Laurel Park Opens 22-Day Spring Meet Friday, April 1

BALTIMORE – Calendar year 2022 picked up right where its predecessor left off, with a pair of familiar faces leading the jockey and trainer standings following Sunday’s closing day of Laurel Park’s winter meet.

Jockey Jevian Toledo and trainer Claudio Gonzalez reigned again as meet leaders following their titles at Laurel’s 2021 fall stand as well as the year’s overall Maryland championship.

Toledo, 27, did not have a mount Sunday but took a 10-win edge, 38-28, over five-pound apprentice Jean Alvelo into the nine-race program. Alvelo had six mounts Sunday, winning with Royal Thunder ($3.60) in Race 6 to finish with 29 wins.

It was the eighth career meet title, all at Laurel, for the Puerto Rico native, who is represented by agent Marty Leonard. Second to Victor Carrasco with more than $1.3 million in purse earnings, Toledo was also Maryland’s overall leading rider in 2015 and 2017.

“I have to thank God; without him it’s impossible,” Toledo said. “I’ve won the summer meet and the fall meet but I never won the winter meet. It’s my first one, so it feels really good. It’s another accomplishment in my career. My agent does a really good job and I have a lot of support from everyone. They give me a lot of opportunity to ride nice horses, and thank God we got the job done.”

Toledo kicked off the winter meet with a triple on opening day, Jan. 1, and added two more Jan. 2. He had 10 other multi-win days, including hat tricks on Feb. 26 and March 6, and won two stakes – the Jan. 29 Fire Plug with Wondrwherecraigis and March 19 Not For Love with his Brittany Russell-trained stablemate Whereshetoldmetogo.

“To be honest, this is probably my best start ever in my whole career,” said Toledo, who had 14 wins at last year’s winter meet. “Always in the winter I kind of slow down a little bit because we have no grass racing and shorter fields, but thank God I had a lot of support from all the owners and trainers and we’re here.”

Toledo also took a day trip to South Florida March 13, picking up his firstinner at Gulfstream Park in the $100,000 Captiva Island aboard Headline Hunter for trainer Jose Francisco D’Angelo. Toledo rode Jesus’ Team to a third-place finish in the 2020 Preakness Stakes (G1).

“It was really cool to get my first win at Gulfstream in the Championship Meet,” he said. “It was a stakes race, so that was pretty nice, and on the Tapeta, also. It was very special.”

Gonzalez entered Sunday with a 24-23 advantage over John ‘Jerry’ Robb after sending out a pair of winners on Saturday’s card. Robb did not have a horse entered Sunday, while Gonzalez had runners in four races, winning with Danny Chen’s Little Ms Scarlet ($7.40) in Race 4 and Magic Stable’s I’m Not Slow ($6.40) in Race 9 to raise his meet total to 26.

A 45-year-old native of Chile and cancer survivor, Gonzalez has won nine consecutive meet titles in Maryland dating back to Laurel’s 2019 summer stand. It was the 17th career meet championship at Laurel to go along with two at historic Pimlico Race Course for Gonzalez, who has finished as Maryland’s overall leading trainer five consecutive years starting in 2017.

“I feel really good. It’s like I say, to win one race is tough and to win the title again is a good feeling,” Gonzalez said. “I have to thank all my people, my workers, all the assistants I have, the grooms, hotwalkers, exercise riders, blacksmiths. Everybody does a good job, it’s not only me. If you don’t have good help, you don’t make it.

“I try to explain to all my workers, it’s the little things that make the difference,” he added. “That’s why you have to pay attention to every little thing and sometimes it makes a big difference.”

In addition to Saturday and Sunday, Gonzalez notched multi-win days Jan. 2 and March 6 and 13. He sent out multiple stakes-winning filly Miss Leslie to a fourth-place finish in the Feb. 19 Nellie Morse.

Toledo and Gonzalez teamed up three times during the winter meet, winning with Euro Stables’ John the Bear Jan. 1 and March 6 and finishing third with the 4-year-old gelding Jan. 27.

“My owners, they understand the game. They’re very good and they know if we put them in the right spot, the horses will have a big chance to win races,” Gonzalez said. “It’s really special, and for my family, too. You can see my kids, my wife, they’re happy. Even when they don’t come and they stay home to watch the races, they’re very happy when I come back home. You see their faces and they’re smiling. It’s a really good feeling.”

Sharing leading owner honors were Danny Chen, Lugamo Racing Stables and Jagger Inc. Jagger is the stable name of trainer Jamie Ness, who also won five races as an owner in partnership with Morris Kernan Jr. and finished third in the trainer standings with 21 wins including One Two Kid ($4.40) in Race 2 Sunday.

Laurel Park will kick off its spring meet with a nine-race program Friday, April 1, starting at 12:40 p.m. The 22-day stand is scheduled to run Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through May 8.

Notes: Jockey Jaime Rodriguez won twice Sunday aboard One Two Kid ($4.40) in Race 2 and Ima Pharoah ($21.80) in Race 7 … The 20-cent Rainbow 6 was solved by one lucky bettor Sunday for a jackpot payout of $21,940.26.