Mid-Atlantic Three Stars: March 20 * The Racing Biz

MID-ATLANTIC THREE STARS: March 20

John Piassek
March 20, 2023

Plenty of racing action took place throughout the Mid-Atlantic this past week.

Here’s a look at the “three stars” of each track:

Region’s Best

Nimitz Class took the Harrison Johnson Memorial Stakes at Laurel Park on Saturday. Photo: Jerry Dzierwinski

FIRST STAR: JAIME RODRIGUEZ. Rodriguez made riding history at Laurel Park on Friday. He won seven races on the 9-race card, tying the all-time record for most wins on a program, previously shared by Chuck Baltazar and Horacio Karamanos. Four of Rodriguez’s winners came with Jamie Ness-trained horses; he also won on horses conditioned by Kieron Magee, Rudy Sanchez-Solomon, and Gary Capuano. He continued the good form all weekend long, winning two more on Saturday, including the Conniver Stakes aboard Mavilus, and another two on Sunday. With four days left in the winter meet, Rodriguez leads Jeiron Barbosa 51-44 in the jockey standings.

SECOND STAR: NIMITZ CLASS. This Pennsylvania-bred got his third stakes win in a row on Saturday when he won the Harrison Johnson Memorial Stakes by 6 1/4 lengths. Sent off as the 3-5 favorite, he pressed early leader Hello Hot Rod early on, then took control on the turn and kept his rivals at bay. He won the John Campbell Stakes and the Robert Manfuso Stakes in his previous two starts on this oval. This Tom Coulter homebred is trained by Bruce Kravets and ridden by Jevian Toledo.

THIRD STAR: HAYES STRIKE. The Private Terms Stakes, for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles, went to out-of-town shipper Hayes Strike. The Kentucky-based Kenny McPeek trainee was graded stakes-placed as a 2-year-old, but hadn’t raced since an off-the-board finish at Turfway Park in mid-January. He tracked the pace off the rail, then dueled with locally-based Coffeewithchris in the stretch, ultimately getting the better of that rival and hitting the wire 1 3/4 lengths in front. The Dixiana Farms LLC homebred was ridden by Horacio Karamanos.

Laurel Park

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FIRST STAR: JAIME RODRIGUEZ. Looks to be in good shape to capture the Laurel riding title.

SECOND STAR: NIMITZ CLASS. Is graded stakes company in this local star’s near-future?

THIRD STAR: HAYES STRIKE. One of two Triple Crown nominees in the Private Terms field, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him in a Derby points race next out.

Charles Town Races

FIRST STAR: ARNALDO BOCACHICA. He won nine races at Charles Town last week, including four on Saturday, and is now hitting at 31% on the year between there and Laurel Park.

SECOND STAR: SOCIAL CHIC. Rallied wide to win a second-level allowance optional claiming dash on Saturday as the even-money choice to improve to 9-for-20 lifetime.

THIRD STAR: AMIDSHIPS. Went gate-to-wire for a first-level allowance win on Friday for his second win of the year.

Parx Racing

FIRST STAR: MAJESTIC CREED. Dropped out of stakes company and crushed a first-level allowance field by 15 1/4 lengths on Wednesday.

SECOND STAR: HE’S INCREDIBLE. Won for the third time this year in a starter allowance race to wrap up the Wednesday card.

THIRD STAR: MAYTHEHORSEBWITHU. The 2021 Miracle Wood Stakes winner prevailed in a Pennsylvania-bred allowance contest on Wednesday for the first win of his 5-year-old season.

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