Laurel: 'Where It All Started' for Trainer Russell

Aside from adding some extra cameras, 24-hour security and having a smattering of reporters and television crews intermittently filtering by throughout the mornings this week, life has been pretty much the same around Barn 5 on the Laurel Park backstretch. As in, hectic. It is the home of trainer Brittany Russell, and ground zero from where she launched her career eight years ago and has been the foundation of meteoric success that will reach a high point Saturday when she saddles undefeated two-time stakes winner Taj Mahal for the 151st Preakness Stakes (G1). "Barn 5, right here. It's where it all started," she said. "I keep thinking about it. Just watching him train it's like, 'Man, this horse is doing so good.' We feel like he's live. It's a different feeling. I feel like he's going to run a good race. I don't know what we would do if he won. It's a feeling that I'm sure I haven't felt yet." Unlike the other 13 horses in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, housed in the Preakness Stakes barn 250 yards away, Taj Mahal will be led from his own stall on race day. He is based year-round and has trained and raced exclusively at Laurel, where he is a perfect 3-0. None of his rivals had even seen the track until this week with the exception of The Hell We Did, who has been on the grounds since arriving April 28 from Keeneland, where he ran second in the April 11 Lexington (G3). "He's taken everything in stride. He's enjoying it, I think. He's enjoying the attention. He's been able to stay in our barn, so nothing's changed for him, honestly. We're just trying to keep everything as normal as possible," Russell said. "I think just being here, he hasn't had to ship, he's familiar with the surface. All those things I think will play on our side. He loves this racetrack. They're all positive things. "I've had some people ask some questions about Laurel, but I don't think there's anything in particular about shipping here vs. somewhere else," she added. "I think it's just a matter of what horses take to the racetrack. We'll find out on Saturday." Taj Mahal drew the rail and was assigned 5-1 morning-line odds for the 1 3/16-mile Preakness, making him the co-second choice with Chip Honcho and Incredibolt behind 9-2 program favorite Iron Honor. Russell's husband, six-time Laurel meet-leading rider Sheldon Russell, will be aboard. Before schooling in Laurel's historic paddock during Thursday's second race, Taj Mahal jogged and galloped a mile over the main track at his usual time just after 6 a.m. "I feel like I'm feeling better the closer we get. Each day that goes good [leading] into it is like one day checked off. We just have a couple days to get through," Brittany Russell said. "I think he's tighter now. I think he got a lot out of that last race. His breezes have been good. I'm optimistic that we can see another step." Owned in a partnership led by Tom Ryan's SF Racing, Taj Mahal exits a dominant 8 1/4-length victory in the 1 1/8-mile Federico Tesio April 18 that earned him an automatic berth in the Preakness. All three of his starts have been this year, the first two just 15 days apart—overcoming a slow start to graduate by open lengths Feb. 6 and fighting for a front-running neck triumph in the one-mile Miracle Wood. "He was working well going into his first run, but every time he's raced he's progressed. You've seen a progression in the afternoon; I've seen a progression in the morning. He has a beautiful pedigree. He's a nice, classy horse. He's supposed to do this. It's all positive things that give us hope that this is where we should be," Russell said. "Just watching how he's done since [the Tesio], I do feel like he's taken a step forward. He's trained like he's taken a step forward. Obviously, it's going to be his biggest test, but I think he's the right kind of horse." While her husband has ridden in the Preakness three times, his best finish being a fifth on Chase the Chaos in 2023, Russell will be making her Triple Crown debut. Maryland's champion trainer each of the past three years, she has won six graded stakes since going out on her own in 2018 including the 2023 Carter Handicap (G1) with Doppelganger. Two of Brittany's Russell's graded wins have been with millionaire Post Time, who also ran second in the Met Mile (G1) and Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and third in the Whitney (G1) in 2024. "That's the thing. We're running in our first Triple Crown race. It feels pretty incredible," she said. "That's what you want every year when the 2-year-olds come in. You're hoping for one that's going to be a really good 3-year-old. We're here and we're trying to enjoy it. Hopefully we can get the job done." OCELLI—While Whit Beckman will be seeking his first victory in a Triple Crown race as the trainer of record when he sends out Ocelli for Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1) at Laurel Park, he's experienced the thrill of success while working as an assistant trainer under Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown. READ: