Maryland million lives the dream
Founder Jim McKay reflects on the event’s unprecedented success as runners take to the track for 18th Maryland Million Day on October 11 at Laurel Park.
Story by Sean Clancy

Jim McKay, legendary sports broadcaster and Maryland Million founder, walked into the grandstand after presenting the trophy for the Maryland Million Distaff and summed up the whole event:

“My hope was that it would become what it is. It’s not just a day. It’s Maryland’s day at the races,” McKay said. “You can come, see your friends, remember the old days. Remember that it’s 18 times now and it’s still going on. All those things. It’s about the spirit of the day. It’s everything we could have hoped it would be.”
This year’s Maryland Million, October 11 at Laurel Park, featured 11 races with purses totaling more than $1 million, which attracted 104 horses. A crowd of 21,108 came to see it on a beautiful fall afternoon.

The overall handle reached a record $6,791,400, passing the previous record of $6.1 million set in 1999. In-state handle was up nearly $400,000 from a year ago.
“Given a chance, Marylanders are more proud of their state than anybody I know. If you’re not from Maryland, you’re from out of town,” McKay said. “It’s about getting together as Marylanders, that’s the biggest thing to me. I don’t know what it is, but Maryland doesn’t get much publicity around the country. It really doesn’t. Once in a while, it’s the Orioles or there’s a Johnny Unitas, but how often does he come around?”

In Maryland horse racing, Docent is the closest thing to Johnny U and on this day, the 5-year-old Waquoit gelding threw a touchdown strike that even Raymond Berry would have had a hard time catching.

Docent hooked Presidential-af-fair late in the mile and three-sixteenths Cosamin®DS Maryland Million Classic and wouldn’t let go. The two Pennsylvania-breds went under the wire with only the bob of the head in control. At the end, the bob went to Docent for his second straight Maryland Million Classic victory. Owned and bred by Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Daney, trained by Tim Ritchey and ridden by Clinton Potts, Docent pushed his career earnings to nearly $750,000.

The gray gelding is a true Mid-Atlantic horse. He’s by a Mary-land sire, was born in Penn-sylvania and trains in Dela-ware. Docent joined Timely Warning (1990 and 1991) and Algar (1997 and 1998) as the third horse to repeat in the Classic and only the fourth horse in history to win three times in Maryland Million competition. Docent won the Sweepstakes as a 3-year-old in 2001.

“He has that class. He takes everything in stride,” Ritchey said. “A lot of those horses come to the paddock and they’re shaking, all willy-nilly, and he’s no problem. You could ship him anywhere. He takes his track with him. He’s just a classy horse.”
Docent’s schedule was going exactly as planned and exactly like last year—that is until frontrunner Presidentialaffair decided he wasn’t through when the defending champ came to him in deep stretch.

“It was a combination of that horse running the race of his life and this horse when he eyeballs a horse and gets his head in front, he thinks it’s over. I thought he got beat,” Ritchey said. “It was a tougher race than last year. Of course, he’s a year older. He’s gotten a little bit stronger, he’s put on weight and has a little more muscle.”

Docent, the favorite among the nine entries, completed the classic distance in 1:54.94, just two-fifths off the track record. Jorgie Stover, the 2001 Maryland Million Sprint winner, finished third, beaten a length for everything.
After 27 starts, Ritchey has Docent’s life down to a routine. He gets the winter off, comes back for his first race in May, runs about seven times usually in the same races he competed in the year before, wins the Maryland Million, finishes out December by taking a shot at winter stakes in New York and then goes back to the farm for a rest. Considering he’s 15 for 27 and seems to be getting better, it’s definitely working.

“I’ve gotten to know him a lot better and he’s gotten to know me a lot better. Geoff Brutscher gallops him and he can tell me every day that he feels a little this, a little that. To have someone gallop him who knows what he’s doing really helps,” Ritchey said. “He knows our regimen. He fits right in. We get him out at a certain time and he’s learned that that’s when he goes out. He comes back, cools out, lies down and has breakfast.”

The Daneys might not have the same handle on things as Docent, but they definitely appreciate taking home Maryland Million Waterford bowls every year.
“I wasn’t sure if he won. Everybody around me was screaming, ‘Docent, Docent, Docent’ and I wasn’t sure if he won the bob or not. I’m so glad he did,” Arlene Daney said. “Having a horse like him only happens once in your life, and this is it. We get so nervous. We were supposed to go to the party last night but we just wanted to stay home and be by ourselves.”

