The burgeoning operation of trainer Brittany Russell has become a force with which to reckon since the native of Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania, went out on her own in 2018.

Making her mark with calculated and mindful horse placement, the 34-year-old won the Maryland training title in 2023—becoming the first woman to do so—and in 2024 has struck at a smart 21 percent with purse earnings good enough to be ranked 19th nationally. The Maryland-based conditioner will take an admitted “big swing” on Saturday in the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney with 20-1 morning-line chance Post Time.

“We know we’re in a tough race and he’s never been a mile and an eighth, but he seems to show up every time and that gives us a lot of confidence,” Russell said. “He’s become more mature physically and mentally as he’s aged and, while he’s still a bit of a character, he’s a very good horse and seems to always make his run.”

If the Maryland-bred son of 2016 Whitney winner Frosted hopes to emulate his sire, a fellow gray, he will have to do so from post 1, as well as improve upon his 6 1/4-length second to re-opposing National Treasure in the Grade 1 Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap eight weeks ago. Racing two paths off the rail in fifth throughout much of the race, he passed three horses in the stretch and ultimately out-willed Hoist the Gold and Castle Chaos for runner-up honors.

Sheldon Russell, husband, jockey and very much an integral part of the enterprise, will do the negotiating in the saddle for the ninth consecutive time. A winner of eight graded stakes, Sheldon earned two of those earlier this year on Post Time in the Grade 2 Carter presented by NYRA Bets at Aqueduct and Grade 3 General George at Laurel. Like Post Time, Sheldon seeks his first Grade 1 win, while Brittany seeks her second top-level tally, following Doppelgänger’s Grade 1 Carter in 2023.

“I told Sheldon in the Met Mile that he was going to have to use him and take him out of his comfort zone against those types of horses and he really gutted it out,” Russell reflected. “We were really proud of that effort, finishing second to a very good horse in National Treasure. This time, we drew the rail of a 12-horse field, which doesn’t seem ideal, but it’s still the shortest trip around and Sheldon will have to come out and get comfortable. Our horse is battle-tested and will take the dirt, so we just have to see how the cards fall.”

Saturday’s Whitney also marks Post Time’s first run around two full bends and beyond one mile – a distance at which he has thrice raced, resulting in a win in January’s restricted Jennings at Laurel and seconds in the aforementioned Met Mile and Grade 3 Westchester five weeks prior. The Met Mile was contested from the Wilson Chute, thus being 1 1/2 turns. Like his sire, he will hope to thrive upon the stretch out.

“Of course [being a son of Frosted] gives you a little confidence, but in the end, we’ll take what we can get,” Russell laughed. “So many things can happen in horse racing. All we know is that our horse is doing really well, he’s very happy and he’s settled in well back at Saratoga, which is important.”

A winner of eight of his 11 starts, the $85,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern Fall Yearling Sale grad is owned by Hillwood Stable and is out of the graded stakes-placed Fairbanks mare Vielsalm. Ellen Charles of Hillwood noted, after his Carter win, that she selected him because his second dam, Maryland-bred Opening Verse mare Merriweather, shared a name with her grandmother, Marjorie Merriweather.

Post Time: “Something from grandmother”

A growing rolodex of top-class clientele from various walks of life, as well as the acquisition of increasingly impressive stock, has kept the 90-strong Russell barn – spread between Laurel Park, Fair Hill and Colonial Downs – on the rise. Post Time seems to be more than indicative of an operator who knows when and how to take her swings.

“It’s been a good year,” Russell concluded. “We’ve had plenty of unlucky moments and we always try to focus on the good. Horse racing is all about ups and downs and you naturally feel like you get down a little when your horses run bad, but we also have great owners and some young horses we’re trying to figure out who could be very promising. Hopefully, towards the end of the year, we’ll figure out what we have while we keep trying to win races and make the most of it all.”

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