Maryland Million at a glance: Turf routes
Thundering towers over Turf rivals
The Biz
October 21, 2026
In advance of the Maryland Million races, we’ll be providing Maryland Million stakes at a glance: couple-paragraph writeups on what each race offers.
Here, the two turf routes, the $125,000 Ladies and the $125,000 Turf.
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Mopo looks for 2-turn stakes win
Mopo will try to stretch her stakes-winning form around two turns in Saturday’s $125,000 Maryland Million Ladies at Laurel Park. The four-year-old Great Notion filly won the six-furlong Jameela Stakes in June and most recently finished third, beaten 1¼ lengths, in Delaware Park’s George Rosenberger Memorial at the Ladies’ 1 1/16-mile distance. Trained by Phillip Capuano, she has three wins, two seconds and a third from six starts this season and will have Paco Lopez aboard.
Nick’s Notion brings an effective late kick for trainer Robbie Bailes and jockey Forest Boyce. She rallied to win a $100,000 Virginia-restricted handicap at Colonial Downs Sept. 5 after missing by a neck in the All Brandy, then finished fourth in Laurel’s All Along. High View defeated Weekend Wife in a Laurel turf allowance Sept. 11, while Juniper Juice seeks to improve on her runner-up finish in last year’s Ladies. Don’t sleep on Precious Avary, who won this event in 2023 and just missed in 2024, while Ogletown Handicap winner Beautiful Blome adds a surface question: she makes her turf debut and first start for trainer Cathal Lynch.
Thundering looks to cap big season in Turf
Thundering brings a pair of stakes victories and a graded placing into Saturday’s $125,000 Maryland Million Turf at Laurel Park and, with a 4-5 morning line, figures to be one of the day’s stronger favorites. The Derek Ryan-trained son of Mosler won Laurel’s Japan Turf Cup over this 1⅛-mile trip in June, finished third in the Grade 2 United Nations at Monmouth Park, and then captured the Find Stakes at Colonial Downs by 3¾ lengths Aug. 15. Paco Lopez retains the mount on the four-year-old, who has earned $230,800 this season.
Pont Aven, winner of the dirt Star de Naskra Stakes, showed promise on grass when finishing fourth, beaten just a length, in Delaware Park’s Lewes Stakes Sept. 11. Magical Mondays finished third in that tightly contested race, while Hanksdiviningrod was fifth before rallying to finish a close third in a Laurel allowance. Former Turf winner Wicked Prankster returns to grass after a poor effort in a race moved to dirt; he had finished second at Delaware and third behind Thundering in the Find in his preceding starts, those following a two-year layoff. Zevon also merits attention after missing by a neck in a Laurel starter allowance Oct. 2.
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