What we’re watching at Laurel Park this weekend

Laurel Park hosts an action-packed weekend of racing to close out its spring meet, featuring top-class older horses, a highly anticipated juvenile debut, and mandatory payouts on Sunday. Saturday’s card is highlighted by the season’s first 2-year-old race in Maryland — a $47,000 maiden special weight sprint in race 2 — while Sunday’s program marks closing day.

Saturday’s stakes-level allowance action kicks off in race 6 with the return of Post Time, the 2024 Maryland-bred champion. Trained by Brittany Russell and owned by Hillwood Stable LLC, the 5-year-old gray son of Frosted makes his first start of 2025 and second since a runner-up finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile last November. With blinkers on for the first time in his 15-race career, Post Time looks to add to his $1.2 million bankroll. A two-time graded stakes winner, he’ll tackle 1 1/16 miles in this $56,000 allowance event.

Post Time makes his season debut Saturday. Photo by Jerry Dzierwinski.

In race 7, Forever Souper returns to the grass following a solid second-place finish in the Turf Classic at Tampa Bay Downs. A model of consistency, the 6-year-old gelding by American Pharoah boasts nine wins and five stakes victories — three on turf and two on synthetic. Trained by Michael Trombetta for Live Oak Plantation, Forever Souper has never been worse than third in three starts at Saturday’s 1-mile turf distance.

Sunday’s closing day features mandatory payouts of all wagers and some intriguing storylines.

Race 7 brings the debut of Lionel, a 3-year-old colt by Authentic. Trained by Brittany Russell and owned in part by SF Racing and Starlight Racing, Lionel is out of the graded stakes-placed mare Sweetgrass and was an $875,000 yearling purchase. He began his training at Santa Anita before coming East and has posted one work for Russell. The Kentucky-bred colt is Triple Crown-nominated and makes his career debut in a maiden special weight at a mile.

Later on the Sunday card in race 9, seasoned campaigner Malibu Beauty makes her 7-year-old debut for trainer Gary Capuano. A Maryland-bred mainstay with 12 wins and over $780,000 in earnings, she returns from a winter layoff after a successful 2024 season in which she won four races, including two stakes. This consistent mare brings back her battle-tested form in a $56,000 allowance over 1 1/16 miles.

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