Ocelli: The $12K Maiden Seeking Preakness Glory Beckman worked for Pletcher when Super Saver won the 2010 Kentucky Derby (G1) and for Brown when Cloud Computing won the 2017 Preakness, just to name two. "The only difference is my name is in the program now," Beckman said. Ocelli, who is owned by Ashley Durr, Anthony Tate and Front Page Equestrian LLC, enters the Preakness off a third-place finish in the Derby and is regarded as one of the leading contenders for Saturday's race at morning-line odds of 6-1. Tyler Gaffalione, who was aboard for Ocelli's bid for a 70-1 upset in the Derby, has the return mount aboard the son of Connect. GREAT WHITE—FanDuel TV racing reporter/analyst Andie Biancone pinch-hit as the exercise rider for Great White at during a routine gallop aboard the towering gray gelding at Laurel Park Thursday morning. READ: Hopes for Great White Heard at Alibi Breakfast Trainer John Ennis told Biancone beforehand, "If I can ride him, you can gallop him with your little finger." Sure enough, Biancone and the Lexington-based Ennis were both pleased with Great White's training session over a track rated 'good' following overnight rain. Three Chimneys Farm and Ennis' Great White drew into the Kentucky Derby (G1) field as a late also-eligible but was scratched after flipping behind the starting gate as the horses were loading. "Awesome. He was super kind," Biancone said. "I can really see how the incident at the Derby happened, because he's got a very light mouth. He's got a super, super sensitive mouth, but super kind. He's a happy horse. He squeals. First thing when he got on the track, he was 'E-e-e-e-e-e'" That's what Ennis expects from his big boy. "Yeah, he's just a happy horse. A good-feeler, isn't he?" he said. "Just a maintenance gallop around there. He looked good. I wish [on] race day it would be sloppy because he loves the slop, but he's doing good. He seems happy and well—and hopefully we'll make the gate this time." INCREDIBOLT—Incredibolt, the last-minute entry into Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1), got his first look at Laurel Park Thursday morning. Trained by Riley Mott and owned by Pin Oak Stud LLC, the son of Bolt d'Oro was part of the Preakness entourage that hit the track at 7:30 a.m. Regular exercise rider Charlotte O'Connell was the pilot as Incredibolt galloped 1 ¼ miles over the sealed racetrack after heavy rain hit the area on Wednesday night. "He improves all the time and is a pleasure to ride," said O'Connell, who has been Incredibolt's regular morning partner since the end of his 2-year-old season. "He is a very good boy. He was on the bridle but very relaxed about it. He was looking around a little bit but was happy in his gallop." O'Connell previously worked for trainer Brendan Walsh before moving to Mott's barn at the end of last summer. Besides exercising horses in the morning, she also is a surgical tech at Norton Children's Hospital in Louisville, Ky. Her duties include setting up all instrumentation and helping the surgeon through the procedure. A Long Island, N.Y native, O'Connell got her degree in surgical technology at Blue Grass Community and Technology College in Lexington, Ky. She wants to have a career in medicine but also won't leave her first love, which is the horses. She works seven days a week for Mott and works five horses per morning. She then gets shifts at the hospital when she can. "Horses have always been my passion," she said. "I would always need them in my life in some capacity." Medically, her long-range plan would be to be a physician's assistant. For now, Incredibolt gets her full attention. After she exercised him, O'Connell and groom Edwin Rivas got the colt cleaned up and then she walked him around the shedrow before putting him back in his stall at the Preakness Stakes Barn. Mott is expected to be on the grounds Friday morning. Incredibolt is scheduled to gallop at the same time Friday. "It's always fun to be involved with a horse like this," she said. "He shows up all the time and tries to do everything right. You really can't fault him for anything." Incredibolt will be ridden by jockey Jamie Torres, who has been aboard in all six of his prior starts. The colt is one of three horses from the Kentucky Derby (G1) to come back in the Preakness. In the Run for the Roses, he finished sixth. IRON HONOR—Two days before the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes (G1) everything was normal in the camp of Iron Honor, the 9-2 morning-line favorite for the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. The son of Nyquist galloped 1 1/8 miles over the sealed track at Laurel Park Thursday, the second time he has been over the track since shipping here from trainer Chad Brown's barn at Belmont Park. Regular exercise rider Kelvin Perez was on board when Iron Honor entered the track at 7:30 a.m.. "Nice horse, very classy," said Perez, who has been working for Brown since 2016. "I like the way he has handled the track." Jose Hernandez, Brown's assistant, has been overseeing the Preakness preparations in Maryland. Brown is not expected to