Read On sends Gaudet barn to Colonial on a high note
Takes Laurel Park Sunday co-feature
Frank Vespe
June 21, 2026
Lacey Gaudet’s barn will be putting a big focus on Colonial Downs this summer, sending a string of about 30 horses to New Kent.
But prior to Colonial, which kicks off its 2026 summer meet Thursday, she had some business to conduct at her year-round Laurel Park homebase, which concludes its meet June 28.
In Sunday’s co-featured $53,000 allowance/optional claimer, the Gaudet-trained Read On zipped to the early lead, fended off a mid-race challenge, and held off the closers to win by three parts of a length. It was Read On’s second straight since Gaudet claimed the six-year-old Ghostzapper gelding and the sixth, from 31 starts, in his career.
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Read On was claimed for $40,000 from the race by owner-trainer Kieron Magee.
That amount represents a tidy profit for Gaudet and owners Liberty House Racing, Team Gaudet, and Penwood Racing. They reached into a Turfway Park allowance/optional claimer to grab Read On for $25,000 March 21, ran him back to win at Laurel in late April, and moved him up the ladder again to score here before losing him for more than their initial purchase price.
“Really we just made him happy,” Gaudet said. “These old hard knocking horses, if you look back at the kind of horses that we do really well with in the barn, this is it. These old horses that kind of fall off a form a little bit, and we just kind of make them happy in the operation and take our time with them, and they seem to really reward us for it.”
Forest Boyce rode Read On to his first win for Gaudet, but with Boyce riding Alogon today in Monmouth Park’s Get Serious Stakes, Gaudet turned to the hot-riding Jeiron Barbosa, whose win in this contest was his third of the afternoon.
Barbosa put Read On into action early, and the veteran led by 1 ½ lengths through an opener in 23.87 seconds and a length after the half-mile went in 47.70. As the field neared the quarter pole, longshot Sticktothesystem launched a bold bid, reaching virtually even terms with the leader as the field turned for home.
But Read On rebuffed that rival, inched ahead, and held off the late bids of Can Group and Tapit Kissit Winit to win, covering the 1 mile on firm turf in 1:34.74. Show horse Tapit Kissit Winit was Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse’s first Laurel Park starter in more than five years.
Post time favorite Antisocial, the Jorge Duarte trainee who was third a length in last year’s Grade 2 Secretariat at Colonial Downs and then fourth by two lengths in the Grade 1 Franklin Simpson at Kentucky Downs, sat a good trip but did not go on in the lane and finished fifth.
Read On paid $10.60 to win as the third choice in the field of eight. The exacta returned $23.70 for a one-dollar wager.
“He’s really flourished since being in the operation,” Gaudet said. “We’ve enjoyed having him.”
With Laurel’s meet ending next week, and Maryland racing going dark until Timonium opens in late August, Gaudet is turning her attention to Colonial. A year ago, she brought eight horses to New Kent, she said, and the barn won four times from 21 starters. This year, with a longer meet and a larger presence, she’s hoping to tap into some of the track’s big purses.
“We’ve claimed a lot of turf horses,” she explained. “We’ve got a lot of Virginia certified and a lot of Virginia-bred horses that we’ve acquired this year too, some nice two year olds, so we hope to hope to do well down there.”
With gaudy purses – a first-level allowance there carries a purse of $72,000, versus $49,000 for the same level in Maryland – Colonial has become an increasingly tough place to win a race. But Gaudet says she’s looking forward to the challenge.
“You have to find the sweet spots where horses fit, the conditions that fill, and stuff like that,” she said. “But we enjoyed our summer down there last year, so we’ll just try and grow from that.”
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