Federico Tesio Stakes

Taj Mahal (Nyquist) is on target for the May 16 GI Preakness Stakes following his romping victory in the Federico Tesio Stakes Saturday at Laurel Park. "It was really impressive," trainer Brittany Russell said Sunday. "You see a lot of these horses at home win the Tesio and go on to the Preakness and I thought to myself before the race, I hope he runs like 'wow.' You want to see a really big run from him to give you confidence that he should go on to the Preakness, and...

With a handle of $5,536,944 wagered on the 12-race "Preakness Preview Day" program at Laurel Park, the new Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) set a handle record Saturday, according to a release from the organization. Two "Win Today, See You in May events" were contested Saturday, as well as the first stakes races on turf in the state of Maryland for the year. The $150,000 Federico Tesio Stakes offered a fees-paid guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the GI Preakness Stakes, while the Weber City Miss Stakes offered the same...

The GIII General George Stakes and GIII Barbara Fritchie Stakes highlight a 25-strong stakes schedule worth a combined $2.6 million for the winter/spring meet at Laurel Park. The seven-furlong events are part of a Feb. 15 card that also includes the John B. Campbell Stakes and Nellie Morse Stakes, each carrying a $100,000 purse. Three-year-old males and females feature on programs scheduled for Feb. 22, with the one-mile Miracle Wood Stakes for sophomore boys and the seven-furlong Wide Country Stakes for the girls. Those two events serve as lead-up races...

Perform (Good Magic) tuned up for Saturday's GI Preakness S. with a half-mile drill in :48.09 (2/42) over the main track at Belmont Park Sunday. Trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, Perform worked just after the renovation break under partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-60s, completing his exercise to the outside of his maiden workmate Weyhill Road (Quality Road). McGaughey said the work was just what he hoped to see ahead of the colt's graded stakes debut. "I was very pleased with the way he worked and...

Laurel Park's 19-spring meet will feature a seven-race stakes schedule worth over $750,000 and highlighted by automatic-qualifying races for the GI Preakness S. and GII Black-Eyed Susan S. Co-headlining the stakes program are the $125,000 Federico Tesio S. for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles and the $125,000 Weber City Miss for 3-year-old fillies at about 1 1/16 miles. The Tesio serves as a 'Win and In' qualifier for Triple Crown-nominated horses to the May 15 Preakness and the Weber City Miss is a 'Win and In' event for the May...