arrive here until Saturday after training horses at his base in Saratoga Springs. N.Y. Hernandez said Iron Honor will likely gallop between 1 ¼ and 1 ½ miles on Friday morning. "The horse is getting better and better," Hernandez said. "I saw him in Florida over the winter, and he seems more mature to me." Iron Honor will be making his fourth career start in the Preakness. He broke his maiden in December and then won the Gotham (G3) before finishing a disappointing seventh as the 5-2 favorite in the Wood Memorial (G2). Brown has won the Preakness with Cloud Computing in 2017 and Early Voting in 2022. Both horses also had three starts before the Preakness, all of them, like Iron Honor, in New York. Cloud Computing's first three races mirrored those of Iron Honor. Owned by Vincent and Teresa Viola's St. Elias Stable and William H. Lawrence, Iron Honor will be ridden in the Preakness by Flavien Prat. TALKIN—During his trip around the track at Laurel Park Thursday morning, Talkin kept asking exercise rider Priscilla Schaefer to loosen her grip on the reins and let him go faster. Schaefer did not waver from the plan and maintained her firm hold the entire 1 1/8 miles in the next-to-last day before the Good Magic colt runs in the 151st Preakness Stakes (G1) Saturday evening. "He wanted to train," trainer Danny Gargan said. "It's good to see him in the bridle. Sometimes when you ship, you get there and they're a little dead. But, no, he's grabbing the bridle wanting to train. We wanted to go a little easy today, so he was pulling a little more than he normally would. The track was sealed and we wanted to keep him kind of easy, but he was skipping over it pretty nice. I thought." Gargan is pleased with the way the colt co-owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Pine Racing Stables, Legendary Thoroughbreds, Belmar Racing and Breeding, LLC and R. A. Hill Stable is approaching the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. It's been a challenging few months for the trainer to get Talkin to the Triple Crown. The colt was sick and lost weight after running in the Remsen (G2) Dec. 6 and once he resumed training he had some tough luck during morning breezes. Talkin enters the Preakness after a fifth in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) and a well-beaten third in the Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland. Talkin shipped from Keeneland in Lexington, Ky. to Laurel Tuesday and went to the track with Schaefer Wednesday and Thursday for his routine pre-race exercise. "He looked good yesterday, but I think he looked better today," Gargan said. "{Schaefer}said he looked better today to her." Schaefer, 29, grew up in Idaho and Oregon and has been working on the East Coast for about nine years. She has been on Gargan's staff for five years. In 2024, she was the regular morning rider on Gargan's Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Dornoch. Now she is a primary player in the stable's Triple Crown series runner. "They're different, size-wise, for sure," Schaefer said. "Dornoch was a lot bigger, just stouter. Different personalities, for sure. They both have that heart, though. You can tell pretty quickly with them and they both have it, and they both want it. This horse, he wants it just as bad as Dornoch. He's got a lot of fight in him." NAPOLEON SOLO—When it comes to the name game, Gold Square LLC's Napoleon Solo is a distinctive standout in the full field of 14 entered in the $2 million Preakness Stakes (G1) Saturday at Laurel Park. Stable owner Al Gold has fun naming his horses and often uses character names from television shows. Napoleon Solo, lead character in the 1960s television show, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., belongs to the stable that has also run Howard Wolowitz, a character in The Big Bang Theory; Hop Sing from Bonanza; Maryanorginger from Gilligan's Island; and Cleon Jones, the former New York Mets star outfielder. Chad Summers, who trains Napoleon Solo for Gold Square, said the Liam's Map colt has gotten some attention, but he is not alone. "Fortunately for us, we have a horse here this week named I Love Giraffes, so she's taking the cake with horses' names a little bit," Summers said. "Obviously, you feel the pressure because Lights Out Leni, who we have here, was named after his granddaughter, right? To me, there's not as many questions on Napoleon Solo maybe as some of the other ones, but, yeah, the older crowd certainly knows The Man from U.N.C.L.E. for sure." I Love Giraffes and Lights Out Leni are entered in stakes Friday: I Love Giraffes in the $125,000 Hilltop for 3-year-old fillies on the turf and Lights Out Leni in the $150,000 Miss Preakness (G3) for 3-year-old fillies sprinting on the dirt. Per usual, Napoleon Solo went out for exercise near the end of the training period Thursday, which closes at 10 a.m. Summers wants him to be on the track when it is quiet so the colt does not get excited and try to do too much. He jogged two miles and will walk on Friday. "That's his routine," Summers said. "Not going to change it." Napoleon Solo schooled