Takethemoneyhoney romps in Md. Million Distaff
No rust after seven-month break
Frank Vespe
October 24, 2026
Seven-and-a-half months away from the races proved to be no problem at all for Takethemoneyhoney Saturday at Laurel Park.
The five-year-old Golden Lad mare returned from a lengthy vacation to thrash her rivals to win the $101,000 Maryland Million Distaff by 5 ½ lengths, a margin that demonstrated she hasn’t lost a thing during her time away.
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“It amazes me the way she handles the time off,” said winning trainer Michael Moore. “I mean, she’s coming off 6-7 months off, and the way she spurts away in the stretch, you would never know she’s been off that amount of time. She’s just amazing.”
Amazing, come to think of it, is a pretty good word.
Takethemoneyhoney has now won eight of 11 career starts, and her three defeats have come by a head and, twice, by a nose. The Distaff was the fifth stakes win of her career, and she has earned $466,770.
“I know, as a trainer, that good horses make your job a lot easier, but you’ve obviously got to do the right things for her,” Moore said. “We give her the time off when she needs time off. And you know, every one of them races has been good to this point.”
In today’s contest, regular pilot Eliseo Ruiz had Takethemoney on the move from the jump, and she made the early lead while taking heat from 15-1 shot Rerun Table, who arrived here with back-to-back wins for trainer John Salzman, Jr. Those two sped through a quarter-mile in 23.05 seconds and a half in 46.02 with Takethemoneyhoney holding a half-length advantage.
Once the field turned for home, though, it was quickly all over. Takethemoneyhoney eagerly pulled away from her nearest rivals with the rest of the field sputtering far behind. The final margin was 5 ½ lengths, with Onyx Ten rallying into second, 2 ½ lengths ahead of Rerun Table, who held third. Running time for seven furlongs on a fast main track was 1:23.87.
Off at even-money, Takethemoneyhoney paid $4.20 to win and topped an exacta that returned $16.00 for a one-dollar wager.
Takethemoneyhoney, a Maryland-bred out of the speedy but starcrossed Great Notion mare Goodonehoney, went to the sidelines following a five-length victory in a three-horse edition of the Conniver Stakes at Laurel Park March 7. That race came immediately following one of her rare defeats, when she was beaten a nose in the Barbara Fritchie Stakes Feb. 14 at Laurel.
“We know she can only run a certain amount of times [because of her knee],” said co-owner Bob Krangel, also the co-breeder. “But she’s special and so easy-going.”
After her Conniver win, Takethemoneyhoney took a few months at Sylmar Farm in Pennsylvania, making her next appearance at the racetrack Aug. 29 when she breezed a moderate three-eighths at Moore’s Parx base. Moore then put a half-dozen additional works into her as she tuned up for Maryland Million, an event she’d missed in both 2024 and 2025.
Fortunately for Moore and owners Kasey K Racing Stable, Michael Day, and Final Turn Racing Stable, their patience once again was rewarded.
“Anytime you’re off that amount of time, it gives you some worry, even though she’s handled it before,” Moore said. “On the other hand, they get older, and you never know when they’re coming back, are they still going to be the same. She looks like she was the same today. Just incredible.”
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