The Mayland Thoroughbred industry will have its moment in the sun on Saturday, Oct. 11, when Laurel Park plays host to the 40th edition of the Jim McKay Maryland Million Day. The event, launched in 1986 by the legendary sportscaster McKay, spotlights horses by stallions standing in Maryland at the time of their conception.

The showcase event, the $150,000 Milton P. Higgins III Memorial Maryland Million Classic at 1 ⅛ miles drew a field of eight with one also-eligible entrant. Per the rules of the Maryland Million, if a race does not attract at least eight Maryland-sired runners, horses who are Maryland-bred but not Maryland-sired are eligible to draw in. That enables graded stakes winner and millionaire Post Time to compete. The Maryland Million Classic is scheduled as the 11th race on the 12-race program, with a scheduled post time of 4:40 p.m. ET.

Let’s meet the field for this year’s Maryland Million Classic:

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1. Mugatu (15-1 morning-line)

Trainer: Greg Sacco

Owner: Rising Sun Racing Stables

Jockey: Jeiron Barbosa

Career record: 29 starts – 2 wins – 3 seconds – 6 thirds

Career earnings: $198,868

Earnings per start: $6,858

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 99

Pedigree: Blofeld – Union Way, by Union Rags

Age: 4

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements/interesting facts: Kentucky-bred Mugatu made a brief appearance on the national racing scene last year when he finished eighth in the Preakness Stakes. He spent most of the rest of the season in stakes company, including a third-place finish in last year’s Maryland Million Classic. This will be his first stakes appearance since then, with his lone victory in the interim coming in a non-winners of two claiming race at Churchill Downs in late June. He was claimed out of his last start at the Belmont at the Big A meet for $30,000 by Greg Sacco, who will hope to rekindle some of this gelding’s form from last year. That’s his only hope of winning, considering none of his races this year make him a contender. Jeiron Barbosa won last year’s Classic with Brilliant Ice.

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2. Barbadian Runner (6-1)

Trainer: Henry Walters

Owner: AJ Will Win Stables

Jockey: Forest Boyce

Career record: 17 starts – 5 wins – 5 seconds – 4 thirds

Career earnings: $643,690

Earnings per start: $37,864

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 98

Pedigree: Barbados – Quiet Run, by Northern Afleet

Age: 3

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements/interesting facts: One of the best Cinderella stories in all of racing this year, Barbadian Runner was purchased for a mere $5,000 at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic fall yearling sale. He’s since made that purchase price back and then some in a fantastic 3-year-old campaign. He’s won four stakes races and placed in three more, most recently taking the $500,000 Robert Hilton Memorial Stakes at Charles Town, defeating Kentucky Derby starters Neoequos and Owen Almighty. The Maryland Million Classic will be his first start against older horses. He’s already won twice at a mile and has great late speed, so expect him to handle the extra distance and make a serious late impact. Jockey Forest Boyce, who has ridden him for most of the year, has won nine Maryland Million races, including the Classic in 2013 and 2014 aboard Eighttofasttocatch.  

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3. Hittheroadjak (20-1)

Trainer: Rodolfo Sanchez-Salomon

Owner: J R Sanchez Racing Stable

Jockey: Tais Lyapustina

Career record: 15 starts – 5 wins – 2 seconds – 4 thirds

Career earnings: $203,755

Earnings per start: $13,584

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 105

Pedigree: Kobe’s Back – Our Jaks, by Not For Love

Age: 4

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace

Notable achievements/interesting facts: Hittheroadjak finished fourth as the “wise guy” horse in last year’s Maryland Million Classic, going off at 9-1 in just the third start of his sophomore season. Since then, he’s won a pair of allowance races and placed in a trio of stakes. He made his first start off a 3 ½-month layoff last time out and finished second to Duke of Gloucester, who returned to finish fourth in the Parx Dirt Mile on the Pennsylvania Derby undercard. Look for Hittheroadjak to sit on or near the early pace. If you believe in him, you’ll get a better price than you did last year.

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4. Secret Zipper (20-1)

Trainer: Gary Capuano

Owner: Frank Sample

Jockey: J.G. Torrealba

Career record: 13 starts – 5 wins – 1 second – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $159,549

Earnings per start: $12,273

Top Equibase Speed Figure:  98

Pedigree: Raised a Secret – Chattolanee, by Rock Hard Ten

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace

Notable achievements/interesting facts: This Frank Sample homebred was in fine form last winter, winning four races in a row in gate-to-wire style. While he hasn’t won since February, he ran well in his last start, a third-level allowance-optional claiming race on Sept. 14. In his second start off a 4 ½-month layoff, he set very fast early fractions and held sway until the last eighth of a mile, finishing third behind the aforementioned Duke of Gloucester and Hittheroadjak. He’s making his third start off the bench here, and if he’s able to set slower fractions he might prove hard to catch. Veteran Maryland trainer Gary Capuano has won five Maryland Million races in his career but has yet to take home a Classic victory. His brother Dale, who retired in 2023, is the all-time winningest trainer in Maryland Million history with 15 victories.