What about next year? Can Docent become the first horse to win three Classics in a row and four Maryland Million races?
“That’s a good question. As long as he’s healthy and doing well, we’ll try them again,” Ritchey said. “Giving him the winter off helps a lot. When they run as hard as he runs against the kind of horses he runs against, I think they need three or four months off. It just gives them time to be a normal horse again. He goes out in a field and relaxes. Then we just bring him back up again. If we kept pounding with a horse like him, his career would be shortened. You keep going, going, going, yeah, he might have one or two more good years. But if we keep doing it the way we’re doing it, eight, nine, 10, 11 races a year and three months off, he might be able to run for another five years.”
For those counting, that would be seven Classics in row for a total of eight Maryland Million victories.

“It’s about the spirit of the day”
Nobody felt the spirit of the day more than Edward Turner, owner of Michael’s Pride, who won the Susquehanna Bank Maryland Million Sprint Handicap over Crossing Point and defending champ Deer Run. Turner, an owner for about five years, had a hard time making it to Laurel for the Maryland Million even though he and trainer Howard Wolfendale had been pointing the son of Not For Love for the race since they claimed him on August 7.

Turner lost one of his best horses, Baby Shark, at Charles Town the night before. The talented sprinter broke down and had to be euthanized. Turner woke up on the Sunday morning after the Maryland Million with the worst hangover known to an owner.

“I have 12 horses in training,” Turner said, “and I’ve seen it happen. But to have it happen to one of yours and then to have to come out for this race that you’ve been pointing for. . . to watch him win is amazing.”

With Jozbin Santana aboard, Michael’s Pride wore down the pacesetting favorite Crossing Point in the six-furlong dash and bested that rival by a head. Deer Run was a nose back in third. Bred by Patricia Izdebski, Michael’s Pride paid $31.40 for the win and now has earnings of $315,545.

“If you’re not from Maryland, you’re from out of town”
The Bonifaces are from Maryland, you can count on that. And you can count on them winning on the Maryland Million card. This year, Kevin Boniface (son of all-time leading Maryland Million trainer Bill Boniface) sent out Move Those Chains, who scored in the Maryland Million Turf. Ridden by Ramon Dominguez, the son of Polish Numbers shot through a hole at the head of the stretch to draw off and win by three. Dominguez never moved on the 4-year-old colt while he ran away from Watchman’s Warning and Private Scandal.

Owner and breeder Patricia Runyon was on hand to see her first homebred win his biggest race. Which the Boniface family had a feeling he would do.
“It’s a wonderful day. This is what it’s all about,” Runyon said. “When this horse’s mother was in foal, Bill Boniface, Kevin’s dad, said ‘You’re going to be like all the rest of them. You’ll get a horse and want to hang on to it forever.’ I said, ‘I can’t afford to do that, they’re expensive hobbies.’

“Then the minute I saw this horse, I looked at Billy, Kevin’s brother and said, ‘I have to see what this horse will do.’ He looked like a race horse. He’s just incredible.”
Nobody knows this better than Kevin Boniface.

“I gallop him every day. He pulls harder than any horse I’ve ever been on. I can’t get out of bed in the morning because of him. He’s all forward motion,” Boniface said. “I kept telling Patty that he’s going to get better as he gets older. He’s made money the whole time and now he’s only 4. He’s got a big future ahead of him.”
Move Those Chains was one of three winners on the Maryland Million card for deceased Northview Stallion Station sire Polish Numbers.

“Once in a while, it’s the Orioles”
And once in a while the Orioles show up at the races. Peter Angelos, owner of the Baltimore Orioles, was on hand to see his Willa On the Move win the Maryland Million Distaff Handicap. The daughter of Two Punch, bred by Robert Quinichett, scored by two lengths over Finally Here and Bronze Abe.

Ridden by Mario Pino and trained by Tony Dutrow, Willa On the Move pushed her career earnings to $363,940 with her sixth career victory from just 11 starts.
Angelos walked out of the winner’s circle to cheers and jeers about the local team. Did you know they need a hitter? Did you know that next year is the year? Did you know they need another pitcher? You can be sure Angelos does after the Laurel crowd gave their two cents on the baseball team.
Racing and baseball definitely mixed for a moment.

“Right now, she’d be number four in the batting lineup because she’s doing pretty well,” Angelos said. “It’s a great thrill to win on a special day like this. To participate in what Jim McKay developed 18 years ago means a lot. Look at the turnout. It’s terrific. He deserves a lot of credit.”

“I don’t know what it is, but Maryland doesn’t get much publicity around the country”
Hail Hillary helped the publicity, at least at her home base of Arlington Park. Abel Castellano Jr. placed the 3-year-old filly by Yarrow Brae just off the suicidal pace of Leebearski and held off Supposedly to win the Maryland Million Ladies by a neck.
Leebearski finished third in the mile and an eighth turf stakes. Final time was 1:46.86, about two-fifths of a second faster than the Turf two races later, and less than a second off the course record. Splits of :22.29, :44.94 and 1:09.35 virtually matched the fractions posted in the Sprint.