in the paddock after training Wednesday and Summers said he is ready for the Preakness. "Everything is good. No complaints," he said. THE HELL WE DID—In his first start of 2026, The Hell We Did rolled to a 13-length victory in an allowance race at Sunland Park March 15. Trainer Todd Fincher said the 3-year-old got zilch out of it. "That six-furlong race, he was far off the pace, and he galloped by them and never had to be used," Fincher said at the Preakness Stakes Barn at Laurel Park Thursday morning. With the idea of getting to the Preakness Stakes (G1), Fincher knew he had to get more into his horse before coming to Maryland. He got it when The Hell We Did finished second in the Lexington (G3) at Keeneland April 11. He is hopeful that race sets him for a big effort Saturday at Laurel Park. "The Lexington should have got him more fitness into his legs and more air in his lungs," said Fincher, who arrived at Laurel Wednesday night after flying in from Dallas. "He ran close to the lead the whole way in that one and got a lot out of it." The Hell We Did, with assistant trainer Oscar Rojero on board, schooled in the starting gate at Laurel Tuesday and galloped/jogged about two miles in preparation for Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1). The son of Authentic, who is owned and bred by Peacock Family Racing Stable LLC, will be ridden by Luis Saez in the Preakness. Saez also rode him in the Lexington. The Hell We Did is listed at 15-1 on the Preakness morning line. "There are a lot of good horses in this race," Fincher said. "Everybody has their opinion. That is why they line 'em up and run 'em and that is why you can bet on 'em. You can have your opinion, and no one really cares. You put your money where your mouth is and, hopefully, you pick the right horse." Fincher is adamant that he's not here just to get a look at Laurel Park. "I don't need just to run in a race like this," he said. "I'm trying to win it." CHIP HONCHO—Chip Honcho had an easy training morning Thursday under exercise rider Brooke Stillion at Laurel Park, jogging to the starting gate to school, then galloping home—a typical routine two days before a race for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen's horses. Leland Ackersley Racing LLC, James Sherwood, Jode Shupe and John Cilia's Chip Honcho arrived at Laurel Monday afternoon, one of five horses Asmussen is running at the track Saturday. Another three Asmussen horses race at Laurel Friday. BULL BY THE HORNS—Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. was on hand at Laurel Park Thursday to oversee Peachtree Stable and Mark Corrado's Bull by the Horns' morning preparation for a start in Saturday's 151st Preakness Stakes (G1) at Laurel Park. Joseph, who arrived in Maryland from his Gulfstream Park base Wednesday afternoon, reported that the 3-year-old son of Essential Quality galloped 1 ¼ miles under exercise rider Luis Hernandez. "He looked happy," said Joseph, who saddled Grade 1-winning millionaire Skippylongstocking for a fifth-place finish in the 2022 Preakness that was followed by a third-place finish in the Belmont Stakes (G1). Bull by the Horns, who is rated at 30-1 on the morning line for the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, is coming off a last-to-first triumph in the 1 1/16-mile Rushaway over Turfway Park's all-weather surface. "In the Rushaway he came from way back. The number didn't come back fast, but the visual looked very good," Joseph said. "He is a horse we always thought could pick up pieces. The horse he beat [Trendsetter] came back and won the Lexington, but he needs to improve on his numbers. If the numbers are real and he runs that slow, he has no shot, but we feel he's better than his numbers so far." Micah Husbands, who was aboard for Bull by the Horns' maiden victory at Gulfstream in November, returns for the Preakness. CRUPPER—Trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel liked what he saw during Crupper's first training experience at Laurel Park, just a professional gallop with no drama Thursday morning. Pedro Velez, an exercise rider for Dallas Stewart and who is at Laurel to get on Preakness contender Corona de Oro, was in the saddle for Von Hemel. Crupper, a homebred for owner Robert Zoellner, vanned from the Trackside training center in Louisville to Maryland overnight Tuesday, getting a day off Wednesday after the early-morning arrival. "Very routine-looking gallop, so I'm happy," Von Hemel said. "It was the first time Pedro's been on him. I told him a few things. The first day, sometimes they're looking where we're at and what's going on. I think the day off yesterday made him a handful today, as far as in the shedrow here and getting him to the track. But once he got on the track, he was good. I think he'll be a little more calm in the shedrow tomorrow, too, prior to galloping. But it's good he bounced out of that trip like that. That part I'm happy with." Von Hemel is seeking his first Triple Crown race victory. "It's a great thrill," the trainer said at the traditional Alibi Breakfast featuring Preakness connections