis for 3-year-olds and up will help kick off the fall stakes schedule as one of four stakes worth $500,000 in purses Saturday, Sept. 18. Named for the late president and chairman of both Laurel and Pimlico Race Course, its roster of winners includes Hall of Famer Housebuster, fellow sprint champions Cherokee Run, Smoke Glacken, Thor's Echo and Benny the Bull, and Lite the Fuse, the race's only two-time winner.

Saturday, Oct. 2 will feature five stakes, all on turf, worth $600,000 in purses, including the Laurel Futurity for 2-year-olds and Selima for 2-year-old fillies, both going 1 1/16 miles. They will be accompanied by the six-furlong Laurel Dash and a pair of listed stakes-the Japan Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles and All Along for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles.

The 2021 renewal of the Maryland Million returns Saturday, Oct. 23 with eight stakes, including the Classic for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles. Juveniles are in the spotlight in the Nursery and Lassie for females, both at six furlongs.

Thanksgiving weekend will feature five stakes worth $450,000 in purses spread over two days and the final month of the calendar year will feature eight stakes worth $850,000 in purses, headedd by the Maryland Juvenile Futurity for 2-year-olds and Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship, each at seven furlongs, Saturday, Dec. 4.

New to the stakes calendar are the Robert T. Manfuso S. for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles and Carousel S. at 1 1/8 miles for fillies and mares 3 and older. The Carousel, which carried Grade III status from 1988 through 1997, was last run in 2002 at Laurel.

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Field Pass Gets Class Relief In Saturday’s BWI Turf Cup

Three Diamonds Farm's Field Pass, a Grade 3 winner on both grass and synthetics, will make his eighth consecutive start against graded company and first at Pimlico Race Course in Saturday's $200,000 Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup (G3).

The 15th running of the one-mile BWI Turf Cup for 3-year-olds and up headlines a nine-race program featuring four grass stakes worth $500,000 in purses. Launched as the Colonial Turf Cup in 2005, it was held at Colonial Downs through 2013 before moving to Laurel Park in 2015 following a one-year hiatus. It returns after not being part of Maryland's pandemic-shortened 2020 stakes schedule.

Also on Saturday's program are the $100,000 Bald Eagle Derby for 3-year-olds going 1 ½ miles and a pair of stakes for fillies and mares 3 and up – the 100,000 Big Dreyfus at 1 1/8 miles and $100,000 Sensible Lady Turf Dash sprinting five furlongs.

First race post time is 12:40 p.m.

Field Pass has gone winless in three races this year including fourths in the Maker's Mark Mile (G1) April 9 at Keeneland in his 4-year-old debut and last out in the 1 1/16-mile Wise Dan (G2) June 26, beaten a total of five lengths.

In between, the Lemon Drop Kid colt faded to be last of eight after pressing the pace in the 1 3/8-mile Man o' War (G1) May 8 at Belmont Park, where he blew out three furlongs in 36 seconds Wednesday.

“He's doing well,” trainer Mike Maker said. “He had a nice, easy work this morning and he's ready to go.”

Field Pass has raced exclusively in graded company since running third in the American Turf (G2) last September and in nine of his last 12 starts, winning the Jeff Ruby (G3) and 1 1/8-mile Ontario Derby (G3) over all-weather surfaces at Turfway Park and Woodbine respectively last spring and fall, as well as last July's 1 1/16-mile Transylvania (G3) on the Keeneland turf.

In 19 starts with $608,143 in purse earnings, Field Pass has raced four times at one mile with one win and one third, his victory coming in the Dania Beach on the grass at Gulfstream Park to open his 2020 campaign. Bred in Maryland by Mark Brown Grier, he was beaten a length when fourth as the favorite in the 2019 Laurel Futurity in the only previous trip to his home state.

Victor Carrasco is named to ride from the rail in a field of six at topweight of 124 pounds, two more than each of his rivals.

“I think the class relief will be the main thing. He ran good in the Maker's Mark off the layoff so the distance isn't a concern,” Maker said. “It's still going to be a tough race, but he's been hooking some tough guys lately so we're looking forward to it.”

Other graded winners entered in the BWI Turf Cup are Pixelate and English Bee.

Godolphin homebred Pixelate earned his fifth career win and third in a stakes in the 1 1/8-mile Prince George's County June 13 at Pimlico, getting a perfectly timed ride to edge Logical Myth by a length.

The 4-year-old City Zip colt won the Del Mar Derby (G2) and Woodchopper in 2020 and this year was beaten a nose for the win in the Henry S. Clark April 24 at Pimlico and three lengths when fifth in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) Jan. 23 at Gulfstream.

“He came out of the last race great,” trainer Michael Stidham said. “It was great to get him back in the winner's circle. He deserves it. He runs great every time.”

Feargal Lynch gets the call from Post 4.

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Calumet Farm's English Bee, a 5-year-old homebred by turf champion English Channel, is still trying to recapture his 2019 form when he won four of eight starts including the 1 1/8-mile Virginia Derby (G3) and a pair of one-mile stakes, the James W. Murphy at Pimlico and Parx Fall Derby, all on the grass.