Bred by Alan Kline, Hail Hillary sold as a yearling for $3,500 at Keeneland in 2001. She was claimed twice in her first three starts earlier this year and now has won three races from seven attempts. Owned by Larry Slavin and trained by David Kassen, Hail Hillary will be back for more Maryland publicity.

“We thought about it when she got beat a nose [in the Hatoof Stakes] the first time we ran her on the grass. I got a message on my phone from the breeder saying she was eligible for the Maryland Million,” Kassen said. “We had planned on running her in a stake at Keeneland but then we opted to come here. And we’re glad we did. This is my first time [at Laurel] as a trainer; I rode some filly here in the Selima, in the mid-’60s. I sure like it.”

Hail Hillary pushed her career earnings to $133,300. The chestnut filly had finished second in two stakes at Arlington but this was her first stakes victory. Kassen won’t forget her sire Yarrow Brae, who stands at Murmur Farm.
“I remember when Lukas had him, but that’s all I knew about him,” Kassen said. “Then I looked in the Keeneland books—they had 4,200 horses or something and there wasn’t one Yarrow Brae in the whole sale. I guess they’re all here in Maryland. I’ve seen a couple by him today. He must be doing all right. I like him. I’ll keep my eye on him now.”

“It’s about getting together as Mary-landers”
Hardly a Maryland racing event goes by without the presence of Sondra and Howard Bender. They breed horses, race horses, and have a good time doing it.
When their River Cruise won the Maryland Million Oaks and they didn’t bound down to the winner’s circle, it was like the Maryland shore without steamed crabs.
Duty called. The Benders were at a wedding. Not that Howard Bender was happy about it.

“They had a family wedding in the Bahamas that they couldn’t get out of. The boss wasn’t happy. Even up to last night, he was trying to figure out a way that he could miss it,” said Larry Murray, who trains all of the Bender horses. “The ceremony’s at 5. He offered the girl a bribe to push the wedding back. They have their own jet so he told the girl that he could be there by 8. She said, ‘Nope, it’s at 5 and you’re there.’ ”
River Cruise was there the whole way of the mile and an eighth dirt stakes. Jeremy Rose had the daughter of Not For Love on the lead from the start and she had plenty left to hold off Valley of the Gods and Coquettish.

“She’s out of a mare, Wide River, who could really run but couldn’t stay sound,” Murray said. “This is her second stakes winner and she’s got some nice ones in the pipeline too. She’s got a full brother to River Cruise that’s a weanling; he’s gorgeous. He’s going to be a brute.”

Murray and the Benders have enjoyed tremendous success over the last few seasons. Last year, they won 13 stakes and over $1.3 million. They are keeping pace this year, and with 20 horses at Laurel and fields full of young racing prospects, Murray is pretty happy with the way things are going.

“It’s like the Phipps job in Maryland. That’s how I equate it because I grew up working for the Phippses. I think the Benders have the best-bred horses in Maryland,” Murray said. “When I was 16 and walked into the barn at the Phippses, they had all these halters, Bold Ruler and all these names. I said, ‘Who are they kidding?’ And it was true, they really were by Bold Ruler. The Benders are wealthy and they don’t spend money like crazy but if I want to breed to someone they don’t bother me.”

“It’s not just a day. It’s Maryland’s day at the races”
Tony Dutrow and Mario Pino have represented Maryland for years. The trainer/jockey partnership soared again in the Maryland Million Nursery. They teamed with Ronald Parker’s Polish Rifle, who easily won the $100,000 2-year-old stakes.
The bay son of Polish Num-bers won by nine lengths over his stablemate Musical Vision, with Wanaka third.

“He looked super today. He ran fast, he did it easy. It looked like he just cruised around there the whole way. I’m super happy,” Dutrow said. “It would be unfair for me to take a great deal of credit and say what everybody says, ‘Yeah, I loved him from the first day he walked into the barn.’ No, that’s not the case. He was one of 50 2-year-olds that walked into my barn and my goal was to wait for the good ones to jump up and say ‘Here I am.’ That’s the realistic outlook I have for all of them. When we had him ready to run we were looking up and saying we don’t have many that can run like this one.”

Bred by Mr. and Mrs. Charles McGinnes, Polish Rifle sold for $55,000 at Keeneland last fall. Parker bought him with hopes of reselling him at the Barretts 2-year-olds in training sale in California. That plan fell through and Parker decided to keep him to race.