Thursday morning. "I don't know anybody in racing, American racing especially, who doesn't dream of winning one of the Triple Crown races. PRETTY BOY MIAH—Trainer Jeremiah Englehart, for whom the colt was jokingly named, said Pretty Boy Miah is approaching his debut in the top level of American racing in Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1) in a positive fashion. Thursday morning, he trained over the sealed track at Laurel Park under rider Taylor Kingsley. "We just galloped him a mile and a quarter today. Just nice and easy," Englehart said. "He's been training really well since we got here. This is him. He's relaxed. Ever since we gelded him it really went the right way. He's not a very big horse, obviously. He's average size, really, but he's just always had a real nice way of going. Even on the end of the shank he kind of pulls you just walking around the barn. Hopefully, he's able to get a good trip and run his race. I really do feel like he's going to surprise some people." Pretty Boy Miah, co-owned by Shirl Penney's Team Penney Racing, Echo Racing, Flower City Racing LLC, Anthony Bruno and Christopher Meyer, drew the outside post in the full field of 14 horses entered for the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. He has a 2-1-0 record from four starts and has won his last two in convincing fashion since Englehart added blinkers. Ricardo Santana Jr. will ride for the third straight time. Englehart said the colt got his name from a combination of elements. He said that through his life he has often been told he looks like actors, including Brad Pitt, which generated the Pretty Boy nickname. Englehart said he has been called Miah since he was a kid. "It started with Shirl Penney, who has a great sense of humor, and he named him Pretty Boy Miah," Englehart said. "We shoot a lot of pictures back and forth of one another, and use AI and stuff like that. He thought it was a good opportunity to name him that. And the barn has had a lot of fun with it that way. Some of it stems from the mare, Tryingtolookpretty. I think he just used that. It's actually starting to stick with me now a little bit." ROBUSTA—After finishing 14th in the Kentucky Derby (G1) at the colossal odds of 70.01-1, Calumet Farm's Robusta hasn't been getting too much attention around the Preakness Stakes Barn this week. And, perhaps, for good reason. The son of Accelerate is one of three horses in the 12-horse field for Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1) at Laurel Park with morning line odds of 30-1. And that doesn't bother Sabas Rivera, the assistant to trainer Doug O'Neill one bit. "He doesn't know anything about numbers," Rivera said with a laugh at the Stakes Barn Thursday morning. "If he is 30-1, it means there is no pressure. I think he is going to run big no matter what. The horse is doing good, that is the main thing," Robusta jogged around the Laurel Park sealed track once on Thursday morning, an exercise that Rivera said he will repeat on Friday. During his career, Robusta has usually gone to post at long odds. The lowest price he has ever gone off at was when he was 8-1 in the April 4 Santa Anita Derby (G1). He finished seventh. In his other five starts, he has never gone off lower than 24-1. But he has given his backers a thrill a few times. When Robusta finished second, beaten a head by Potente in the San Felipe Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita March 7, he was 67-1. For his lone victory Jan. 9, he was 24-1. "He has been acting like a horse with a lot of energy," said Rivera, who has worked for O'Neill for 22 years. "He looks good, he is doing good and is eating good." Robusta will be ridden for the first time by Rafael Bejarano in the Preakness. O'Neill is scheduled to fly to Maryland from California Friday night. CORONA DE ORO—The name of David Berman's On Our Own Stable—the managing partner in Corona de Oro, who will run in Saturday's 151st Preakness (G1) at Laurel Park—originated by sheer happenstance 15 years ago. Berman had owned horses previously in other partnerships, including a 12 ½- percent stake in West Point Thoroughbred's 2008 Preakness runner-up Macho Again, when he decided to form his own ownership group. "I needed a name," Berman said. "I was driving to work behind an Audi on the Southern State Parkway on Long Island, and I saw the [interlocking] four-ring logo. I figured, 'All right, let me do something with three rings.'" Thus was born On Our Own, whose first letters interlocked are now found on the stable's silks. "It was no slight against West Point for being on my own," said Berman, a New York businessman. "It just came out of nowhere." Berman estimates On Our Own has owned about 50 horses since the stable was formed in 2011. But none has won a graded stakes, much less a Grade 1 race like the Preakness. He's hoping Corona de Oro becomes the first. Alas, Berman said the colt's jockey, John Velazquez, will be wearing the silks of partner Commonwealth Stable for Saturday's Preakness. "It's on rotation," Berman said. "If we go to the Belmont, they'll be in my silks."