He’s Pennsylvania-bred and Maryland-sired, and his name has Chesapeake Bay written all over it.

The lightly raced Crab Daddy makes his fourth career start in Saturday’s $100,000 Spectacular Bid Stakes at Laurel Park, a seven-furlong test for three-year-olds.

Crab Daddy’s three starts to date include a good-looking win in the Pennsylvania Nursery at Parx Racing in November. Last time out, he skipped the Heft Stakes at Laurel to run in the Parx Future Stars, rallying from well back to finish second behind Global Steve.

“He finishes strong every time,” trainer Linda Albert Laurel’s public relations office. “The track was terrible that day. I don’t know if he was floundering about a little bit early, but once he turned for home, he made a big run at it. The winner saved all the ground, so I thought we ran really well.”

Indeed, Crab Daddy galloped out past the winner that day. Owned by Brian Schartz, Crab Daddy will once again carry jockey Ismerio Villalobos.

Crab Daddy finished second in his debut at Laurel in early November, beaten two lengths by Bjorn. That runner returned to be third in a two-turn allowance and is entered in Saturday’s seventh at Laurel, a first allowance for sophomores.

Crab Daddy was 12-1 in the Pennsylvania Nursery, in which he ran down then-undefeated The Boys Warrior to win going away. He had been 45-1 in his debut, but it likely will be a while before he goes off at long odds again.

“I thought he was pretty nice,” said trainer Linda Albert. “I wasn’t really thinking stakes, but when he ran so well in the first race, the owner pointed out the Pennsylvania-bred races, and I thought that was a really good opportunity for him.”

One important change: Crab Daddy will wear blinkers for the first time Saturday.

“It’s mostly trying to get him to focus,” Albert explained. “[Jockey Ismerio Villalobos] thought that was one of the problems last time out. He could have probably been paying more attention early.”

While Crab Daddy won’t likely be 45-1 or 12-1, he also likely won’t be the favorite. That most likely will be Maryland Juvenile Stakes winner Tony Eclipse, trained by Brittany Russell for owner-breeder The Elkstone Group LLC.

After four consecutive starts at one mile – including a second in the Rocky Run at Delaware Park and a third in the Nashua at Aqueduct – Tony Eclipse’s Maryland Juvenile win was his first outing at a sprint distance, and he passed the test with flying colors, winning by nearly four lengths.

“Early on, when we had him, I thought he was going to be like a gallop-y, two-turn horse,” Russell said. “He has this newfound speed. I think he’s training better and maybe improving. At this stage, I’m not sure how far he wants to go, but he sure seems effective where we are with him.”

The most experienced of the nine runners entered in the Spectacular Bid is John Hazard’s Sacred Thunder.

Trained by Gary Capuano, Sacred Thunder has made nine starts to date, winning three and finishing in the money five other times. His resume includes a win in the James F. Lewis, III Stakes Nov. 9 at Laurel, as well as two other stakes placings.

Sacred Thunder, a son of Holy Boss, broke his maiden in a two-turn, one-mile contest at Delaware Park. Capuano is hoping to find longer spots for his runner soon.

“I’ve been trying to stretch this horse out, but there’s no race for him. I can’t wait to get him to go two turns again,” the trainer said. “I was half-debating on whether or not to even run in this race. Ideally, it would have been nice to get that outside draw. He’s ready to go. He shows up every time. He’s pretty honest.”

Others entered include New York shipper Scheduling Dude, Heft Stakes show horse Barbadian Runner, and likely longshots Brereton’s Baytown, Dats Mr. Tap, Right Wing Runner, and Hawkstone.

NOTES The Spectacular Bid is one of two stakes on the card. It is joined by the Xtra Heat for sophomore filly sprinters; the Xtra Heat is the eighth race, and the Spectacular Bid is the ninth… Hall of Famer Spectacular Bid made only three of his 30 career starts at seven furlongs and, of course, did his best work going a route of ground. He was undefeated at the distance. He also made only one career start at Laurel, winning the ’78 Laurel Futurity (G1) by 8 ½ lengths…

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