Post Time is Top Midlantic-bred of 2024

On the heels of a season that saw him win four races, earn nearly $1 million, and finish second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, Post Time has been named the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred/The Racing Biz Top Midlantic-bred of 2024.

Post Time, a four-year-old during the 2024 season, earned the first two graded stakes of his career in consecutive starts early in his campaign. He lodged his first graded win in Laurel Park’s Grade 3 General George and followed that up seven weeks later with a triumph in the Grade 2 Carter Stakes at Aqueduct.

He placed in three Grade 1 events during the season. That included a closing second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, in which he rallied from last to finish just 1 ½ lengths behind winner Full Serrano (ARG) while clear of the rest.

“He means so much to all of us,” said Post Time’s trainer Brittany Russell. “You see the ride he’s taken us on: these are the horses that everyone dreams of having.”

Post Time, a Maryland-bred, is by Frosted and out of the stakes-winning and graded stakes-placed Fairbanks mare Vielsalm. An $85,000 purchase at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic fall yearling sale, he is owned by Ellen Charles’s Hillwood Stable LLC. He was bred by Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Bowman, Dr. Brooke Bowman & Milton P. Higgins, III.

“He’s just an amazing animal, and we’ve had so much fun with him,” Charles said. “He gives you everything he has every time, and he’s stayed sound. So it’s all been a dream come true.”

For the season, Post Time won four of nine starts and earned $975,000. In his career, Post Time has nine wins from 15 starts and has never finished worse than third. He has earned $1,227,910.

Post Time is the second millionaire that Hillwood has owned, following in the footsteps of Cordmaker, another General George winner, who earned just over $1 million. Hillwood also owned a third General George winner in Bandbox, who later became a sire.

“It’s an honor, really, that I have a horse, any horse, for her, and for it to be him, it’s really special,” Russell said.

Post Time’s connections are looking forward to a 2025 campaign. He’s had some time off since a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile but is slated to return to Russell’s barn in early February.

Post Time
Post Time won the Carter Stakes. Photo by Angelo Lieto.

“We laid him off, not because there was anything wrong with him, just that we thought he’d been running pretty hard this [past] year and needed a little time off,” Charles explained, adding with a laugh, “But there was a rumor that he was asking to get back.”

The notoriously hard-headed Post Time “has his idea about what he’s going to do,” Charles added.

Post Time will be bidding to become the second horse to be named Top Midlantic-bred in two consecutive years. The first, Knicks Go, was the Top Midlantic-bred of 2020 and 2021. Stellar Wind was also the Top Midlantic-bred twice, but in non-consecutive years, 2015 and 2017.

Post Time received 11 of 13 first-place votes cast by a panel of experts and easily outpaced Book’em Danno, the New Jersey-bred Grade 1 winner who was runner-up.

They were followed by Neecie Marie, Future Is Now, Coastal Mission, Mindframe, and Roses for Debra.

The February issue of Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred will have brief profiles of the following horses: Post Time, Book’em Danno, Neecie Marie, Future Is Now, Mindframe, and Coastal Mission.

RankHorse InfoMost recently
1Post Time (MD), 4C by Frosted-Vielsalm, by Fairbanks; bred by Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Bowman, Dr. Brooke Bowman & Milton P. Higgins III and trained by Brittany Russell for Hillwood Stable LLC. 2024 highlights: Won G2 Carter, G3 General George, 2nd G1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, 2nd G1 Metropolitan, 3rd G1 Whitney3rd G2 Cigar Mile
2Book’em Danno (NJ), 3G by Bucchero-Adorabella, by Ghostzapper; bred by Gregory J. Kilka & Bright View Farm and trained by Derek Ryan for Atlantic Six Racing, LLC. 2024 highlights: Won G1 Woody Stephens, Jersey Shore S., Pasco S., 2nd Grp. 3 Saudi Derby, G3 Perryville, 3rd G1 Allen Jerkens Memorial5th G2 Cigar Mile
3Neecie Marie (PA), 4F by Cross Traffic-Lode Lady, by Posse; bred by Jon A. Marshall and trained by Butch Reid for Michael Milam. 2024 highlights: Won G3 Beaugay, G3 Ladies Marathon, 2nd G1 New York, 3rd G2 Beverly D.5th G3 Dowager
4Future Is Now (MD), 4F by Great Notion-Past as Prelude, by Bernardini; bred by R. Larry Johnson and trained by Michael Trombetta for R. Larry Johnson. 2024 highlights: Won G2 Intercontinental, G2 Franklin, The Very One, Smart N Fancy S., 3rd G3 CaressWon G2 Franklin S.
5Coastal Mission (WV), 5G by Great Notion-Smart Crowd, by Crowd Pleaser; bred by Coleswood Farm Inc. and trained by Jeff Runco for Jeff Runco. 2024 highlights: Won G3 Forty Niner, Parx Dirt Mile, Frank Y. Whiteley S., 2nd G2 John Nerud S., G3 Salvator Mile4th G2 Cigar Mile
6Mindframe (MD), 3C by Constitution-Walk of Stars, by Street Sense; bred by R. Larry Johnson and trained by Todd Pletcher for Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC. 2024 highlights: 2nd G1 Belmont, G1 Haskell S.2nd G1 Haskell S.
7Roses for Debra (PA), 5M by Liam’s Map-Essential Rose, by Bernardini; bred by Blackstone Farm LLC and trained by Christophe Clement for Cheyenne Stable LLC and John O’Meara. 2024 highlights: Won G2 Presque Isle Downs Masters, G3 Giant’s Causeway, 2nd G2 Intercontinental7th G2 Franklin S.
OthersJaxon Traveler, Gigante, Tufani, Overnight Pow Wow, I’m Very Busy, Dontlookbackatall, Determined Kingdom, Witty, Our Shot, Studlydoright, Splendora, Determined Driver

Four of the seven winners were males, and three were females. Two were three years old, while the rest were older. Three were bred in Maryland, and two were bred in Pennsylvania. One each was bred in New Jersey and West Virginia.

The monthly Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred is the only publication devoted to Thoroughbred breeding and racing in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Racing Biz, an online publication, is the independent voice for mid-Atlantic racing and breeding.

The poll is conducted of media members and others involved in the Thoroughbred industry and restricted to horses that have run in 2024 and were bred in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware, and the Carolinas.

Participating Voters: Ted Black (freelance writer), Michael Campbell (Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association of New Jersey), Joe Clancy (Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred), Cindy Deubler (Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred), Linda Dougherty (freelance), Debbie Easter (Virginia Thoroughbred Association), Paul Espinosa (Charles Town Races), Cricket Goodall (Maryland Horse Breeders Association), Nick Hahn (freelance), Carol Holden (West Virginia Breeders Classics), Tom LaMarra (Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association), Averie Levanti (Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association), Jeff Nations (freelance), Vinnie Perrone (freelance), Frank Petramalo (Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association), John Piassek (freelance), Gary Quill (The Racing Biz), David Richardson (Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association), Brian Sanfratello (Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association), Chris Sobocinski (Delaware Park), Dan Tordjman (freelance), Frank Vespe (The Racing Biz), Bill Watson (freelance), Lydia Williams (freelance), Bobby Zen (freelance).

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