A dozen Maryland-sired horses were nominated to the $150,000 Maryland Million Classic Oct. 11, but only six of them actually entered.

That left the door open for the one horse none of those connections wanted to see.

Reigning Top Midlantic-bred and 2024 Maryland-bred champion Post Time, who is not Maryland-sired, drew into the nine-furlong Classic and has been installed as the 3-5 morning line favorite.

Maryland-sired horses have first preference in the Maryland Million. When fewer than eight are entered or actually start, Maryland-breds that are not Maryland-sired may draw in to maintain a field size of eight runners.

With just six in the Classic, that also permitted Maryland-bred Secret Zipper (20-1) into the Classic field. Another Maryland-bred runner, All the Hardways (20-1), is also eligible and will draw in with one scratch.

Last year’s Classic champion, Brilliant Ice, will not defend his title.

Post Time, trained by Brittany Russell for Ellen Charles’s Hillwood Stable, has won 12 of 21 career starts and earned nearly $1.5 million in his stellar career. He has won two graded stakes and last year finished second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

His form has been a bit more up-and-down this year – three wins in six starts with the first off the board finish of his career when sixth in the Grade 1 Whitney – but one thing has remained the same. Post Time’s three wins this year all have come at Laurel Park, where his record is a spotless 10-for-10.

Sheldon Russell will ride from post number five.

Blue Kingdom, a former Brittany Russell trainee now conditioned by Jamie Ness, is the second choice on the morning line at 5-1 and leaves from one stall farther out. Blue Kingdom, by promising young sire First Mondays, has won three straight and is 4-for-16 overall with over $158,000 in earnings.  Mychel Sanchez is named.

Three-year-old Barbadian Runner, by Barbados, is 6-1 on the morning line and will have Forest Boyce up from post number two. Barbadian Runner is owned by AJ Will Win Stables.

The Henry Walters trainee has four stakes wins from nine starts this year and earnings of more than $565,000. He enters off a rallying win in the Robert Hilton Memorial Stakes Aug. 22 at Charles Town Races.

The only other runner with odds lower than 10-1 is Sacred Thunder (8-1). Trained by Gary Capuano for John Hazard, the sophomore Holy Boss gelding is a stakes winner of more than $250,000. Yedsit Hazlewood will ride.

The rest of the field includes:

• 2024 Preakness starter Mugatu (15-1);
• Hittheroadjak (20-1), fourth in this event a year ago; and
• Feeling Woozy (10-1), another trained by Jamie Ness.

The Classic is the 11^th race on a 12-race program. Post time for the card is 11:30 a.m.