Beaten Fritchie, General George favorites return
Takethemoneyhoney, Quint’s Brew favored in state-bred stakes
The Biz
March 6, 2026
The beaten favorites in last month’s $200,000 Barbara Fritchie Stakes and General George Stakes return Saturday at Laurel Park. And, despite the recent defeats, both Fritchie runner-up Takethemoneyhoney and General George show horse Quint’s Brew are favored to regain their winning ways.
They headline a pair of $100,000 Maryland and Virginia-restricted stakes — the Conniver for fillies and mares at seven furlongs and the six-furlong Not For Love for four-year-olds and up.
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Conniver Stakes
Trainer Michael Moore believes Takethemoneyhoney lost little in defeat in the Feb. 14 Barbara Fritchie, where she battled on the lead before being overtaken late by Passage East and falling short by a nose.
“That was tough,” Moore said. “I thought the winner, Passage East, who ran great, had a slightly better trip than we did. We had to go head-to-head with the pacesetter, then brace for her coming outside of us. She ran all the way to the wire. She just got beat. She couldn’t have tried any harder.”
A three-time stakes winner never worse than second in nine career starts, Takethemoneyhoney’s consistency has made her a fixture among Maryland’s top female sprinters, and Saturday’s Conniver presents another opportunity to add to her résumé.
Among those looking to upset is Grayson’s Girl, trained by Brittany Russell. The four-year-old enters off a sharp allowance win Feb. 22 at Laurel in which she swept past rivals to win decisively.
“I felt like she traveled with confidence,” Russell said. “She’s a pretty tough, gritty little filly.”
Another contender is Dwelling Legacy, a six-time winner bred and owned by Frank Perri. Her path to the races was not easy.
“Her mom colicked the day she was born, and I had to get a nurse mare,” Perri said. “It was a tough road, but she’s toughened it out and proved her mettle. Gary has done a fantastic job developing this horse. She’s grown up a little, and we were lucky.”
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Not For Love Stakes
The Not For Love features a familiar rivalry among Maryland sprinters, led by Quint’s Brew, who has won three stakes, registered $440,000 in earnings, and twice finished second in graded company.
Quint’s Brew flattened out to finish third in the seven-furlong General George last month, but trainer Ned Allard believes circumstances leading up to that race compromised his horse’s preparation.
“I was on the fence about running to begin with,” Allard said. “He was training great, but that was the period when we had four weeks of awful weather. We missed quite a few days of training… I really think I possibly ran a short horse that day.”
Allard says the gelding has trained much more smoothly since then.
“For Saturday, he hasn’t missed a day,” he said. “We got a solid workout into him. I pushed him a little bit. I believe we’ll see a different horse on Saturday.”
One of his chief rivals will be Blue Kingdom, who finished ahead of Quint’s Brew when runner-up in the General George. It will mark the fourth consecutive race in which both runners compete; Quint’s Brew finished ahead of Blue Kingdom in their first two meetings, but Blue Kingdom turned the tables last out.
“Quint’s Brew and this horse have a bit of a rivalry,” Ness said. “It’s been a back-and-forth, so it’s kind of nice.”
Ness also expects Saturday’s six-furlong distance and a better post to work in Blue Kingdom’s favor after drawing the rail in the General George.
“The one-hole, it really isn’t his thing,” Ness said. “He wanted to get off the inside the whole time, but never really had a good opportunity.”
Others in the field include hard-knocking Twisted Ride, an $800,000 earner who trainer Michael Moore says always brings speed to the race.
“He tries really hard,” Moore said, adding, “He will always show speed. He fights. Head-to-head, it doesn’t seem to bother him.”
Quint’s Brew is even-money, while Blue Kingdom is 8-5. In the Conniver, Takethemoneyhoney is 3-5 on the morning line.
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