“I’ve always had a lot of faith in the horse. I thought I could flip him but he got sick so I took him out of the sale. I shipped him to Tony and he’s run three times now [with two wins and a second]. He’s a wonderful horse,” Parker said. “I came over to experience the whole thing and sat across from [handicapper] Frank Carulli and someone asked him who his best bet was, and he said Polish Rifle. I said, ‘Oh God, I can’t believe he said that.’ Then he was 3-2.”

“See your friends”
Milton Higgins and Tom Bowman teamed up as owners to win the $100,000 Maryland Million Lassie for 2-year-old fillies with Richetta. Trained by Robin Graham and ridden by Ramon Dominguez, Richetta drew off to win by four and a half lengths in her third career start. Grant’s Moon and He Loves Me rounded out the top three.
Dominguez placed Richetta just outside the pacesetters before setting her down for the easy score. The Higgins and Bowman Stable purchased the daughter of Polish Numbers for $100,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale at Timonium this spring.

Higgins liked Richetta in the sale and was backed up when he consulted his pedigree expert.
“She said she was the best-bred Polish Numbers she had ever seen,” Higgins said. “That was enough for me.”

“Remember the old days”
The old days of the Mary-land Million would have to include Ryehill Farm and trainer Ronnie Cartwright. Ryehill’s colors flew when Beware of the Cat won in 1989 and Awad and Bewarned scored in 1993. Cartwright won with Forry Cow How, Gayquare and Mz. Zill Bear in 1993. The latter won three straight from 1993 to 1995.
The longtime owner and veteran trainer teamed up this year to win the $50,000 Cosequin Mary-land Million Starter Handi-cap with Irish Colony. The son of Larrupin’ was one of two 3-year-olds in the 13-horse field. It was the third victory in a row for Irish Colony, who was bred by Ryehill and ridden by Eric Rodriquez. Irish Colony broke from the outside post and won by a half-length over James and Proper Card.

“I always thought he was a pretty decent horse but he just needed time. Now he’s better, bigger, stronger,” Cartwright said. “He got a chip in his ankle after his second start. We could have left it in or taken it out and we decided to give him some time and take it out. It took him a little while to get going once we brought him back. He won a cheap race at Colonial, then he won a cheap race at Timonium, then he won for 25 and now he’s won the Maryland Million Starter. He ran a pretty good race for a 3-year-old to run against older horses and come from the post position he came from.”

“My hope was that it would become what it is”
In 18 years, the Maryland Million has gone from an idea to an institution. In two years, Allens Blessing has gone from a $1,700 Timonium yearling purchase to a stakes winner. The daughter of recently deceased stallion Allen’s Prospect won the Baltimore Sun Maryland Mil-lion Distaff Starter Handi-cap in her first attempt for added money.

Owned by Dun Roamin Farm and trained by Edward Coletti, Allens Blessing shipped in from Philadelphia Park to score over 10 rivals. Kyrenia finished second, nearly six lengths back, and J B’s Money finished third. Kendrick Carmouche rode the winner.
“I wasn’t there. They bought her on their own and they did a great job picking her out. It doesn’t happen like this too often, she’s done good for us,” Coletti said. “She’s gotten better from the first day. She had colic surgery and I guess that’s why she sold for $1,700. They took their shot and it turned out good for them.” The 3-year-old filly has earned $69,030 in nine starts.

Bred by Traveller Stable, the winner became the 15th offspring of Allen’s Prospect to win a Maryland Million stakes. Allen’s Prospect, who stood at Country Life Farm in Bel Air, leads all sires in this category.

“It’s everything we could have hoped it would be”
What they hoped for was a showcase event with energetic racing. They hoped for photo finishes, equal opportunity for everybody involved, big crowds and a championship day for the state.

The opener of the 18th annual Maryland Million was exactly that. Joanna and John Schaefer’s My Navy rallied past 40-1 longshot Big Quest and favorite Euro Bond in the final strides to win the $25,000 Maryland Lot-tery Maryland Million Sprint Starter Handicap. The race was for horses who had started for a claiming price of $6,500 or less since September 21, 2002.

Trained by Dale Capuano and ridden by Ramon Dominguez (his first of three winners on the card), My Navy is a gelded son of Valley Crossing bred by Robert Meyerhoff. Capuano claimed him for $16,000 in March.

It was Capuano’s sixth Mary-land Million victory as a trainer; the leading Maryland conditioner is tied with Cartwright for third on the all-time list for training victories.
“These kinds of horses are all nice horses,” said Capuano, who had trained three of the nine starters at one time or another. “At the quarter pole I was just hoping Ramon could maneuver through because I knew he had a lot of horse. He’s a distance horse so I knew he’d be strong at the end of the seven furlongs.”