He hasn't won since, finishing second twice in seven 2020 starts – beaten a half-length in the one-mile Canadian Turf (G3) at Gulfstream and a neck in the Wise Dan.

“I think he just needs some luck,” trainer Graham Motion said. “I think he's as good as he was. He's a hard-knocking horse.”

This year English Bee was a troubled seventh, 2 ½ lengths behind Maker-trained pacesetter Somelikeithotbrown in the 1 1/16-mile Dinner Party (G2) May 15 at Pimlico, his first race in more than seven months, and no better in the Prince George's County.

“I didn't quite know what to make of his last race, but he didn't have a great trip. He certainly had an unlucky trip the first time I ran him,” Motion said. “I think he's done well. I wasn't in a hurry to run him back. I'd like to think he's coming into this pretty fresh.”

Jorge Vargas Jr. has the assignment from Post 5.

Ken and Sarah Ramsey's homebred Ramsey Solution will be making the step up to graded competition for the first time. The winner of the one-mile, 70-yard Tapit last fall at Kentucky Downs – over a field that included English Bee, fellow graded winners Hembree and Hawkish and Dixie show finisher Midnight Tea Time – is trained by Wesley Ward.

“He's always been maybe a cut below the top ones but he's a very talented horse, especially when you get him in the right company,” Ward said. “He's tough.”

Ramsey Solution went four-for-seven in 2020, ending the year with a front-running 1 ½-length optional claiming allowance triumph in November at Keeneland. In his lone start this year he ran second, beaten four lengths by subsequent Wise Dan winner Set Piece, in the 1 1/16-mile Douglas Park overnight stakes May 29 at Churchill Downs.

“He ran big last time. We got kind of compromised by the ride but I think there's a lot more to him and he's going to run a big race this time,” Ward said. “I think after this we'll have a good opinion of where we need to go from here. This will be the race that kind of determines where we're at with him, class-level wise.”

Mychel Sanchez will be up for the first time on Ramsey Solution, breaking from outside Post 6.

“I think he's pretty versatile. He can do anything, that guy,” Ward said of the Real Solution gelding. “He can come from a little off of it or he can bounce right out there. If there's a little give in the ground or it's on the slop or if it's a soft turf, he doesn't mind that either. He's a pretty cool horse.”

Lael Stables' Talk Or Listen exits the same last two races as English Bee, having run second by a length in the Dinner Party and sixth by less than four lengths in the Prince George's County, contested over a turf course rated good.

“He doesn't like the soft turf. His previous race on firm was really good, probably a lifetime best in my opinion,” trainer Arnaud Delacour said. “The soft turf was a question mark, but he just didn't handle it at all. The jock told me when he came off the bridle, that was it.

“I hope for a firm turf. The forecast is pretty good, and I think that he'll like the mile. There should be plenty of pace and he should be able to sit there and do his thing and hopefully run well,” he added. “I've been happy with him. He had a good work the other day and came back well, so everything's good.”

Daniel Centeno, aboard in the Prince George's County, gets a return call from Post 3.

Completing the field is Posterity, owned and trained by Hassan Elamri. The 7-year-old Posse gelding rallied to edge Lucky Ramsey by a neck in a 1 1/16-mile claiming event June 18 at Pimlico, his fifth career win and first since an August 2019 allowance at Laurel.

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Ellanation’s ‘Dream Come True Story’: $8,000 Filly Rewards Patience With Stakes Victory

He didn't know it at the time, but when Dark Hollow Farm's David Hayden purchased a bay filly with chipped knees and an uncertain future last year, he got more than just an eventual broodmare. He had found himself another stakes winner, and brought a family member back home.

Ellanation's victory in the $75,000 Jameela July 4 at historic Pimlico Race Course was the latest step in a journey that saw the 5-year-old mare change hands three times, twice at auction, before returning to the place she was born and spending more than a year on the sidelines.

“It's an unbelievable story. It's like a dream come true story,” Hayden said. “One thing we all know, this is a tough game.”

By Alternation out of the Dixie Union mare Memories of Mystic, Ellanation became a stakes winner for the first time in the Jameela, a five-furlong turf sprint for Maryland-bred/sired fillies and mares, her 15th career start. It was the fourth lifetime win and first of any kind for the Mike Trombetta trainee since returning from a 14 ½-month gap between races following knee surgery.

“We were hoping to get some black type. It was a restricted race so we thought it was the right opportunity and time to take a shot,” Hayden said. “Now she owes us nothing. Not that she owed us anything before, but just to get the family back. We claimed her granddam 25 years ago.”

Dark Hollow, founded by Hayden and his wife, JoAnn, in the mid-1980s and located in Upperco, Md., bred and raced Memories of Mystic to one win from eight races in 2007 and 2008. Her dam, Mystic Dance, won the Sham Say Stakes at Pimlico before being claimed for $25,000 Oct. 7, 1995 and made her final three starts for Dark Hollow.

