Ain’t Da Beer Cold (inside) nipped at the wire by Market Maven but was elevated to winner by a DQ. (Jim McCue/MJC)
Defending Champ Ain’t Da Beer Cold Among 18 in $150K Classic
Laurel to Host ‘Maryland’s Day at the Races’ Saturday, Oct. 12
David Joseph/Maryland Jockey Club
LAUREL, Md. – Five defending champions, seven prior winners and four past Maryland-bred champions are among 270 pre-entries in eight stakes and four starter stakes on the 39th annual Jim McKay Maryland Million Day program Saturday, Oct. 12 at Laurel Park.
Five races on the groundbreaking Maryland Million program are scheduled for the turf. Entries will be taken, and post positions drawn Sunday, Oct. 6. Post time on Maryland Million Day is 11:30 a.m.
The richest race on the program, the $150,000 Classic going 1 1/8 miles for 3-year-olds and up, drew 18 pre-entries led by the top two finishers from 2023 – Market Maven and Ain’t Da Beer Cold, who finished a neck apart after running 1-2 the entire race. Market Maven was disqualified to second for interference, elevating Ain’t Da Beer Cold to a 36-1 upset.
Not since Admirals War Chest in 2015-16 has a horse repeated as a Classic winner. Others to do it are Eighttofasttocatch (2011, 2013-14), Docent (2002-03), Algar (1997-98) and Timely Warning (1990-91).
Also prominent among pre-entries are multiple stakes winner Alwaysinahurry; last-out winners Hittheroadjack and Mosler’s Image; Mugatu, runner-up of Laurel’s Aug. 4 Bald Eagle Derby that ran in this year’s Preakness Stakes (G1) at historic Pimlico Race Course; and Vance Scholars, the 2022 Bald Eagle Derby winner that has placed in four other stakes including a second in the 2022 Classic.
Five Maryland-bred horses are pre-entered including Riccio, a nine-length winner of the off-the-turf Find Aug. 18 at Laurel, and Too Many Kisses, the lone filly and winner of Laurel’s seven-furlong Conniver March 16. Horses that are Maryland-bred but not Maryland Million-eligible may only participate in a Maryland Million race if less than eight Maryland Million-eligible horses are entered.
Ain’t Da Beer Cold, Alwaysinahurry and Riccio were also among 17 horses pre-entered in the $125,000 Turf for 3-year-olds and up scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on the grass, along with 2023 runner-up Starstruck Notion; Crabs N Beer, fifth by two lengths last year and second by 1 ½ lengths in the May 18 Dinner Party (G3) at Pimlico; and 2022 Maryland Million Turf Sprint winner Sky’s Not Falling.
Defending champion Precious Avary and runner-up Naval Empire top 21 pre-entries in the $125,000 Ladies for fillies and mares 3 and older scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on the grass. Others include Gold Digging Broad, promoted winner of Laurel’s 2023 All Brandy; Call Another Play, winner of the Weber City Miss and third in the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) on dirt this year; and stakes-placed Circle Home and Cut From Class.
Grade 2-placed Witty – bred, owned and trained by Elizabeth Merryman, recently honored for a second straight year as TOBA National Small Breeder of the Year – tops 26 pre-entries as defending champion in the $100,000 Turf, a 5 ½-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up. The group also includes fellow multiple stakes winners Bosserati, Maryland’s champion 3-year-old filly of 2023, and 2022 Maryland Million Nursery winner Johnyz From Albany.
Witty and Johnyz From Albany are also among 23 pre-entries in the $100,000 Sprint going six furlongs for 3-year-olds and up, along with defending champion Seven’s Eleven; Catahoula Moon, the Nursery winner and Maryland’s 2-year-old male champion of 2023; 2022 Maryland Million Starter Handicap winner The Wolfman; and Band Camp, winner of the third-most races in the country this year (seven) that came up a neck short of extending his win streak to six straight Sept. 22.
The $100,000 Distaff for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting seven furlongs attracted 26 pre-entries led by Miss Harriett, whose multiple stakes wins include a 62-1 upset of the 2023 Lassie in her career debut; Maryland’s past two 2-year-old filly champions, Kissedbyanangel (2023) and Malibu Moonshine (2022); Mavilus, winner of the 2022 Distaff Starter Handicap; and multiple stakes winner Malibu Beauty.
Juveniles will be in the spotlight in the $100,000 Nursery for 2-year-olds and $100,000 Lassie for 2-year-old fillies, both sprinting six furlongs. Among 25 Nursery pre-entries are Grade 3-placed stakes winner Studlydoright and undefeated Bucaro, both Maryland-breds, as well as stakes winner Re Markably and multiple stakes-placed Kerness K. Most popular among horsemen, the Lassie’s 27 pre-entries are led by Caprice, unbeaten in three starts with two straight stakes wins, all at Delaware Park.
Back for the eighth straight year are the $50,000 Turf Starter Handicap for 3-year-olds and up and $50,000 Turf Distaff Starter Handicap for fillies and mares 3 and older, both scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the grass. Rounding out the stakes action are the $40,000 Starter Handicap for 3-year-olds and up and $40,000 Distaff Starter Handicap for fillies and mares 3 and older, each sprinting seven furlongs.
Jevian Toledo had four victories on last year’s program including the Classic, Distaff and Turf Sprint to move into a tie with Hall of Famer Ramon Dominguez for second-most wins among Maryland Million jockeys with 17, one behind all-time leader and Hall of Famer Edgar Prado.
John ‘Jerry’ Robb won twice last year to give him sole possession of second place among Maryland Million trainers with 11 victories, four behind all-time leader Dale Capuano and one ahead of Hall of Famer King Leatherbury and Mike Trombetta.
Great Notion, Maryland’s leading sire since 2016 based at Northview Stallion Station in Chesapeake City, Md., has produced at least one Maryland Million winner for 14 consecutive years, a streak continued by Witty in 2023. Represented by 28 pre-entries, his 20 wins rank third behind Not For Love (37) and Allen’s Prospect (22).
Named for the late Hall of Fame and 13-time Emmy Award-winning broadcaster who helped launch the groundbreaking concept in 1986, the Jim McKay Maryland Million has evolved into the second-biggest day on the state’s racing calendar behind only the Preakness Stakes (G1).
‘Maryland’s Day at the Races’ celebrates the stallions who stand in the state as well as a rich and diverse racing history that dates back to the founding of the Maryland Jockey Club in 1743 and spawned copycat events across the United States and Canada.
