LRL: Stakes contenders sport near-opposite resumes
Both Law School and Taj Mahal have talent, but similarities end there
Frank Vespe
February 19, 2026
Two horses who could go favored in Laurel Park’s Saturday stakes almost couldn’t arrive with more different resumes.
Law School, even money on the morning line in the seven-furlong Wide Country for three-year-old fillies, has made seven career starts, including three at or beyond the Wide Country distance, owns a stake win, and has earned nearly $120,000.
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In the one-mile Miracle Wood for sophomores, with the expected scratch of morning line choice Balboa, trainer Brittany Russell’s other runner, Taj Mahal, is one of a few who could vie for favoritism. He is 5-1 on the morning line, and the only runner other than Balboa who is lower is Let’s Go Lando at 9-2.
Taj Mahal has made just one career start, and it came at six furlongs.
Law School, trained by Jamie Ness at Parx and owned by his own Jagger Inc. and Super C Racing, has won her last two races by a combined 21 ¼ lengths. Last time out in the $75,000 Parx Future Stars Fillies, also at seven furlongs, she sat a good trip off the pace and pounced when ready, drawing away to win by seven lengths.
“As soon as we stretched her out, she got a lot better,” Ness said. “I think seven-eighths is as low as we’re going to go. I’d like to go longer, but we’ve been off a couple of months, so it’s probably a good steppingstone back.”
Though her sire Mitole was an ultra-fast sprinter, Mitole’s offspring have been thriving at route distances, winning at a 19% clip in dirt routes.
Law School was a bargain-bin pickup, costing just $5,000 as a yearling. But those strong recent outings build on what Ness was seeing all along – and on her dozen-length debut score.
“She stood out right away,” the trainer noted. “We didn’t push her, but she showed talent right away. She got closer to a race, and I thought this horse was really good.”
Taj Mahal, by contrast, cost SF Racing et. al. $525,000 as a yearling, so he was always supposed to be good. But it took a little while to get him to the races; he had a lengthy string of works for Bob Baffert at Los Alamitos over a four-month period, then took a couple of months off before finding his way to Russell’s Laurel-based operation.
“I think he got to a point where he was kind of like, you know, he just hadn’t progressed,” she said after his maiden score. “And when I got him, he had one little thing we just had to take a little bit of time with. I’m happy [the owners] were so patient, because obviously, I think he’s worthwhile.”
He showed it first time out Feb. 6. After breaking slowly, he cruised up wide on the turn, inhaled the leaders, and drew away to win by over four lengths as the 3-2 favorite.
That was just 15 days ago, though, so Taj Mahal will have to manage stepping up versus winners and stretching out to a mile, and to do all of that on relatively short rest.
“It’s definitely not a move for me to run one back this quickly off a maiden run. I haven’t had a chance to breeze him, but he’s been training right along. He came out of the race great,” Russell said, adding, “They were bred to be stakes horses, so I’m trying to step up and see what he’s made of.”
NOTES If Balboa does scratch, that will leave Spectacular Bid runner-up Close the Gate as the only Triple Crown nominee in the Miracle Wood field. One race after breaking his maiden versus maiden claiming rivals, the John Salzman, Jr. trainee ran his eyeballs out when second to Hollywood Import that day… Gary Capuano is the only trainer to have won multiple stakes at Laurel this year; he’s won two and will send out Let’s Go Lando (9-2) in the Miracle Wood… Along with Taj Mahal, Brittany Russell will also send out Peach Tie (8-5) in the Wide Country; she’s won four of five career starts and galloped in the Gin Talking last out… The seven runners entered in the Miracle Wood were bred in six different states: Maryland (two runners), New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Kentucky… Leading rider Yedsit Hazlewood has mounts in both stakes: Law School in the Wide Country and Let’s Go Lando in the Miracle Wood…
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