This week we will run a series of 10 Maryland Million Moments, indelible moments that have helped to define the meaning of Maryland’s Day at the Races. Here, Eighttofasttocatch becomes the first three-time Classic winner.

By 2014, the chestnut gelding Eighttofasttocatch had already become a familiar sight to Maryland racing fans — bold on the front end, head high, tail streaming, always game. But on October 18, 2014, at Laurel Park, he sealed his place among the state’s greats by becoming the first horse ever to win the Maryland Million Classic three times.

Breaking sharply under Forest Boyce, the 8-year-old son of Not For Love took command early in the mile-and-an-eighth feature, dictated the tempo with his trademark efficiency, and never looked back. He drew off through the stretch, finishing 4 ½ lengths in front to earn his third Classic title, adding to victories in 2011 and 2013. His final time of 1:50.54 on a fast track capped a remarkable local legacy — a hard-knocking campaigner who always showed up when it counted.

The win put him on the brink of one million dollars in earnings — a mark he secured in his next and final start in the Jennings at Laurel.

Trained by Tim Keefe for the late Sylvia and Arnold Heft, Eighttofasttocatch retired with a record of 49 starts, 17 wins, 7 seconds, 4 thirds, and $1,072,970 in earnings — more than a million dollars won almost entirely in Maryland.

“When I was galloping horses 20 years ago, I remember horses like Little Bold John and some of these other cool horses, hard-knocking horses,” Keefe said at the time. “Fast-forward 20 years from there and now I’ve got a horse that, I think, probably, a lot of people will remember Eighttofasttocatch as a pretty cool horse running around Maryland. That’s significant to me. That means a lot.”

For the Heft family, the moment carried deep personal meaning. “Eighttofasttocatch was my father’s dream,” said Harriet Feldman, Arnold Heft’s daughter. “As far as making a million dollars, he fulfilled my father’s dream.”

In a sport that often measures greatness by fleeting brilliance, Eighttofasttocatch stood out for his durability and heart — a Maryland Million legend whose speed, spirit, and consistency made him one of the state’s all-time favorites.