Before Ellanation, Memories of Mystic produced Bridget's Big Luvy, winner of the 2015 Private Terms at Laurel Park who ran up against eventual Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the Arkansas Derby (G1), and 2012 Selima and Dania Beach winner Mystic Love. Both were also born at Dark Hollow.

“We love the family, we love [Ellanation], so we're very, very excited and thrilled now, I can tell you,” Hayden said.

Foaled March 31, 2016 at Dark Hollow, Ellanation was sold as an eighth-month-old weanling for $32,000 that November at Keeneland. The Haydens kept tabs on her, and when she was offered at the Ocala Breeders' April 2018 auction of 2-year-olds in training, they went down with the intention of reacquiring her.

“We saw that she'd been working well down at the OBS sale and we knew some people down there. We said, 'This is a really nice filly, she's a Maryland-bred,' so we went down to try and buy her back,” Hayden said. “We thought we could get her for $100,000 and when she went for $160,000 we took a pass on it.”

Loudmouth Racing was the winning bidder, and Ellanation made her debut Aug. 19, 2018 running fifth in a waiver maiden claiming event at Laurel Park. She would run 11 times for Loudmouth and Joseph Bulger with three wins, four seconds, one third and $128,409 in purse earnings. She also ran fourth in the 2019 Blue Sparkler at Delaware Park, her only previous stakes attempt.

After posting back-to-back sprint wins in November 2019 on the grass at Aqueduct, running for a $30,000 tag, and the next month in an open allowance over Woodbine's all-weather surface, Ellanation finished fourth in a in a six-furlong dirt allowance Jan. 31, 2020 to open her 4-year-old season.

That's when fate stepped in. Hayden received a phone call from friend Nick Sallusto, Loudmouth's racing manager who signed the ticket on Ellanation at the OBS sale.

“He said the guys that own her don't have a farm, she needs chips taken out of both knees and they don't want to go through the process,” Hayden said. “Let me tell you something. That's totally understandable because when you take chips out of knees, most of the time they don't come back.

“When Nick asked if we wanted her back, I said, 'Man, they gave $160,000. What do they want for her?' When he said, 'How does $8,000 sound?' I said, 'Sold,'” he added. “We primarily bought her back because of the family. We wanted her back as a broodmare. We thought if we could get her to the races and get lucky, great. If we can't, she'll have another $25,000 or $30,000 in her, which is still a bargain for that family at the $8,000 purchase price.”

After buying Ellanation back, the Haydens trusted her surgery to Dr. Jim Juzwiak who performed the operation at Manor Equine Hospital in Monkton, Md. Ellanation spent “four or five months” at 155-acre Dark Hollow before continuing her recovery with three months of swimming under the watch of Brenda Godfrey at Nor-Mar Farm in Freeland, Md. and ultimately was turned over to Trombetta to join his Laurel string.

“Since we have a farm we had plenty of time, and we knew she was a grass filly. We had pretty good intel from the vets we know who said if we cleaned up the knees we think she could be a stakes filly,” Hayden said. “I know the guys pretty well and we have a phenomenal vet in Jim Juzwiak. We sent the pictures him, he took the chips out, and we gave her plenty of time off.”

Ellanation returned to the races April 10, running sixth in an optional claiming allowance at Laurel. She entered the Jameela after finishing fifth in successive starts, May 6 and Pimlico and June 14 at Delaware Park, and has earned $49,860 for Dark Hollow this year.

David Hayden

“We did all the things that we had to do,” Hayden said. “I totally understand [when] people don't have a farm and are not passionate about breeding and don't know the family. Our thing is, we have a passion for the horses. We love our family, we love our horses. We just took a shot and we got lucky.

“In this game, the most important thing you can get for a filly is black type. That's what you want,” he added. “She already has the family, and the family is great, but to get her black type was going to mean a lot.”

Sent off at 10-1 in a field that scratched down to seven, Ellanation was kept in the clear by jockey Victor Carrasco while stalking the early pace, tipped further outside in the stretch to launch her bid and went on to a half-length triumph over fellow outsider Dendrobia, a familiar foe trained by Tim Keefe.

“Tim Keefe is a good friend of ours. I went up to him in the paddock and said, 'Would we both sign a contract where we could dead-heat for third, just to get the black type?' And we both said, 'Hell yeah,'” Hayden said. “And the thing that's funny is that we won and he ran second, so were both pretty happy.”

The next grass sprint for older fillies and mares on the Maryland stakes calendar is the open $100,000 Sensible Lady Turf Dash going six furlongs July 24 at Pimlico. The $100,000 Alma North July 31 is contested at 6 ½ furlongs on dirt, while the $75,000 All Brandy Aug. 21 goes 1 1/16 miles on the grass.

“She came out of the race great. We'll just be looking for spots for her. She's definitely a grass filly,” Hayden said. “She's only 5, so the question is do we run her again next year or do we bring her home and start breeding her, which is probably going to be what we end up doing, more likely than not.”

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