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5. Post Time (3-5)

Trainer: Brittany Russell

Owner: Hillwood Stable

Jockey: Sheldon Russell

Career record: 21 starts – 12 wins – 3 seconds – 5 thirds

Career earnings: $1,467,100

Earnings per start: $69,862

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 115

Pedigree: Frosted – Vielsalm, by Fairbanks

Age: 5

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements/interesting facts: No one loves Laurel Park more than Post Time. This strapping gray is a perfect 10-for-10 on this surface, including stakes wins at ages 2, 3, 4, and 5. He won his last appearance here in a layup, taking the Polynesian Stakes Sept. 7 by 17 lengths over two overmatched rivals. He’s enjoyed plenty of success outside Maryland, winning the 2024 Carter Handicap Presented by NYRA Bets at Aqueduct last year and finishing second or third in seven graded stakes races in other states. He was named 2024 Maryland-bred Horse of the Year on the strength of those accomplishments. However, he hasn’t been quite the same this year, turning in flat efforts in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes and Grade 2 Woodward Stakes in New York. Still, he towers over this field on class and should have enough left in the tank to beat these. Post Time is owned by Hillwood Stable, the nom de course of longtime horsewoman and philanthropist Ellen Charles. Charles named this son of Frosted in tribute to her grandmother, businesswoman Marjorie Merriweather Post. He was bred in part by Milton P. Higgins III, a longtime Maryland breeder and the namesake of this year’s Classic who passed away last year. Brittany Russell is the perennial leading trainer in Maryland, and has won 13 races from 39 starts at the current Laurel fall meet through Oct. 6.

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6. Blue Kingdom (5-1)

Trainer: Jamie Ness

Owner: DEA Thoroughbred Racing

Jockey: Mychel Sanchez

Career record: 16 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 4 thirds

Career earnings: $158,625

Earnings per start: $9,914

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 99

Pedigree: First Mondays – Graceful Ginger, by Two Punch

Age: 4

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace

Notable achievements/interesting facts: This gelding comes into ths race in fantastic form, having taken his last three starts by open lengths, the last two in front-running fashion. While they were impressive efforts, they came against softer opponents than he’ll have to deal with here. Additionally, he’s drawn to the outside of Secret Zipper, who is also bound to show early speed. Still, he’s in improving form for the dangerous trainer-jockey combination of Jamie Ness and Mychel Sanchez. If he’s able to work out the trip he wants, he’ll be interesting. Ness, one of the top trainers in Maryland, won the Maryland Million Classic with Ournationonparade in 2022.

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7. Sacred Thunder (8-1)

Trainer: Gary Capuano

Owner: John Hazard

Jockey: Yedsit Hazlewood

Career record: 17 starts – 4 wins – 6 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $254,810

Earnings per start: $14,989

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 98

Pedigree: Holy Boss – Elusory, by Broken Vow

Age: 3

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements/interesting facts: The second Gary Capuano trainee in the field is no stranger to stakes company at Laurel. He spent the winter and spring competing in Laurel’s series of 3-year-old stakes races. He picked up two seconds and two thirds in the process, including a traffic-filled, half-length defeat in the Spectacular Bid Stakes in late January. After a late spring and summer swoon, he bounced back with a 4 ¾-length victory at Delaware Park on Aug. 27 before finishing second to Blue Kingdom last time out. He’ll get first crack at the early leaders if they burn themselves out on the pace. This is the first Maryland Million for 17-year-old Panamanian apprentice Yedsit Hazlewood, who began riding in Maryland early this year. He has the lead in the fall meet jockey standings with 16 wins from 69 mounts through Oct. 6.

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8. Feeling Woozy (10-1)

Trainer: Jamie Ness

Owners: Super C Racing and Jagger Inc.

Jockey: Carlos Lopez

Career record: 35 starts – 6 wins – 5 seconds – 6 thirds

Career earnings: $352,190

Earnings per start: $10,063

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 106

Pedigree: Irish War Cry – Stormy Love Affair, by Stormy Atlantic

Age: 5

Color: Dark bay/brown

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements/interesting facts: Feeling Woozy comes into this year’s Maryland Million Classic in search of redemption. He was the 9-2 second choice in last year’s edition but broke awkwardly, lost early position, and stood little chance from there. He’s a boom-or-bust type. When he wins, as he’s done three times since last year’s Classic, he does so impressively. When he loses, he generally finishes well up the track. He led all the way at Parx Racing in his most recent start but will have a hard time getting to the lead from his outside post. While the best version of himself could win this race, the stars might not align for that version to appear. He raced in last year’s Classic for original owner-trainer Hamilton Smith and was claimed by Jamie Ness for $40,000 on the May 16 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes day card.

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Also-Eligible 9. All the Hardways (20-1)

Trainer: Jerry Robb

Owner: Hard Ten Stables LLC

Jockey: Xavier Perez

Career record: 13 starts – 3 win – 4 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $152,080

Earnings per start: $11,698

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 89

Pedigree: Paynter – Spring Run, by Afleet Alex

Age: 3

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements/interesting facts: As the lowest-earning of the three non-Maryland-sired entries, All the Hardways is on the also-eligible list and will require a scratch to draw into the race. He’s done well on this track with three wins and three second-place finishes in nine starts, albeit against easier rivals. He most recently finished second in a first-level Maryland-restricted allowance race after engaging in an exciting stretch battle. He’s won around two turns before and should improve in his third start off the layoff, but All the Hardways will need to run much better than he ever has to win. Trainer John “Jerry” Robb, a Maryland racing mainstay, is second on the all-time Maryland Million win list with 12. He won the Classic in 1987 with Little Bold John.  

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