She has been an amateur rider, an assistant trainer, the boss of her own barn, and a groundbreaker. Brittany Russell may soon add classic-winning trainer to her résumé as well.

The Pennsylvania native has her first classic starter in Taj Mahal seeking to expand his undefeated record in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, contested at Laurel Park this year as Pimlico undergoes renovations. On the heels of Jena Antonucci’s and Cherie DeVaux’s historic victories in the 2023 Belmont Stakes and the 2026 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, respectively, Russell could make history of her own with a victory in the 151^st Preakness Stakes.

Maggie Wolfendale interviews Russell in 2024.

She caught the horse bug early while working at local farms in her hometown of Peach Bottom, Pa., and turned to riding as an amateur jockey, racking up two wins in 20 starts. Russell then worked as an assistant to trainers like Ron Moquett, Jonathan Sheppard, Brad Cox, and Jimmy Jerkens before going on out on her own in 2018. She won with her first starter, Oh My, at Laurel Park that February and then logged her first graded stakes win with Wondrwherecraigis in the Grade 3 Bold Ruler Handicap at Belmont Park Oct. 31, 2021.

In 2026, Russell brought her first Longines Kentucky Oaks starter to Louisville. Dazzling Dame, a daughter of graded stakes winner Girvin, finished eighth behind Always a Runner. Now, in her eighth year at the helm, she has the undefeated Taj Mahal trying to extend his unblemished record at his home track while also taking a big step up in terms of both company and stage.

A son of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist out of the Quality Road mare Oona Gal, Taj Mahal started out in Bob Baffert’s California barn but came east to Russell when his ownership group, which includes Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stable as well as Starlight Racing, thought the colt would benefit from the change.

“I have been fortunate enough to get some of the Avengers’ horses, thanks to Sol Kumin, Tom Ryan, and the rest of the group. Some of the horses just aren’t progressing maybe out his way, so they try to find a different outlet for them, and Taj was one of them,” Russell said. “When he showed up, honestly, he wasn’t showing much, so we just took our time with him and let him come around, and he did.”

Taj Mahal wins Federico Tesio Stakes (Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club)

The colt won his debut at Laurel Park in Feb. 6, taking a six-furlong maiden special weight race by 4 ¼ lengths, before trying the one-mile Miracle Wood Stakes two weeks later. Taj Mahal was victorious once again, this time holding off Let’s Go Lando by a neck on a muddy track. Russell then saved the $525,000 Keeneland September yearling sale purchase for the Federico Tesio Stakes, with its automatic berth in the 151^st Preakness, and was rewarded with a dominant gate-to-wire performance from Taj Mahal, who was 8 ¼ lengths ahead at the finish line.

With all of his starts coming at the Laurel, Md. track, he has a leg up on his competition, none of whom has competed on that surface. If he wins, Taj Mahal would become the first Tesio winner to take the Preakness since Deputed Testamony in 1983.

“There have been a lot of Tesio winners going to the Preakness, and we wanted it to be a pretty dominant effort to feel good about going on to the Preakness. I am realistic about the fact that there are really good horses coming to the Preakness,” Russell said. “I hope he’s good enough to win this race, and I hope he wins it with some authority.”

Alongside preparing her colt for the 1 3/16-mile test is the history that accompanies a Taj Mahal victory: Russell’s win would complete a unique Triple Crown alongside her pioneering peers. It is familiar territory for the trainer, who is married to jockey Sheldon Russell, Taj Mahal’s regular rider, with whom she shares two children, daughter, Edy, and son, Rye. In 2023, she became the first woman to lead the state’s yearly trainer standings, duplicating that feat in 2024.

“I look at it a little differently than I once I did because I have a young daughter and I see her watching me and I think about all the other little girls,” the trainer said. “I look back to when I started training and I didn’t know all this was in the cards for me, but I took a leap of faith and did something that was outside my comfort zone. I did it and I worked hard. I think that’s the thing that means the most to me is showing those little girls that you can do it. Chase your dreams.”

Sheldon and Brittany Russell (Coglianese Photos/Susie Raisher)

But for Russell herself, her life’s work is foremost in her mind.

“It’s not like a day-to-day thing that I would ever think about. I’m a horse trainer, and my peers, whether they’re male or female, they know I just do my job,” she said. “You want to be the best no matter what. We’re all competitive. That’s how I look at it.”

To win the Preakness not only would be historic for the sport, but deeply meaningful for her as a Pennsylvania native and a Mid-Atlantic based trainer.

“The question has to be asked because, if I’m going to be the only female with a horse in the Preakness and nobody’s ever done it, yeah, it is a big deal, right? Cherie just made history, Jena made history,” Russell said. “It’d still be really cool if I was the 10th woman to do it, but if I was the first to do it too, it’d be pretty special.”

To get that win would be a testament not only to the trainer herself, but also to the team she works with every day. “It’s good for everyone — my husband Sheldon, his mom who watches our kids, everybody involved — because we work so hard, and for them to see that all the hard work’s worth it,” Russell said. “It also makes us want to do it again. We’ve got to keep this going. That’s how I look at it.”

While the sport looks at the possible historic feat should she win, Russell’s focus remains on the job at hand.

“We’re just trying to stay focused on the day-to-day,” she said. “We’re staying level-headed and just showing up and doing the job of getting a horse ready for a race. That’s what we do every day.”