Horses connected to the late Larry Johnson ran one-two, and a Maryland-bred held serve in Saturday’s $100,000 Ben’s Cat Stakes.

Maryland-bred Whenigettoheaven, a horse Johnson bred, wore down Determined Kingdom, a horse owned by his estate, to win the Ben’s Cat by three parts of a length in 1:09.57 for six furlongs on a firm turf course. It was Whenigettoheaven’s second consecutive win in the Ben’s Cat.

The race was the first conducted under a new agreement between the breeders of Maryland and Virginia that opens Maryland-bred and -sired stakes, and some Virginia-bred and -sired stakes, to horses bred and sired in both states to compete. The combined purses available to state-bred horses under the program are $1.75 million, far exceeding the $1 million in Maryland-bred stakes in previous years.

It will also enable Maryland-breds to compete in stakes in July and August when Maryland racing goes dark.

While according to outgoing Virginia Thorougbhred Association executive director Debbie Easter there has been “no pushback” in Virginia, some in Maryland have expressed concern about the program.

That concern might have been exacerbated had Determined Kingdom – a Virginia-bred Animal Kingdom gelding now trained by Michael Trombetta – won the Ben’s Cat. In the event, however, Maryland-breds earned 80% of the $100,000 purse.

Though he went clear in mid-stretch after overpowering early leader Tidewater, Determined Kingdom could not seal the deal, as Whenigettoheaven, with JG Torrealba in the irons, wore his rival down to inch away. Determined Kingdom held second, a half-length ahead of Had to Have Him.

“It seemed like they started to come back at the top of the lane,” said Nolan Ramsey, who trained Whenigettoheaven for his grandfather Ken Ramsey. “But he picked it up when he was called on.”

It was Torrealba’s fifth time in the irons for Whenigettoheaven, a six-year-old Street Magician gelding the Ramseys claimed from Johnson and then-trainer Trombetta in March of 2024. It was the third time they had teamed up to win, to go with a second.

“I would like to just take a second to really give some respect to the rider,” Ramsey said. “Not only does he fit this horse really well, he’s such a smart rider, such a strong rider, too. He’s really made this horse for me. So hats off to him.”

The win gave Whenigettoheaven six victories from 28 career starts and pushed his bankroll to more than $380,000.

Whenigettoheaven paid $10.00 to win as the second wagering choice and, with the favorite running second, topped an exacta that returned $13.50 for a one-dollar wager.

Ramsey indicated that Whenigettoheaven could make his next start in a state-restricted race at Colonial Downs. He followed that route last year, finishing second to Determined Kingdom.